Kick with 2 mics

[Daniëls NathanParticipant]

Hey

Is this a good setup for kick ? Shure beta 52a on the inside and akg p420. I get real weird wave forms and if i Flip fase On the outside one it gets also weird results. Do i have to blend one in the other or ? in pro tools the first is the kick in and de second is the kick out

[Guido tum SudenKeymaster]

Hi Nathan,

First the disclaimer: There's no right or wrong in music. If it sounds good it is good.
That just means if I make suggestions here and you find the results not as good as yours, go back to your setting even when the phase doesn't look so good after the first wave.

Since you are recording two different drum heads a change in the waveform is to be expected.
You wrote you get weird results. Does that mean it sounds weird or the waveforms look weird?

From the setting I can see, I would guess, you are aiming for a very low sound where the click of the kick is not that important.
If not and even if, try different settings and move the mic around in the kick.
For example: Move the Shure much further inside and the AKG to where the Shure it is now.
Or instead of the AKG use a dynamic vocal mic inside and leave the Shure where it is now. Or use that setting with the AKG as a third mic but move it further away from where it is now (if your room sounds good), in that case you have a mic for the beater, one for the low end of the drum head and one for the low sound of the resonance head.
Try more settings, even weird ones, then compare them and think about which one suits the song best.

Guido

[Ridge AndersonParticipant]

I've never tried the AKG P420 on the kick, but I just recently started using a mic like the beta 52 or AKG D112 in the hole and a Sennheiser e609 on the beater side of the drum towards the rim and it sounds incredible! Not quite what you were looking for, perhaps, but I was excited about the sounds I'm getting and wanted to share.

Ridge

[Paul MotionParticipant]

Hey Nathan, completely agree with the disclaimer from Guido...
I tended to use a D112 up close to the beater inside the drum and then an RE20 at the opening or just inside the shell. I'd occasionally make a tunnel with old carpet or whatever and get something tasty like a 67 or a 47, if there was one around, for some real boom... being mindful of phase alignment of course.

Also agree with Guido on trying a bunch of different things, even weird ones... as an assistant I'd have to spend a fair bit of time with my head next to the drums moving mics around for the engineer.. it's a wonder I can still hear!! 😀

best of luck

[Author]

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