Recording this wednesday. Need help with kick drum!

[twjewett]

Hi. Does anyone have any experience of recording a kick drum without the resonator head? I'll be in the studio and i'm wanting to sweet spot the mic and thought it would be a lot easier without the resonator head on.

Thanks, Thomas

[Admiral James T.]

It's totally different, you'll never get a huge tone that way. It's gonna be more like BAP than BOOM. That doesn't mean it ain't pleasing, I'll do it quite often if I want that sleazy early seventies rock sound. I've seen some Stones studio footage from around '70 where they did it that way. Besides that you'll get some more crosstalk, but I wouldn't mind about that.
So, if it suits the sound, go for it. If you're not sure and haven't got the time to try, leave the reso on.

[twjewett]

Thanks for the instant reply. I don't have the time to experiment to be honest. Anything you recommend for both the batter and reso in terms of tuning?

Cheers,
Thomas

[Admiral James T.]

There are loads of theories about that, it depends on the drummer, on the band, on the style.
For like 1950-68 sound I tune the drums high (not too high), for "newer" stuff I like 'em quite low. I try to tune the reso the same as the batter head as a start, but mostly end up tuning the reso down like a semitone. But that's just the way I do it, and I ain't no drummer...

[narcoman]

quick approach in nearly any situation is to mic off centre about two or three inches inside. If you have the "resonant" head on - just at the hole is good. With no hole - then you REALLY better get the tuning right.

usable results with little prep would be with the audix d4 (?) mic...

[Steffmo]

If the head is on keep a couple of fluffy towels or similar around. Often just folding one up and sitting it across the bottom of the drum just kissing the reso head helps a lot.

[beechstudio]

I almost always throw a sound blanket over the front of the kick if I'm not using the front head. It helps control leakage and tames the sound a bit. I take 2 mic stands and build a little tunnel frame for the blanket. It also seems to work better if you leave the front of the blanket open just a bit so you don't completely smoother the 'blast' from the kick sound. I've had good results using this technique with a 421 about halfway in the kick, and a couple inches off center.

[Capstan Cappy]

most factory reso heads have the hole diameter too small i.m.o. wich limits the lowest frequency you can tune the kick at , any diameter that wont let u take a mic through the hole is too small , take it off and you can go as low as the kick is able too..mic at the hole of the reso head was never my favourite, lots of wind and hardly any kettle sound, but i guess it depends on what u want..

light blanket in kettle to calm the kick down a bit , tune it, put microphone about 15 cm from the beater, little off centre and u should have a good starting point, then finetune it

goodluck

[RODROD]

Originally Posted by Admiral James T.

It's totally different, you'll never get a huge tone that way. It's gonna be more like BAP than BOOM. That doesn't mean it ain't pleasing, I'll do it quite often if I want that sleazy early seventies rock sound. I've seen some Stones studio footage from around '70 where they did it that way. Besides that you'll get some more crosstalk, but I wouldn't mind about that.
So, if it suits the sound, go for it. If you're not sure and haven't got the time to try, leave the reso on.

Its all how you Eq, tune, and mix it! Make sure you take out some 200-350hz to get that nice pillow affect.

[Admiral James T.]

Originally Posted by RODROD

Its all how you Eq, tune, and mix it! Make sure you take out some 200-350hz to get that nice pillow affect.

Sure. But I usually try to get the sound I want from the instrument and the microphone. I try to set it up right so it sounds the way I want it. I hardly ever use eq on that, unless I really need to or want to "make it sound special". Ok, you won't get no Nickelback sounds from me...