Interesting Kick Miking Technique

aldaraia · Post by **aldaraia** » Mon May 16, 2011 11:26 pm

I was browsing pictures of Joe Barresi's studio a while ago, and saw something that caught my attention. It was, what appeared to be, a drum set, with the kick miked up with another kick in front of it. I've never seen anything like that, and I wanted to know if any of you could elaborate to me why that may be beneficial. Figured I may give it a try next time I'm tracking drums if it's appropriate, and I can surmise that it has something to do with resonance and low end extension but I could just be talking out of my ass.

Thoughts?

timh · Post by **timh** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:03 am

are you sure it wasnt one of these?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SubKick/

ive always wondered what those things sounded like...

Theo_Karon · Post by **Theo_Karon** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:26 am

Nope. Not a subkick, though those are awesome too. I did this on a session yesterday, actually- I keep a 26" marching bass drum around for just this reason. The drum resonates in sympathy with the played kick, adding a whole bunch of "thump" and low-end sustain to the sound. I like to gate it with the "real" kick patched into the key input of that gate and then compress to taste- can be anything from subtle to pretty crazy. Try it- you might like it!

This is also a great way to rejuvenate a dead or flat sounding recorded kick- reamp the track through a loudspeaker capable of decently representing low end, put it in front of a kick drum, mic it up, and record the results. The tuning of the sympathetic kick makes a huge difference.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue May 17, 2011 4:17 am

I actually do that all the time (or used to; there really isn't enough space in our current tracking room).

It works great. If you can get them close enough, you can throw a blanket or rug over to "close the tunnel." You can also try different mike positions inside the "super bass drum," and you can even use a separate bass drum with a front head on it facing the open bass drum with the mike inside (so you're not getting the bass drum extension as much as the resonance/responce from the head of the second drum).

I don't know how long this trick has been around, but I think I first saw Denny Fongheiser using it in the late 80's or early 90's. I'm not sure if he invented it or not, but it's a great idea!

GJ

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue May 17, 2011 4:20 am

Oh, didn't see Theo's post... That's it-- "sympathetic kick!"

GJ

Bender83 · Post by **Bender83** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:36 pm

That is amazing. Thank you for this information! I'm always complaining about wanting more thump and low-end on the bass drum. Basically, I want the ridiculous techno drum sound, but I want it real. I love the idea of throwing a sound blanket over a marching band drum and using it with the kick!

knobtwirler · Post by **knobtwirler** » Tue May 17, 2011 5:29 pm

Or the drummer could show up with this

digitaldrummer · Post by **digitaldrummer** » Tue May 17, 2011 6:06 pm

Bender83 wrote: I'm always complaining about wanting more thump and low-end on the bass drum.

if you haven't tried the subkick, it may also do it for you - captures that really low end thump or bloom of the kick drum.

Mike

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Tue May 17, 2011 6:54 pm

Saw a touring band doing that technique - they had a special extra kick with the same diameter but less depth that mounted to the front of the regular kick. There was some business with little holes in the mating heads, though I don't remember exactly how they described it.

@?,*???&? · Post by **@?,*???&?** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:26 am

aldaraia wrote:I was browsing pictures of Joe Barresi's studio a while ago, and saw something that caught my attention. It was, what appeared to be, a drum set, with the kick miked up with another kick in front of it. I've never seen anything like that, and I wanted to know if any of you could elaborate to me why that may be beneficial. Figured I may give it a try next time I'm tracking drums if it's appropriate, and I can surmise that it has something to do with resonance and low end extension but I could just be talking out of my ass.

Thoughts?

I've used a kick outside of a kick before to extend the lower sub qualities of a bass drum. I generally do so now with a chair or bench and a packing blanket. Works well.

Further reading here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_resonance

Read the section on 'Resonance of a tube of air' and specifically 'open cylinder'.

agauchede · Post by **agauchede** » Wed May 18, 2011 2:25 pm

They used to call that a "drum tunnel" at Big Sound. I guess they still do!

Chris

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Wed May 18, 2011 3:17 pm

digitaldrummer wrote:
Bender83 wrote: I'm always complaining about wanting more thump and low-end on the bass drum.
if you haven't tried the subkick, it may also do it for you - captures that really low end thump or bloom of the kick drum.

Mike

++ you can make one to try out for about 2 dollars. Might be the easiest DIY mic project out there.

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Wed May 18, 2011 5:16 pm

knobtwirler wrote:Or the drummer could show up with this

Awesome. Did you record Alex VanHalen?

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Wed May 18, 2011 7:53 pm

But, for the really low down and dirty sound, use a length of 24" sewage pipe (new of course, unless you're really dirty). 3 feet or so long.

It goes in front of the kick, with a LDC tube at the receiving end.

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:27 pm

drumsound wrote:
knobtwirler wrote:Or the drummer could show up with this
Awesome. Did you record Alex VanHalen?

That kit's actually at GC in Hollywood now.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

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Interesting Kick Miking Technique

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