Kick Drum micing

[TheArchitect]

Has anyone here successfully miced a bass drum with an unported reso head for a rock / fusion project without putting a mic on the batter head from the outside?

How was the drum set up as far heads and muffling?

[BigJamesBoy]

Is there a reason for not removing the outside head?

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by BigJamesBoy

Is there a reason for not removing the outside head?

Some drummers prefer no port hole. The vast majority of drummers would not remove the head. Port holes are standard.
i don't like the sound that much myself, but think some people have probably made it work.

[biggator6]

Why no batter-head mic?

You can get a decent sound with a reso-head mic only.. but I doubt you can make it work for everything - it'll be very 'thumpy'. For the right song, it can work just fine.

[mrmike186]

I would use little muffling and try micing just off center. Should work just fine but you won't get a real short stuccato Stealy Dan sound but you will get more of an open boomy Zeplin sound. FWIW Bonham tuned his bass drum fairly high and used a 26 inch drum

I like kind of an in between sound with a small whole in the front head and the mic just inside. If I want more attack I move the mic closer to the beater.

[TheArchitect]

Originally Posted by BigJamesBoy

Is there a reason for not removing the outside head?

Its not 1979?? LOL j/k

[TheArchitect]

Originally Posted by biggator6

Why no batter-head mic?

You can get a decent sound with a reso-head mic only.. but I doubt you can make it work for everything - it'll be very 'thumpy'. For the right song, it can work just fine.

Bleed primarily. This is for a little personal side project I'm tinkering with. Just looking to explore some out of the box ideas and some not so out of the box ideas.

[biggator6]

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

Bleed primarily. This is for a little personal side project I'm tinkering with. Just looking to explore some out of the box ideas and some not so out of the box ideas.

You could go with all ambient mics.. overhead, room and front-of-kit. Depending on the song, it can work great.

[Nutmeg II.]

Mic in kick with the with the cable coming out of the tom mount or the vent hole.
A little soldering action might be needed.

Some kind of PZM/boundry mic under the snare right at the kick.
This will serve as kick mic as well as the under the snare mic.

Last option would be building some kind of sound barrier between the batterhead mic and the other stuff around it.

[cortisol]

A couple of weeks ago I saw a band doing exactly what you said at a gig. The soundguy mic'd the kick almost dead centre and EQ'd it to taste.

I thought that it came out well. What I like about miking the resonant head ported or unported is that it is possible to capture the whoomph and splat of air moving and it does have a presence to it. This whoomph and splat can cut through a mix like the attack from the beater but in a different aesthetic.

For recording - to get optimal results will depend on the tuning ie the pitch and one-notey aspect that can creep in and any dampening you might want to add. You can use a dedicated kick drum mic or a LDC and you can back them off too! I usually build a kick tunnel.

Peace,
cortisol

[FirstLoveStudio]

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

Bleed primarily. This is for a little personal side project I'm tinkering with. Just looking to explore some out of the box ideas and some not so out of the box ideas.

I've got a front skin AND and mic inside the drum by suspending a D112 on an xrl which enters the drum through a hole in the shell (formerly used for mounting toms. For me, this means I've got all bases covered as I can get good front skin sounds and inside impact...

[FirstLoveStudio]

Originally Posted by Nutmeg II.

Mic in kick with the with the cable coming out of the tom mount or the vent hole.
A little soldering action might be needed.

Some kind of PZM/boundry mic under the snare right at the kick.
This will serve as kick mic as well as the under the snare mic.

Last option would be building some kind of sound barrier between the batterhead mic and the other stuff around it.

Ha! - 'what he said' - I should read the thread...

[cheu78]

I found a good solution for a jazz drummer that didn't want to cut an hole in the reso head...
I just took an hot needle and I made some small holes in the center in order to have some air moving to the mic...works good for me (and for him too)..
another idea could be the MAY system (or putting some boundary mic in the bass drum as somebody already said)
I would like to try an e604 on the ring of the bassdrum pointing to the beater (beater side obviously) for the punch, combined with another mic (like the D112 or similar) in front...
be sure to check the phase though..

just my 0.02$,
Bests,
Cheu

[rico52]

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

Has anyone here successfully miced a bass drum with an unported reso head for a rock / fusion project without putting a mic on the batter head from the outside?

How was the drum set up as far heads and muffling?

I record like this all the time. I put an Audio Technica ATM 25 about 5 " out in line with the beater. I lean a small pillow on the bottom of the reso head to muffle it some. I do boost the mid highs {8K} and cut the highs {12K} so I get punch and definition from the drum but not the cymbal bleed. Some times I gate it but usually not as it adds to the overall ambiance of the entire kit. In the final analysis I get a nice warm
puncy sound with out to much of the click.
I often think of getting a reso head with a port and sticking the mic in there like most do but I figure why mess with a good thing!!!!!!!!!!
The heads are Remo Powerstroke 3's. I use a hard beater too.