Kick me in the arse . . .

  • Thread starter Thread starter chessrock
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chessrock

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I feel like a newb over here. This is my first post to the drum clinic.

Anyway, I was hoping I could solicit a little help. I've been listening through my mixes as of late, looking to address some of the weaknesses or areas I could improve on.

Poor kickdrum sound seems to be a recurring theme. It's either too low or too high, and there's never enough click, no matter where I place the mic or how it's eq'ed.

From my experience, the sound of the drums has a lot less to do with how they're miced and/or mixed and a lot more to do with the drums themselves. So I was thinking of picking up a kick or two to have around the studio as another option.

Any recommendations on types or brands? Also what kind of a role do the heads and beaters play, and what might you recommend if I'm looking for a decent balance of oomph and click?

Thanks!
 
chessrock,
I use a DW double pedal with the beater turned around to the hard plastic side. It serves me two functions. 1- When I play the bass drum, I can feel the hit better and I can hear it better in the headphones. 2- It does give more click to the sound when I mic it up towards the beater.
Hope it helps....

RF
 
if your looking at getting a few back up bass drums, try a few with differnt dimensions rather than getting the stock standard 22".... i like 20", i find they have a little more detail and better attack... then again i also have a 26" laying around for whenever i want a warm tone (kinda something youd expect on a tom waites record)..... i'd also recommend a multi sided beater, i just bought one for $15 ($8usd) and its trippled my options in terms of attack.... now, as far as wood beaters are concerned, i find they chew through heads, and i'm not a big fan of those "power spot" things you stick to where the beater hits... ah well my 2c
 
If you're REALLY having problems getting the "click" sound, a couple of other tricks are to get one of those Aquarian head patches with a metal disk inside. A cheaper and just as effective alternative is to tape a quarter to the spot where the beater contacts the head.

I've also found that tuning the head very slack, just above having wrinkles (or sometimes with wrinkles) delivers a "thuddy punch" with a nice balance of "click" (with a little help from some EQ in the 4-6Khz range).
 
For recording, I prefer smaller sized drums. They provide a more focused"tighter" sound (more attack). I think a 20" kick is the most effective for recording (I prefer 16" x 20"). However, I have gotten very tight sounds out of 18" kicks.

In general, Maple drums tend to have a rounder (deeper sound), Birch tends to has some hype in the middle range (more focused attack). Mahogany tends to have the low end of maple , but with a "brighter" tone. Naturally, there are different types of Maple, Mahogany, etc. and drums come in different thickness and plys - so the comparisons I make are very general.

As a rule, Maple and Birch are the preferred woods (and are found on more costly kits). Mahogany and Basswood tend to be found in the lower to mid range kits. I personnally prefer Birch for recording.

Wood or plastic beaters provide a more precise attack than felt beaters (both due to the harder material and due to the fact the as a rule the amount of contact area is reduced) - since the wood and plastic tend to have smaller beater size.

Indeed taping a coin (I prefer a half dollar to a quarter) or a plastic card (we use to use drivers licenses - long before credit cards were common) can help provide an attack. Keeping the batter head very loose can help to bring out the fundmental attack with limited overtones (however a slack head and a hard beater can very quickly result in a split drum head).

A double ply head will help to bring out more attack with a lower fundamental tone and less resonance - whereas a single play head brings out more tone and less attack (I'm a fan of the Evans EMAD heads).

Hope this is of some help.
 
Thanks to everyone for your help.

I've been threatening to try the quarter thing but haven't gotten around to it.

I'll keep my eye out for a smaller kick, maybe between 18-20", Birch, and a beater with a harder surface that might give me some options . . . plus I'll be sure to have some extra quarters and duck tape on hand.

Anyone out there having luck micing both sides (beater side and front)?
 
Although I consider myself a novice "recording engineer" - I've been a drummer for a very long time and have recorded in many studios with many engineers

I've tried (or been "forced" to try) mic'ing the batter head (with the mic next to the kick pedal - to capture the attack) with a second mic inside the drum for resonance. And I've tried tried a mic on the inside of the batter with a second mic a few inches back. And I've tried "extending" the bass drum with boxes and blanket tunnels etc. etc. I've recorded with resonant heads on and off and every conceivable degree of tension on either head.

I finally learned the "secret" ------ there ain't no secret!!!! It all depends on the room, the drummer, the mics, etc. etc. etc.

However, the most consistantly best sounds I've been involved with were the result of a mic inside the bass drum (about 4" - 6" from the batter head) - with a second mic in front of the kick about 2' - 3' for ambiance.
 
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