mic'ing a kick drum w/o a front head

[mark_guinn]

I am not a drummer, so I assume that the head w/ the beater is called the back head. Anyway, I'm sure you get the point.

If the drum head doesn't have a hole in it, you should take the head off. Right? Is there anything else you need to do to get it to sound good? I seem to remember reading something about this, but I don't remember what it is.

Mark

 

[Bedubs]

Well Mark,

The most important thing you can do to get your drums to "sound good" is tune them properly. If you have a well tuned drum with decent heads you shouldn't have to worry about cutting a hole or removing the front head on the bass drum...if you do a really good job you may not even need to add a blanket or pillow inside the drum.

To find out how to properly tune the drums you may want to check this link http://www.drumweb.com/profsound.shtml . If this is a new kit with factory heads it's usually a good idea to just buy new heads (batter side only if cash is tight).

If you are recording drums and are not gettting a good recording then you may try moving the mic (closer/farther), changing the kit's position in the room, or a billion other things that I'm not going to write down.

-b

 

[xtremedb]

Absolutely on the tuning. BTW, Mark, bear in mind that when you're tuning the kick, it will actually tune "backwards". In other words, the pitch will appear to be lower/deeper/boomier when you tighten the heads.

The reason is that the fundamental pitch will be below the range of human hearing in many cases. As you tune the drum, the fundamental will reach and audible wavelength... the drum will seem to lower in pitch.

As far as the resonator head goes, that's where I differ a bit. I almost always remove it in the studio. It just makes it so much easier to get the placement you are going for. Not that it's absolutely necessary or better, but yes to your question... it is quite common.

Remember to put resonator head back into place when you're done or the shell can warp!

Hope that helps!

Brad Gallagher
http://www.just-for-musicians.com/