Multiple micing on bass drum

C

Call-Of-Ktulu

Rockaholic
If i was going to mic a bass drum 3 or 4 times to get a thick rocky sound in which spots would i be putting all the mics? And I was watching a live metallica concert DVD and they have a SM57 on the snare drum and the snare sound is really snappy. I know its different in a studio but how did they get that sound there?
 
Good drum. Tuned well. Played by a good drummer. Mic placement optimal.

Those things will get you a lot better results than using more microphones.
 
No need to have 3-4 mics on the kick. One is usually enough if you have a good sounding room, and make good use of room mics. If you "overmic" it, you'll most likely run into phase problems, which will absolutely ruin your low end. A good mic pre and a mic that can handle the sheer volume of a kick drum is key.

Many times in rock music the kick triggers a sample or samples in the mix anyway.
 
2 mics would probably be the most I would ever use for kick, maybe one pointing to where the beater hits and one farther away probably also pointing at the kick (where exactly depends on many factors), to get some more of the dry thuddy sound.

It mostly has to do with the drums, it's not extremely hard to get a drumset to sound like itself when recorded, but it's takes some time and experience to get good at it. In my opinion, a snare drum is probably one of the easiest instruments to mic when it sounds good in the first place. Also keep in mind that Metallica has access to some of the best gear made, so they have that going for them which is nice.

Also, if you listen to early Metallica (kill 'em all is one of my favorite albums ever) the drums don't exactly sound that huge or full or snappy or any of that, but they rock so hard that it still sounds unbelievable. If you have an amazing band the sounds will come, so concentrate on that first and foremost. If your guitar players suck your drums are never going to sound good (this could be argued, but I think you catch my drift).

Long live Burton era Metallica.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top