Help!!!KIck Drum Placement

[Cardona]

What is KICK IN vs KICK OUT????

[howlingwolf487]

Haha...yeah, that can be confusing.

Alright, here's how it goes:

"Kick In" refers to the microphone that is placed on the inside of the kick drum, usually a boundary microphone of sorts, or maybe an omnidirectional lavalier that can handle the extreme SPL. Shure's Beta91 is an example.

"Kick Out" refers to a second microphone, placed next to the resonant head of the kick drum. These are the "kick drum mics" that you see advertised and sold at many stores. Shure's Beta52, AKG's D112, and Audix's D6 are common examples. You may want to try flipping the POLARITY (not phase) on this channel. Every other microphone covering the drumkit is having positive pressure applied to its diaphragm from the sound generated by hitting the batter head of the drum. Thus, the other microphones are flexing the opposite direction that the kick drum mic's diaphragm is when it is used on the resonant head. This polarity flip keeps the whole kit in polarity and can lead to a more full kit sound.

Let your ears be your guide - if it sounds good, it IS good. Oh, and don't spend a lot of time getting the kick "just right". No one's there to hear the kick drum - they want the whole kit or band or whatever.

Sometimes, when there is no hole in the resonant head of the kick drum (and there is not much chance of bleed from other parts of the kit or nearby instruments) you can place a mic by the batter head. It can be annoying for the drummer and you, as placement is pretty important.

Before any EQ is applied, I would work with mic placement - move the "Kick In" mic closer to the batter head for more "slap" or "click" or, my preferred word, "attack". Move it further away for less "attack". The "Kick Out" mic can be adjusted similarly.

It should be noted that the two mics are usually blended and not used independently, so that they combine to achieve the desired kick drum sound.

Happy experimenting!

P.S. - for some more fun, you can sidechain a signal generator into a gate that is opened by the kick drum. Set the generator's frequency at 40Hz and get ready for the rumble or around 62Hz for some thumpage! Adjust and blend to taste...it helps, of course, if your system has that low-frequency extension. If you have aux-fed subs, even better.

Now then, look up some of these terms and learn some more!!!

[AlexD]

Also, though I think this might only be a good recording technique and I haven’t used this for live bands yet but I have hung an AKG D112 through the screw hole in the top of the kick drum (hanging it on the XLR cable taped to the shell of the kick drum). This works rather well, picks up a deeper sound. The only problem with this is that the toms are normally in that hole.

[howlingwolf487]

AlexD,

There are a number of ports on the kick drum (and the others, as well) that could be put to use for the same thing. There are also drum mics that are permanently mounted inside the shell with XLR connectors that you just plug right into. The good ones are shockmounted and positioned carefully and securely.

I think that a dual-mic technique can be great, especially if you want to vary the tone of the reinforced kick drum from song-to-song or whatever.

No matter what, if the drum is not tuned properly and played well, the end result will be less-than-stellar. Garbage In = Garbage Out.

[AlexD]

OO installed kick drum mics, they sound interesting. Ye I do agree with the two mic kick drum technique that is if you have the mics on hand.

[TimmyP1955]

Feel free to experiment. "Outside" mics can also be used inside. Sometimes even the manufacturer changes their mind. When the Beta52 and D6 came out, their makers said to use them just peeking into the hole in the front head (if there is a hole). Now Audix says to stick the D6 inside, and Shure gives several recommendations for the Beta52.

Although the Beta91 is very popular, I've never been fond of it (and many who like it still prefer its predecessor the SM91). Although I've used the E901 in only one drum, it sounded better than I've ever heard a Beta91 sound. I'm currently experimenting with the PR40 (not a cheapie).