Kick drum with no port, beta 52

[alcohol]

Since my experience is limited to my practice I could use some advice here. The drummer I'm going to be working with this weekend changed his bass drum resonant head to a closed head without a port. I came accross this situation unexpectantly once before and found that moving a beta 52 to the side of the drum head about 1/3 away from the rim sounded better than right in the middle. I didn't have any chance to experiment so I'm not sold that that was the best solution. I'm wondering what other soundmen's experience have taught them for placing a mic on a bass drum head without a port.

[Mogwix]

step 1: large diaphragm dynamic (like your beta 52) perpendicular to the resonant head, about halfway from the rim to the center of the drumhead, about an inch or two off the drumhead.

 

step 2: dynamic inst. mic (like an SM57, I use an Audix D1) as close as possible and pointed right at the where the beater impact point on the batter head. Getting the mic here without it being in the way of the drummer is really tricky, takes some experimentation. The D1 is nice because it's small and it's easier to get it in place without bugging the drummer.

 

step 3: flip the phase on one of the mics and blend to taste. I tend to use a lot of the batter mic with just enough of the reso mic to add some body to it.

 

you can get an entirely usable and pleasant kick drum sound that is full and punchy with just the reso mic, but I don't like doing that too much because it's hard to get the kick drum clear in the mix, unless it's something like jazz where the kick is supposed to be all punch.

[alcohol]

Mogwix,

 

Thanks, the above helps a lot.

 

Joe

[Rbts]

I saw this thing in the cateloge the other day... I have no idea if it is any good or not, but Earthworks has a good reputation generally although that reputation does include making some really expensive stuff. This little guy is not really that expensive if it is helpful.

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KickPad/

[Mogwix]

 

This little guy is not really that expensive if it is helpful.

 

Eh, it's awfully expensive for doing something you can do just as easily on your channel EQ.

[Craig Vecchione]

First/foremost, the drum has to sound good. Can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear and all that...

 

Experiment as much as time and your/the drummer's patience allows. Placement depends on tuning and personal sound preference, so don't be afraid to move things around. Worst case, it'll still sound like a kick drum no matter where it's placed, and 98.9% of folks won't know the diff.