mxl 990 on kick drum

[CyraxTheRobot]

I heard somewhere that you can get a pretty good sound out of your kick drum with an mxl 990. Does anyone know how this is done?

 

[distortedrumble]

i wouldnt aim it at the hole and i would put a 10db roll off pad on it.

 

[Markd102]

Hmmmm, I don't think I'd be putting a small diaphram condenser in a kick drum...... but I've seen stranger things happen

 

[mattamatta]

I've done it before. It was all right. I had the front head off, and put it just sorta right in front of drum, not really inside it, pretty much right in the middle. Sounded pretty much just like what the drum sounds like in person, but I found that the sound didn't take compression very well at all, so it was hard to get a heavy modern sound with it.

Combined with a dynamic closer up it could probably do some good.

 

[MadAudio]

I don't think I'd be putting a small diaphram condenser in a kick drum

Is the 990 technically an SDC? It's sold as an LDC. Maybe you're thinking of the 991 which is an SDC. And though I've never used a condensor for a kick mic, if I was going to I'd try placing it 2 or 3 inches away from the kick, slightly offset yet poited at the beater spot. I have a couple of 990s sitting around,so I may just have to try this for myself.

 

[Markd102]

Is the 990 technically an SDC? It's sold as an LDC. Maybe you're thinking of the 991 which is an SDC.

The guts of the 990 and 991 are basically the same. The 990 is simply a side address SD condenser.
Hold it up to the light and have a look. It's a small capsule in a chunky housing.

I think the main reason that people have been disappointed with the 990 is that they are trying to use it as a LDC.

 

[chessrock]

I think the main reason that people have been disappointed with the 990 is that they are trying to use it as a LDC.

Ding ding ding ding ding ! !

 

[travelin travis]

I bought one thinking it was a LDC......the body of it is deceiving. It was my first condensor mic which I used for vocals and acoustic guitar. It's not too good for vocals, ok for acoustic guitar, and terrible on a guitar amp.......wish I had known it was'nt a LDC before I bought it. Anyway I sent it back and am shopping for a new LDC.

 

[Markd102]

I went looking for one simply because the shock-mount fits my TLM-103. Then when I found they were so cheap I thought I may as well get a pair.
They actually work really well as drum overheads. I've used them live for this too.

And also because they were cheap, I pulled one apart. That's when I discovered it wasn't an LDC.

 

[Sklathill]

I gotta say: The CAD E-100 is one of the best things you can possibly put in front of a kick. Like the MXL 990, the CAD is a small diaphragm side-address, not an LDC.

Of course there are plenty of other differences...not the least of which is polar pattern and SPL rating...

In any case, don't knock a concept just because it doesn't seem to jive with general practice or tradition...

 

[Markd102]

Noone's knocking the concept.

 

[Sklathill]

Guess I misread your earlier comment. Ah well... I definitely wouldn't call it a strange concept, though. Pretty natural, actually...well, at least to me, especially with my limited mic collection...

Can't remember where it was that I read the 990 is killer on bass amp...either recording or EM...

 

[Markd102]

Yeah, I was just saying the "I" wouldn't do it, but I have plenty of other "better" options. I certainly wasn't saying you can't.
And the fact that it's not an LDC like many people think adds to the occasions it's used for applications it's really not suited to.

But, of course, experimentation is the name of the game in the studio. You never know what you'll come up with.