PA Guys, a question for you!

[EBS_freak]

Kick in - mic inside the kick drum

Kick out - mic outside the kickdrum

 

One will give you the subby lows without the attack, one gives you less sub but will give you more thwack!

 

Typically Id use a Sennheiser e901 internally and something like a D6 on the outside - although the D6 is a great one mic solution as it gives a great bass and click sound on its own (some people find the D6s sound a little too prebaked for some genres of music however).

Historically the subkick would have done the same role as the kick in mic... but in itself won't give enough beater/click sound to give the kick a lot of definition.

[Ben Jamin]

Beta 91A in and Beta 52A out in our venue!

Are the subkicks any good in your opinion @EBS_freak? I've never tried one but there's a lot of hype!

[EBS_freak]

16 hours ago, Passinwind said:

Kick

Snare

OH

Done.

 

I reckon you could take that down to a kick and oh with the right oh condenser coming over the drummer shoulder pointing towards the snare.

I say reckon, I often do!

[cheddatom]

As a drummer I'd always prefer an overhead to a close mic on the snare (if we have to compromise on channels) 

[EBS_freak]

2 minutes ago, Ben Jamin said:

Beta 91A in and Beta 52A out in our venue!

Are the subkicks any good in your opinion @EBS_freak? I've never tried one but there's a lot of hype!

It all depends on the sound you want and what ideas you subscribe to. Does it pick up more bass? Yup. Do you want more bass - well, maybe not. With all those lows comes a lack of control.

For when that sort of thing is required, a trigger reigns supreme. Otherwise, In addition to the standard gate, eq and compressor, get on the transient designer in parallel to up the attack on the kick.

Or you could run a subharmonic generator with the kick...

Or if you want the tightest lowest bass, run a low sinewave that is triggered from the kickdrum gate.

[EBS_freak]

5 minutes ago, cheddatom said:

As a drummer I'd always prefer an overhead to a close mic on the snare (if we have to compromise on channels) 

Exactly - it's odd that it's the loudest element (depending upon cymbals in use) of the kit that most drummers insist on micing as a priority... especially when a miced snare doesn't always sound the best without the wires miced...

[cheddatom]

14 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Exactly - it's odd that it's the loudest element (depending upon cymbals in use) of the kit that most drummers insist on micing as a priority... especially when a miced snare doesn't always sound the best without the wires miced...

It's just the done thing to mic the snare isn't it, people get set in their ways and forget to use their ears

[Andytre]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

[Ignorance alert] What do you mean by "Kick In, Kick Out", Russ? [/Ignorance]

 

means he stands there with the kick mic only putting it in when the drummer hits the kick drum, saves money on buying expensive Gates... at least that's what I've been doing......

[EBS_freak]

18 minutes ago, cheddatom said:

It's just the done thing to mic the snare isn't it, people get set in their ways and forget to use their ears

Well, you've got to pretend at least you know what you are doing when you are trying to get your kit over the volume of a backline of amps all running full tilt. Screw everything else! :-p

[MoJoKe]

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

[Ignorance alert] What do you mean by "Kick In, Kick Out", Russ? [/Ignorance]

 

[Sound engineers yacking on a Bass players forum, not a sound engineers forum alert!]   Ideally a boundary mic (My preference is a Shure Beta 91a) inside the shell, and a second mic (Audix D6 all the way, it has such a nice punchy smack to it!) on the outside of the front head   [/forgiven!]

[MoJoKe]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Or you could run a subharmonic generator with the kick...

I send the kick out to an octaver to fatten it up...

[EBS_freak]

Many ways!

[mrtcat]

We use a acoustic drum kit that's been converted to electronic running through superior drummer so my mix goes:

1. Drums

Took some tweaks to sort any latency but since then it has been great. Whole band on in ears so silent stage and total control of foh mix in everything from tiny pubs to huge marquees. We never have to worry about noise limiters and as we invested in great pa gear rather than backline we know our pa can outperform even the best boutique backline. Sadly, with no mush in our sound, any mistakes come across loud and clear 

[Passinwind]

8 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I reckon you could take that down to a kick and oh with the right oh condenser coming over the drummer shoulder pointing towards the snare.

I say reckon, I often do!

Yep, that's a pretty standard approach at some of the outdoor festival stages I play. Saves a ton of time at changeover,  which counts for a lot. Being primarily a more or less traditional jazz player, I love how it sounds too.

 

 

[BreadBin]

As requested! 

[MoJoKe]

So.....    tarantarantaraaaa!  big reveal time...

I fully agree with all comments here, there is no "one way" or "best way" to mic drums...  big books are written on this subject, and certainly many hours of debate amongst those who have an educated opinion...!   as said, often the simpler the better.  It happens the band I mainly work with configure with mics on everything, and multiples (top, rattle, in, out, etc) where the venue acoustics will allow it to make a difference without over complicating life.  The venue I did on Saturday night was a massive and lofty old lime plastered stone barn with at least 1.5 sec reverb, so minimal mic-ing is the only way to go (though as they use in-ears and no backline, I always close mic everything, so they can get a better in-ear mix, but the FOH mix never sees them!)

No. 2.  I was always told that you go outward from the kick (kick, snare, hats) and then around the outside from the snare side...

This then places Kick and Snare next to each other on the desk for easier, more logical, mixing.  Once set, I always put the whole kit in a DCA group anyway, so I rarely fiddle with individual levels unless I have to.

Thank you for your input!

@Dad3353 remind me I'll need to write you a cheque or send you a postal order for 25p...  which would you prefer?  haha!

[Dad3353]

10 minutes ago, MoJoKe said:

... @Dad3353 remind me I'll need to write you a cheque or send you a postal order for 25p...  which would you prefer?  haha!

Nah, my accountant says it'd push me over into the high-tax bracket. Pop it into the tin for the poor of the parish. 

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