Still, this might be okay for many applications. Here, the level of sub and lows are represented the most, but a lot of bleed from the cymbals and snare drum will also be picked up here. But there are a couple of easy tricks we can use with an instrument like this to improve and achieve an even more precise and accurate result.įor a super-low-end kick drum sound the best placement is at the hole, just on the outer side of the front head. If the kick drum has a hole in the front head, interior placement is an easy way to capture a punchy and consistent kick drum sound.
In this case, the drummer can either choose to have a mic permanently installed inside the bass drum or live with the reduced attack by miking the bass drum from the outside.
Occasionally, a rock drummer will also choose not to have a hole cut in the front head to have even more low end. The typical rock drummer will choose a fairly thick batter head or even a 2-ply head and tune it very low, to gain maximum attack and low end. This allows a mic to be placed inside the bass drum, to get more attack when the beater hits the batter head. The standard rock bass drum has a 22" diameter (and often even 24" to 26") and a hole in the front head. And very often the jazz bass drum will not have a hole in the front head making it necessary to place the mic outside the front head, with a more round, mid-range heavy sound. Typically, a more jazz-oriented drummer will choose a smaller size (down to 18" or smaller), thin heads and high-pitch tuning. The sound of the bass drums differs a lot with the drummer’s choice of size, heads, tuning, muffling and whether or not there is a hole in the front head. The bass (kick) drum is the largest sound source of the entire drum kit and also the one with the lowest frequencies. For this reason, close miking requires a dependable mounting solution.
Keeping it there can be even more challenging, especially if the instrument is moved. Yet often, mounting a microphone directly on the instrument is the most practical solution.įinding and placing the microphone in the instrument’s sweet spot – or your preferred location, can be a challenge. An instrument’s sound is usually designed to be experienced at a distance so that all the different elements of the sound are naturally blended into a perfect harmony. Try these methods out, but make sure to listen and choose the best solution for your specific situation.Ĭlose miking an instrument is often considered to be a compromise to the instrument’s true acoustic sound.
Please remember, great sound is subjective and the miking methods described in this article are suggestions only. It will discuss the best type of microphone for the job and suitable placement options. This article will give you some guidelines on close miking a bass (kick) drum.
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