Kick Drum/FOH job tomorrow

~BURNY~

Member
Apr 20, 2005
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I haven't practiced that shit in a long time, but some friends requested my help.
I need to have the damn kick cutting through the mix. Any suggestions/tricks other than EQing to hell guys?
Shure beta 91 probably, no triggers...
 
Hmmm, depends on the kick...I've had some great live kick sounds from placing the mic half in the hole in the front skin, but also in desperate times I've just thrown a 57 on the batter head a couple of inches from where the beaters hit.

I did run a rather ghetto set-up though, with no outboard at all (unless you count the broken Behringer crossover!!)
 
EQ the shit out of it. Suck out most of the low mids (around 400hz) and crank the lows (around 100hz) and high mids (around 3k). Roll the highs and gate it down. If the venue has enough compression available, definitely use it.
 
Sure they have enough comp/gates, It's a pretty big live gear. But I'm a little reluctant to use extreme eq's... Maybe I am wrong. I hope I'll have enough soundcheck time to experiment a bit.
 
~BURNY~ said:
Sure they have enough comp/gates, It's a pretty big live gear. But I'm a little reluctant to use extreme eq's... Maybe I am wrong. I hope I'll have enough soundcheck time to experiment a bit.

Yeah, you are kind of wrong in that additude for live sound. If you have time to improve placement that's fantastic, but it needs to sound right regardless so scoop the shit out of it per metalkingdom's recomendation if that's what it takes to make it right. Unless your friends are rockstars you probably aren't going to have as much time as you would like-- plus if there is more than one band using the same set of mics your placemet will get changed anyway.
The 91 will get you the highs but something for the lowend would be good too (beta52, e604, etc.).
 
Genius Gone Insane said:
Never done a live recording so maybe this is naive: why don't you just compress after you've recorded?
Because It's not a recording:p
 
~BURNY~ , don't be afraid to wang the shit out of the eq pots...grab the LM sweep and cut it! grab the HM sweep and tweek it! depending on the acoustics of the room you can throw theory out of the window! one thing I always say though, is stay away from peaking input gain(apart from snare if you want some CRACK) and push sub groubs instead...makes for cleaner audio
 
Mikey Bolton said:
~BURNY~ , don't be afraid to wang the shit out of the eq pots...

Huge bonus points for the use of "wang" right there.. hehehe

To the extreme, wang the shit out of the deck pots. =)
 
Moonlapse said:
Where would you guys typically place the mic for the optimal metal 'click' effect? Right in front of the beater (inside the drum), or just halfway in through the skin?

Moon.. I cannot think of any kick drum, that you have heard on record, that has not been tweaked. From the software plugs i have used, Ive always found myself using the IN mic. I dont like flabby kicks.

Right now, in addition to the shadows fall kick, I am after the 1:55 spot on track2 of Godless - Final Product. That shit comes together so perfectly... not to mention Warrel at that spot - but that's another subject entirely.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I'm always stressed in live situation, all your comments are very welcome. So I will eq the shit out of it and forget my "recording philosophy" for a few hours.
 
hey man, compression isn't always a good idea (i mean you wan't it to punch NOT to have sustain..) so a gate and some good EQ should get you sorted out fine in the first place... (so you can leave compression to thingslike bass and vocals (especially female vocals tend to need it..)
and check this out!!
http://www.prosoundweb.com/live/labbest/chest/chsl.php
should usefull i bet.. have fun man!! live sound is one of the most fun things i've done.. pretty stressfull (and a "tad" different then live) but cool in the end!! (if your dedicated and get the damn band to soundcheck hahahaha..)
 
Thanks. Any thoughts about the "(fake) credit card in front of the beater trick"?
 
Go with what mikey bolton says about eq and forgetting the theory. The 91 is a farorite of mine and a tight gate if its metal I wouldnt personally compress it especially if your boosting the lows and highs that much.
 
Yep, metal, lot of double bass. I'll see if I need the comp or not (It will depend on the playing). The desk will be a soundcraft five. Its filter section looks pretty handy especially the hpf /lpf section.