Drums with single kick recording

[::XeS::]

How do you deal with the 1kick drums micing?
As said in another thread, double kick drums tend to have a more simmetrical image for snare and cymbals.
The snare is in center of the 2 kicks, toms are in center, and the cymbals are pretty separated in 2 groups.
With one kick, you have the whole kit unbalanced to the right (drummer view) and on the left you have only the hi-hat and the snare.
So, how do you deal with the oh's? The worst thing is that the snare is always to the left and if you use spaced pair mics, you can mic with no problem the right side, but in the left you have to mic probably only one cymbal and the mic should be way out of the kit to have the snare dead center of the image.
For example, this is Dirk Verbeuren's kit (it's a very usual setup for single kick drummers):

The snare is way closer to the left cymbals group and spaced pair micing should be very tricky.
I've tried to think in terms of "ok, I can immagine to have another invisible kick to mic the kit symmetrically"...but it doesn't work, because without 1 kick the drummer move the cymbals in another way...
What do you think ?

 

[Morgan C]

Rotate your picture, so that the snare and 'C' tom are right down the middle. Then mic on either side. Yeah, the hats get pretty close to centre, so a hat mic might help. But the toms spread really nicely, the cymbals do too and the kick is close to centre.

 

[::XeS::]

I understand what you mean, but for me is still unbalanced because you have a big cymbals group to the right but the left side is still closer to the snare. If you trace a line on snare and tom C, you can mic the right group easily but you can't put the left mic specular to the right. You have to take care also the covered cymbals because if I mic the left side a little outside the drum figure, taking the pics example, I have 2 splash covered by the main crash.In my opinion a good setup is to have the 2 toms in line with the snare, and the kick at one side. This way allow me to separate better the drum image....
An Example:

the problem is that every drummer has his own setup :\

 

[Trevoire520]

For example, this is Dirk Verbeuren's kit (it's a very usual setup for single kick drummers):

10 cymbals is a "usual setup"!?!?! Most drummers I work with have 6-7 tops! Hat, Crash (14") Crash (16") Ride, China, Splash. Any more is just overcompensating.

I just make sure my overheads are both equidistant from the snare, and make sure they're not so low that they don't get a decent image of the kit.

 

[::XeS::]

Of course 10cymbals are not "usual" setup but I spoke about the drums image division

 

[colonel kurtz]

thick white lines, of course, are the kick and snare mics...white line across them would be the "middle" of the kit image, white dots are the OH mics which are placed equidistant from both the middle line and the center of the snare

i also x'd out the couple cymbals out on the edge because most drummers, in my experience, either don't have that many, or would have them placed out beyond the rack toms, in the middle of kit

following a setup like that should put the kick and snare in the center of the image, give a balanced perspective of the kit, and maintain the best possible phase relationship with the snare and OH mics