How to Mic a Kick or Bass Drum

Ever have a gig where you're just not feeling the kick? One of the most important things a band needs in a live performance is to feel the music. The kick drum is the heart of it all. You need to not only hear it but feel it as well. Many things can come into play if your not "feeling" it. It could be your speaker monitors or the EQ that the sound engineer has given the kick. Before all that though, lets go back to the beginning. Lets start with the microphone and its placement.

You can get a standard drum set mic kit from any music store. It usually comes with mics for all your toms, your snare and your kick drum. Here is a small list of drum mikes I've found to be pretty good.

AKG Drum Microphones

Shure Drum Microphones

Sennheiser Drum Microphones

You'll find the kick drum mic to be the largest of the set. Attach it to a short boom mic stand.

Place the mic inside the hole of the front drum head about one third of the way in. (if your kick does not have a hole in the front head, I suggest getting one that does or cutting it out yourself. Its a must for live performances.)

Aim the mic at the center of the drum head and be sure that the mic, stand, and mic cable are not touching the head of the drum. It will cause a buzz or some other sound that you don't want.

Now,as you check the kick drum, by kicking it, listen to the sound coming out of the speakers. Before messing with the EQ, try moving the mic in or out of the drum. Moving it deeper into the drum and closer to the beater head will give you more of a "click" sound. Moving it out more and closer to the front head will give you a rounder "beefy" sound.

Try to get the sound your looking for by mic placement rather than going crazy with the EQ on the mixing board. Use the EQ to tweak and fine tune it.

Another thing that helps also is placing something inside the kick drum like a towel or pillow. This muffles it and gives it more of the punch your looking for. Be sure to spread the towel or pillow evenly between the front and back heads of the drum.

Play around with all these techniques to find what works for you.