Kick Drum Wizardry - Pro Audio - General

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8/17/2007 8:32 PM

	Rip Rowan
79 posts
www.prorec.com

Kick Drum Wizardry

Got some ideas on recording kick drum that I didn't cover in my article? Tell us about it!

Rip Rowan - ProRec Editor-in-Chief

8/17/2007 11:55 PM

	kdevries
33 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

You made reference to the Audix D4. Did you mean D6? If not, which one is a better kick mic?

www.kennydevries.com

8/18/2007 6:59 AM

	Rip Rowan
79 posts
www.prorec.com

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

Well, I meant D4, but the D6 is also a good kick drum mic. The D6 has a wildly exaggerated frequency response curve. Hard to say if it will sound good with a particular drum. I'm not a fan of Audix mics in general, but some people like them and get good results from them, so they're worth mentioning.

Rip Rowan - ProRec Editor-in-Chief

8/18/2007 7:03 AM

	JimmyC
13 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

I tried a D6 and didn't like it. Seems like you hear the mic more than the drum. In fact, I think that's sort of the basic point of the design - the mic has such a sound of it's own that it makes getting a consistent sound "easy" since it isn't particularly affected by the source.

8/18/2007 2:49 PM

	Leo Alvarez
10 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

I had the same experience with the D-6. I think it'll work on cirtain situations but it's defenitelly hit or miss. One mic that has another very characteristic sound

is the Sennheiser e-602 but unlike the D-6 it seems to work (at least for me) in almost every context I've used it. The sound is big in the low end and good attack but not the exaggerated click og the D-6. It's not a natural sounding mic but it for pop and rock it always seems to work.

8/18/2007 2:52 PM

	Leo Alvarez
10 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

I had the same experience with the D-6. I think it'll work on cirtain situations but it's defenitelly hit or miss. One mic that has another very characteristic sound

is the Sennheiser e-602 but unlike the D-6 it seems to work (at least for me) in almost every context I've used it. The sound is big in the low end and good attack but not the exaggerated click of the D-6. It's not a natural sounding mic but for pop and rock it always seems to work.

8/19/2007 8:53 AM

	miroslav
24 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

I use the Sennheiser e602 inside the Kick...about 2-4 inches back off the batter head, off-center but angled toward the beater.
I get a big fat Kick with lots of low-end THUMP...but it never gets muddy.

When I mix that in with the M/S overhead pair...I can get many different flavors just by moving the Kick mic fader up/down in the mix...

miroslav

8/20/2007 10:12 AM

	Leo Alvarez
10 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

If you really want to go all put try using the e-602 in the position you stated and adding a Yamaha Sub-Kick in front of the kick. Print them on separate tracks for a truly flexible sound combo.

By the way does anyone know how to delete a post? I made a couple of mistakes on my previous one and after correcting it it just posted again with the corrections, a little help please?

Thanx

8/21/2007 3:52 PM

	miroslav
24 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

Yeah...I've thought about the Yamaha Sub-Kick...but I'm not hurting for low-end THUMP with my current configuration.

And since I have an M/S overhead pair...I jusr blend in the e602 track with the stereo Kit tracks as needed, and I can go from a lighter/distant sounding Kick drum to a huge, fat, THUMPING Kick drum just by pushing the e602 fader up/down in the mix.

Oh...you can't edit/delet yet...I asked the same thing!

I think the next Forum software upgrade will add some more functionality...

miroslav

6/20/2008 9:59 AM

	d
2 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

Regarding the front-of-kit "room" kick mic and compression:

A couple of friends of mine were having a conversation and discussed using a dynamic or self-powered condenser (like an AKG C-1000) through a Boss compression stomp box. I tried this once on a song with a sparse arrangement, using just this mic (it was a 57) and two distant room mics. Needless to say, it wasn't a photographic presentation of the drums by a long shot, but gave a huge, meaty, unnatural, almost techno-like slam to the kick and the snare while preserving an exaggerated "live" vibe.

7/3/2008 9:36 AM

	hogiewan
11 posts

Re: Kick Drum Wizardry

I liked the article. The one question I had after reading that you used the front-of-kit mic alone on a track was whether an M/S pair would work well in that role. You'd definitely get more room sound, but using that post-matrix stereo track as your "parallel compression" mix might work very well.

I only have an electronic lit in my home studio, so I have no way to test this. One day . . .

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