Mic'ing Bass Drumm Issues...

[Robertt8]

i'm getting a distortion or a peaked out sound when micing our drummers bass drum. he's got no head on the drum, so i've been jamming the damn AT25pro mic deep into the bass and kind of near the head to get the beater sound...am i over doing it? I thought i tried it further outside and it sounded pretty weak, and kind big and hollow...more like a tom...is this somthing they tighten up with EQ or what's going on here? Where do i put the damn thing?

 

[tubesrawsom]

use a different mic like th sm57

 

[mrface2112]

you might need a pad on that mic--you might be overloading the mic or the preamp....do you see any indications of clipping on the pre?

you might have a bum mic. you might have bum placement, a bum room, bum drum, or bum drummer.

personally, i rented a pro25 on a couple occasions and was not at ALL satisfied with the sound i got out of it. in fact, i couldn't get a good sound out of it no matter what i did with it.

you might need to lay a blanket over the kick for a little isolation, or build a tunnel for it.

lastly, how does the kick sound in the room? does it cave your chest in or it is kind of anemic? are the drums on the floor? how does the room sound? is the drummer consistent and does he hit each kick with the same force? all of these things will matter more than the mic in front of the kick.


cheers,
wade

 

[shortness]

robert-good points by mrface....another consideration....i'm certainly not as experienced as many on this board. however, in my experience, using anything other than a mic that is capable handling the low frequencies of a kick, it is going to make it difficult to get the sound that you are looking for....i've used a pro25 and sm57 (in difference locations, w/head, w/o head, etc...). never was able to get the sound i was looking for until i got a mic designed for the kick...i have a akg d112. i'm sure that shures' beta 52, audix's d6 are and many others are capable...but you will probably have to bite off on a better mic for capturing your kick....

 

[Robertt8]

hey thanks guy... as i mentioned above, i think i was just clipping the pre-amp i wasn't paying attention to...however these are good points as well.

this mic is made for low frequencies, so that shouldn't be a problem. i've also got usuable bass out of it before without the clipping sound, so i know it's possible unless i somehow managed to knock it around enough to mess it up.

 

[DonGraham]

Chances are you will not be happy with the sound of that mic no matter what.......Check for clipping at your gain or preamp stage.....but likely the mic is just crapping out..............Rent/or buy a SM-91/D112 or other kick drum mic and you will be much happier...

 

[shortness]

robert, i really think don is right...i fought it for a long time...i thought i could get a decent sound with an sm57 for sure...nope, i never could...like i said, swallowed my pride and bought a d112...took about 5 minutes...i smiled for 2 days straight

like don said, rent or maybe borrow a good mic...try it and you'll see.

 

[RecordingMaster]

Muffle.

Maybe the problem is simpler than it seems. If you're getting a distorted sound, or the bass drum sounds like a tom, it's obviously not that your drummer is bad, or the mic sucks.

Think more simplisticly. If the kick is distorted, your mic is too close or the recording volume is too loud. If the bass drum sounds like a tom, maybe there needs to be some (if any) muffling. Does your drummer even use a pillow, felt strips, blankets, EQ pads, anything to muffle his bass drum to be a thud and not an open ring? Some drummers don't for some reason; maybe because they like that really old fashioned original bass drum sound, or maybe they're just a little slow to catch-on to how to tune drums because they're self taught and have never seen a properly set-up drum kit.

 

[shortness]

Maybe the problem is simpler than it seems. If you're getting a distorted sound, or the bass drum sounds like a tom, it's obviously not that your drummer is bad, or the mic sucks.

Think more simplisticly. If the kick is distorted, your mic is too close or the recording volume is too loud. If the bass drum sounds like a tom, maybe there needs to be some (if any) muffling. Does your drummer even use a pillow, felt strips, blankets, EQ pads, anything to muffle his bass drum to be a thud and not an open ring? Some drummers don't for some reason; maybe because they like that really old fashioned original bass drum sound, or maybe they're just a little slow to catch-on to how to tune drums because they're self taught and have never seen a properly set-up drum kit.

good point 'RM'...tuning is a definite factor...i found that i had to tune a little different than i liked to play live, etc., in order to get the sound that i was looking for...however, the mic still made a HUGE difference....