weird, i use the bottom mic sometimes just as loud as the top mic in a mix
i often try to pick up as much bass tone from the bottom head, along with as much snap as i can.
i do this by positioning the mic appox 1 - 3 inches towards the center in from the rim, and about 1 - 2 inches off the skin, pointed at dead center of snares on bottom skin. (do the same angle as your top mic, so that they're both facing and pointing pretty much at the same area, to keep phase aligned and the image correct.)
currently i am trying a mix of sm57 on top, beta 57 on bottom, and vise versa. so far, i dont like either. the firepod makes anything that comes through an sm57 sound like it was recorded inside of a cardboard box. i usually have to put a drastic eq on the snare top track, cutting around 500hz - 800hz anywhere in that area, around 6 - 12 db. alot of times, this is where the ring ALSO exists, so getting rid of the boxyness and keeping the natural ring is impossible. believe it or not, but if you were to remove all the ring of the snare, it would just sound like kicking your brother in his ass and listening for the fall on hard wood floor shortly afterwards. now unless you've got bells under your floor, or something, its gonna sound like a dead thud.
bleh, why do good preamps have to cost so much!
-end rant-
