Miking a kick drum

[jjulien]

hello all.....trying to do some home recording....I have everything miked running into a Presonus FP10.....I have a (cheap) Nady drum mic kit. I have the kick drum mic mounted to the outside rim pointing into the front hole..the kick mic sounds very faint on the recording...and if i turn up the input it clips......still sounding faint? Is there a better placement of the mic to get maximum volume with no clipping?

 

[quickmill]

Sounds like you're recording everything too hot. You should be recording at an average of -18 dbfs in your daw. Also , if your control room is untreated, you aren't hearing your bass properly.

 

[dodgeaspen]

If you didn't already, try using the search button on the forum. This site has and does cover a wide verity of subjects.

 

[jjulien]

reply 1 - I'm pretty sure the input level is as low as it can go without clipping but thats the problem I can barely hear the kick, I have to turn everything else down to hear it.....I have all mic levels set so they won't clip....As far as control room......ahhh it's basically my basement...nothing proffesional here just half assed . I did read something about the movement of air comming out of that hole on the kick drum where I have the mic located.....place the mic inside the drum and turn it sideways so the side cover blocks the air?


Reply 2- thank you, I did but..... I'm so new to this I'm trying to understand all the principles involved.....thats why I posted in the newbie room

 

[FunkFriedFish]

Can you get a good level out the kick drum mic at all? Have you tried just speaking into the mic while recording? Does the mic have an attenuate switch on it, and have you moved it around?

Sorry to answer your questions with questions......


Dan

 

[TheChikenMaster]

Hit the pad switch if its available.

 

[antichef]

You could also try moving the kick drum (and therefore, I guess, the other drums) - it may be that you're getting sound reflections that tend to cancel out a lot of what you want to hear. It's pretty much a losing battle in an untreated basement, but you may be able to find some spots that are better than others.

 

[jjulien]

thanks for the replys! I will try all these suggestions and post back....

FFF- the mic is brand new so i never did try talking into it or anything like that.......try that tonight..

if ok I think I'm going to try and move around the placement of the mic (try the sideways postion inside the drum.....as for moving the drums around.....not much room....

 

[RAMI]

the kick mic sounds very faint on the recording...and if i turn up the input it clips..

What about turning up the fader????

 

[TheChikenMaster]

What about turning up the fader????

what is a fader?

 

[tmix]

you may try flipping the polarity of the mic or recorded track, the sound may be there, but if inverted to opposite your other mics will cancel itself out.

 

[jjulien]

when i noticed the problem I did some test recordings with just the kick drum and mic....nothing else.......played with the input value on the presonus firepod....the trim on my console (Cakewalk Sonar 7 console that is)....I even tried placement of the mic all around the outside of the drum in different locations front and back.......will try some positions inside the drum tonight.

 

[Farview]

Try a different mic and see if you have the same problem. The kick mic could be broken. IF it does the same thing with other mics, it's probably a mix problem. (meaning everything else in the mix is too loud)

 

[jjulien]

Well.....tried some different mic placements inside the drum.....I have it in there sideways....I read something about air movement......seems to sound great (well alot better) now! my line input is set at -10 db no clipping and hear it clear....

Thank you to everyone for the input!

 

[Farview]

Don't put it in sideways. That's only when you are using LDC's. It doesn't apply to an actual kick drum mic.

 

[jjulien]

Ok moved the mic .....so it's in the drum at a about 30 degree angle facing the pedal strike point on the skin about 4 inches away.....seems to sound good no clipping and line input set at -10 db........