Ribbon inside a kick drum

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DM1

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I can't find the reference right now, but I read a thread about putting a ribbon mic *inside* a kick drum, but sideways so the beater is in the mic's null. Supposedly gets a great tone off the shell.

Has anyone here tried this? I'm curious, but afraid. (Even though I just have an Apex 210, I don't wanna punish it unnecessarily.)
 
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ummmm......

I don't know what type of spl modern ribbons can take but i'm gonna say no.
 
I remember seeing a Royer (IIRC) recommendation for out side of the kick. But wouldn't inside be a low frequency hell hole for a ribbon no mater where it was aimed?
 
Inside...hummm I don't know. They can take a pretty hot spl but I'd be more worried about the rattling it would take from the air moving around and IF it made contact with the drum shell or head, one good thwaap and she's done for.

I also wouldn't put it any where near the sound hole if it has one cut out.

I've used them out front and to be honest, I wasn't too jacked about it. I've used them as OH and boundary mics with real tasty results, especially for jazz and fusion stuff.
 
*Inside* the kick?

Only if you're looking for an excuse to replace your ribbon mic....
 
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yea...ribbon mics can handle massive SPL's, but the force generated by a kick drum will trash the ribbon element in the mic. there might be a chance it'll survive with the ribbon turned away from the beater like you mentioned, but i wouldn't try it
 
Not inside, but outside and at an angle.

From what I've read, a ribbon can take a kick drum's force so long as the ribbon is not parallel to the head. If it's at an angle, then it doesn't get the full force of the air, but still captures the sound.
 
I just read something, I think, in Tape Op about using a Royer mic outside a kick. If I could afford a Royer, I wouldn't be putting it inside, not unless I wanted to hear what a murdered mic sounded like. How d'you like the Apex mic? I'm thinking about getting one soon.
 
I wouldn't on a kick, for sure. I've used a Beyer M160 on snares for years without problems however. Sometimes it sounds great.
 
I read a trick in EM about using a figure 8 ribbon with the positive side pointing (at an angle) at the beater side of the kick and the negative side aimed at the snare to get more of each.
 
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