Clicky Bass Drum

[Bang]

Remo Powerstroke4, Audix D6. Done.

[Methlab]

Drums is all about the engineering (duh).

But being on some really great metal drum sessions, what I see that is key is EQing and committing to a sound during tracking. API is a choice pre for this application.

Boosting 60hz, cutting around 200 and boosting 1k in combination with the right drum and mic can do magical things.

[BioMichanical]

I wouldn't put the mic close to the head, at the most put a D6 about 1/3 in. The further away you pull the mic, the more attack your going to get. I agree, you pretty much have to use samples to get away with the amount of snap you want from it, because you have to boost the living daylights out of high end EQ to get it to really cut through the mix. Whoever said they don't like how the kick sounds un-natural to them in metal is because they probably never mixed metal before. Metal has some of the best kick drumming in any genre of music, and therefore it must punch through the mix. That is a BIG part of what makes metal so intense. And as someone else who already stated with the amount of mids, highs, multiple layers of guitars and screaming/growling vocalists, cymbals, it's nearly impossible to get the kicks to be heard unless you cut the mids (where the guitars already take up most of the audio real-estate) boost the lows and go extreme on the highs, otherwise that kick will just get buried. Also, if you compress the kick, with a slow attack, this will also help.

I say use samples, but they can be sampled from the kit you are using. The reason is, with the extreme amount of treble boosting will obviously cause bleed from the snare/cymbals etc. Don't think its bad either, think of Pantera who uses triggers live, along with micing the kit. It's just the way it is, and it sounds good that way and you can blend them however you want. What I do is I make the drummer hit his kicks 4 seperate times and then EQ that and then use that as a sample to avoid getting the high end bleed. Which allows you to use that extra audio real-estate on something else. I also have the drummer hit the toms, and snare 4 seperate times and make samples with those. This ensures that the kit is still theirs, but I can do whatever drastic EQ settings I need to so that each tom, each kick beat, each snare is in your face and punchy the way it should be in metal.

Music is an art that is made of sound, how we create that sound, is what makes it what it is. Mixing metal, which is intense and has lots of distortion, requires someone to do some extreme mixing.

[headwerkn]

I find myself getting ace modern kick punk sounds with a D6 sitting just inside the resonant skin hole with the mic pointing at the beater - plenty of attack and lovely warm subs. A bit of EQ and comp work in the mix, and it sounds awesome. I've stopped bothering with another mic up close to the beater, just doesn't add anything.

[McGee]

Originally Posted by chadly

I know I'm feeding the troll, but that put a smile on my face.

It helps, because the Beta 52, in my experience, is incredibly flexible. Not hyped at all. You can use it all genres of music where you need a great kick mic. You have to work at it though: It's not pre-q'd like the D6. The original poster has a B52. It's not getting in his way.

To me, the D6 is a one-trick pony. It just does that trick really, really well!

I qouted cowrange because that exact setup, from head, pillow, patch and beater, worked like a charm. Posts like that get lost in the "noise." I felt it was constructive to reinforce it. A consensus, if you will.

And one final, parting shot to the troll, as I have no horse in this particular race: If my client wants X sound, or Y sound, it's my f'ing job to get it for 'em. They want "click" for a hard rock track I give them "click." I'm not here to pussy foot around about what I think it should be in a perfect world. I'm here to make their record sound like they imagined it.

Warmest regards to the original poster! Hopefully this doesn't go too far off track.

Yup, and if the majority of your client base are requesting typewriter kick drums (hopefully they aren't) it's not your job to interefere with their limited imaginations right?

What would you guys do if every band that came in to record insisted that they put some DX 7 synth all through the songs? Would you just do it? I suppose you guys would, because that's what the client wants right?

You could say, why don't you try my Jupiter 8, or my Nord, etc etc.

I'm making this point in vein, but the lack of imagination in this genre would appear to be 50% engineer/producer driven. Copycats.

[chadly]

Originally Posted by McGee

I'm making this point in vein, but the lack of imagination in this genre would appear to be 50% engineer/producer driven. Copycats.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree.

If a client wants something very particular, I argue it's our job to give it to them. Many times they look to us for direction, and in that case you make artistic calls that are appropriate to the genre and their/your vision.

If they ask for it by name and insist, it's not my place to deny them. I'll tell them if I disagree, or if maybe they're getting into "cliche' land" and it's in bad taste.

In this particular post, the original poster wanted to know how to get a clicky bass drum sound. If s/he was my client, I'd happily oblige. If the question was, should I use a clicky bass drum sound? that'd be a bit of a different thread.

This little debate we've been having on here belongs in a whole different thread. Something along the lines of Art vs. Commerce or Creative Industry vs. Service Industry.

Just my $.02. Happy 4th of July to those who celebrate it!

[RUSTE]

Sorry to hijack this thread but id thought id post here rather than start a new one. Ive just got a Audix D6 & ive yet to try it out but i want to use with my homemade subkick. Im looking for some sujestions on mic placement. Because of the subkick on the outside should i get the D6 right in there a few inches from the batter head of axis? Im looking for that slightly clicky but nice lovely low end to go with it. Im running a sonor 2007 birch with aquarian superkick 2 & regulater. Thanks in advance slutz

Russ

[edvdr76]

Originally Posted by RUSTE

Sorry to hijack this thread but id thought id post here rather than start a new one. Ive just got a Audix D6 & ive yet to try it out but i want to use with my homemade subkick. Im looking for some sujestions on mic placement. Because of the subkick on the outside should i get the D6 right in there a few inches from the batter head of axis? Im looking for that slightly clicky but nice lovely low end to go with it. Im running a sonor 2007 birch with aquarian superkick 2 & regulater. Thanks in advance slutz

Russ

The D6 sounds naturally clicky without eq. I place the mic right inside the hole in the front. I find that it gives me more options when mixing. If i want a little more snap, I'll add a little bit of highs. I'll usually use it together with a Subkick and blend them to taste. The drums have to be tuned right otherwise it will be very difficult to achieve a great drum sound.

[DannyMac]

Maybe I missed it, but I'm sure I haven't seen a post mention the Shure SM91. Metal Kick sound with F A effort. Boost at 5 K a tad and make sure there is a tight front skin on, job done.