Kick/Bass drum is what drives rock music. It's what makes hip hop danceable. It's how jazz drummers push the band. Such a special drum needs special treatment, especially in the studio!
First and foremost... you need good source material. Sound on Sound interviewed several professional engineers and it was nearly unanimous.
As with recording any instrument, the choice of drum and the manner of its tuning and preparation can make a huge difference to the sound you capture, so this should always be the place to start.So don't forget to tune the drums before you record - I wouldn't recommend the human-ear-sweet-spot positioning method though, unless you want to go deaf. Nile Rodgers goes so far as to say (in the SoS interview)
Even if the band uses one drum kit for the whole record, I want it tuned right for each song. We'll change the heads or tune it differently, all that kind of stuff. Sometimes we change the beaters... It all depends on how those frequencies are responding to the key of the music, to the pulse of the music. Every record is different, every song is different, every tape is different.It's important to note that there are a wide variety of opinions on how to get the best kick drum sound even among sound engineers. These are only some of the possibilities.
Microphone Placement
Joe Chiccarelli likes the two mic approach, which is especially popular in rock music.
"In most situations I tend to use two mics: one inside to gather the impact, and one outside to capture the “tone” – the overall note and picture of the drum."
If the drummer doesn't have a hole cut in the front head, or doesn't want one, you can point a mic at the contact point of the beater on batter head. This will deliver a similar *click* sound to a mic inside the drum. Be careful of sound bleeding into this mic though, since it's not shielded from the other sounds by the shell of the drum, you'll need to be wary of phase problems.
Adjusting the distance of the outside mic(s) is the best way to deal with phase problems, but if you don't have the time to experiment until you have the two mics in phase with each other (maximizing the amount of bass they pick up) you can always add a few ms of delay to one of the mics to get them in phase later on.
Chiccarelli also shares one of his tricks on how to get a processed/low-fi drum sound.
Old cassette decks with built-in limiters can deliver quite a quirky picture of a drum. It instantly sounds like a processed drum loop.He specifically mentions putting said cassette deck inside the bass drum, to get a squashed sound, as well as putting it in the room to pick up the whole kit.
Equalization
I'm not the first to come up with this, and many other (much more knowledgeable people) have already written up how EQ affects the kick drum sound. Here it is as Laskow states in his Taxi FAQ:
If you need more bottom end, try boosting @ 60 or 100Hz. Try rolling off lower mids (300-700Hz) to get rid of a box-like sound. To add more attack, try boosting in the 1K to 3K range.For bottom end there is no substitution for running a spectrum analyzer to find the fundamental frequency and boosting that specifically. Believe me it works 100 times better than just randomly boosting some random low frequency.
Also, Boosting between 600-900Hz will give you more punch. If necessary, you can try to reduce bleed from the cymbals by reducing above 3k with a LPF or a High Shelf.
Microphones
Close mics (the ones you put inside the kick, or point at the contact point of the beater) These are for capturing the attack:
For the outside/distance mics, large diaphragm microphones work well to capture the low frequencies:
- Neumann U47fet
- Audio-Technica AT4047
- Yamaha Subkick
If you're only going to use one microphone on the kick, you're better off using the one that can capture the attack and using a triggering plugin or an exciter to get the low end.
Again, what really matters is that the drums fit the mood/atmosphere of the song, not just "objectively good" drum sounds.
Keep on kickin!
stumbling it
9 comments:
Hey Jim -
I just discovered your blog and have now subscribed so I thought I'd say, Hey.
I jumped over to the interview with Joe Chiccarelli as well. I worked with Joe on the Shins' Wincing the night away, and enjoy comparing his day to day with what makes it into print.
I like the piece and have only one comment - which is general, and not directed at you.
My two cents may be devalued now, due to the weak dollar, but here they are.
The D112 is perhaps the most overrated mic in common use today.
The AKG D12 is a fantastic bass drum mic. The D112... well... not so much. Actually I get a queasy feeling in my stomach when I see that gawdawful green stripe.
Maybe if I worked on more heavy metal I'd hear things differently.
Honestly, I'd use a 57 any day over the 112. The sound is to recording as a stick figure is to life-drawing.
Anyway, keep up the good work. This was just an opportunity for me to vent - I like what you're doing.
Cheers
Sean Flora
Portland
I agree with the D112 comment. Not so much a fan. I've had pretty good success with an Audix D6 in the sound hole and an Earthworks SR25 (without the KickPad) on the head. The D6, depending on your EQ, can deliver great punch, a flat bass, or your full range click depending on what style of music you are recording. The SR25 is great on either head for beater click or higher end harmonics to make it sound like your head is inside the kick drum (minus the hearing loss side effects).
The problems with the SR25 is that it picks up the entire kit. With a gate and some creative EQ'ing however, you can get a perfect kick sound every time. Also, mic placement on the head is fairly critical. If you place it wrong it sounds like your hitting a basketball with a rubber stick. Following Jim's bit about placement and phasing, you can find the correct position for the mic.
There's my 2 cents on mic'ing kick drums. Thanks to Jim for the great advice.
Rob Tice
WRPI Sound Engineer
Troy, NY
Mat i suggest SM7B
An SM7B is a glorified SM57. Its essentially the same cartridge. They're good as cheap broadcast mics.
Rob Tice
WRPI Sound Engineer
Troy, NY
Don't know how many have tried it but if given the chance, try tossing a Shure Beta 91...yeah yeah, I know,"But that's a boundary mic!!"
Trust me, it rocks for just about any type of music. It can handle the SPL of any drummer, has a insane response rate, and gives the cleanest look, no stand needed, and the nutbag singer can't run up on the drum riser and knock your properly placed and aimed mic onto the stage below. Just remember to remind the drummer (or his tech) not to go grabbing the kick drum off the riser before you take it out. Those damn cables get expensive after a while. they are in my opinion, the mic that gives the greatest range and dynamics to capture the natural sound of the kick or enable you to shape it to just about anything your experienced enough to do.
Happy Mixin!
Ben Ortega-CTS,CSC,CPT
Las Vegas, NV
You completely forgot the Audix D6...It is a great kick mic...I switch off between that and a Shure Beta 52....
Audix D6.
audix d6 sucks!
The Audix D6 only sucks if you don't know how to use it properly.
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