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Old 24th November 2003   #7
dave-G
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Although it may not help you now, I'd just suggest that most of the sound of a kick drum is created by the preparation of the drum itself, by how it's hit, and thus, by the player. Most of the mics suggested are capable of doing a good job.

On the drum itself, fresh, properly chosen, and well-tuned heads are important...

Also, I often like to try a different beater on the kick pedal. Sometimes a wood beater gives the kind of "pap" that puts itself into the right spot in the mix. Other beaters with the felt in front can be reversed for a similar hard-surface smack.

Third, try a pop-filter. Especially on drums with a small hole cut in the outer head, there can be a fairly decent gust of air with each kick that can add mud to the bottom of the sound of the kick. A stocking-style popper-stopper placed in front of your mic can make a huge difference in tightening and clearing things up.

Finally, with the player, you may have some problems with the way they hit it. Some drummers are very adept at changing between pressing the beater into the head, and bouncing it off. Other drummers have no clue that there's a difference, but many times, when I've walked out into the tracking space to make the suggestion, I've found that some drummers are quite capable of adapting to one way or another.

I don't know about you, but as much as I love microphone, preamp and compressor combinations, and as useful as soundreplacer can be... I'd much rather let the drum and the drummer do all the work.

-dave
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