I’ve been talking more about the best practices for miking and recording drums as of late because the better your recordings sound, the better your mixes will sound. Over the years I’ve referred to the kick drum as the anchor for your entire mix. The kick establishes the timing, rhythm, even vibe of your mix, and when that kick drum is buried or not firing off as well as it should in your mix, everything suffers from it. With that in mind, let’s talk how to mic a kick drum to get the best sound on the in.
Best Mic for Kick Drum
First, bear in mind that the kick drum’s frequency profile is all about that roughly 100Hz and below. As such, you need to use a microphone suited for recording the kick drum.
Practically speaking, the best mics for kick drum recording are those with a strong frequency response in the sub-100Hz range.
While there are a lot of kick drum specific microphones, I’m going to highlight just a couple of the most popular options.
Shure Beta 52A
At roughly $200, the supercardioid dynamic instrumental microphone, the Shure Beta 52A is the most affordable QUALITY dedicated kick drum microphone:
As you can see from its frequency response, it’s well equipped for capturing the body of the kick in that sub-100Hz range particularly in closer proximity (which I’ll talk about in a moment):
You’ll note there’s a spike around 4k which is precisely where the transient punch of the percussive sound of the kick resides. I’ll talk more about this later, but suffice to say that this is a perfectly matched microphone for achieving a perfectly balanced tone out of your kick.
I mentioned that this microphone is a supercardioid which, in relating back to my overview of the different microphone polar patterns, just means that it’s relatively very narrow in picking up and recording what it’s facing.
Electro-Voice RE20
The dynamic cardioid RE20 from Electro-Voice is another one of the most popular options for capturing the full practical range and frequencies of the kick drum:
This microphone is stout down to that 50-70Hz region where the body of the kick is typically found and has a great low to mid range response which is why this is also a popular option for broadcasters in drawing out the power and low end body of the speaking voice:
At twice the price of the Shure Beta 52A, this microphone is good if you want a more versatile microphone you can use for other tasks like voice work in addition to exclusively recording the bass drum.
In the same vein of versatility, I know some producers who swear by a microphone which doubles as a voice/broadcasting microphone in the Shure SM7B for recording kick drum because of its effective handling of the low end:
The Beta 52A and the RE20 are both excellent options for recording the kick drum faithfully, and are both options which can handle a lot of sound pressure (loud sources) which is ideal for recording a kick drum (particularly on the inside which I’ll cover in a moment).
If you don’t have a dedicated kick drum microphone, and are just using whatever microphone you have, consider using the dB cut feature (when applicable) and supplement the kick’s low end with tutorial on the sine wave kick drum trick:
Now let’s move on to actually how to mic a kick drum.
How to Mic a Kick Drum
Let’s talk placement for the microphone when you’re miking a kick drum. Both the placement in terms of distance from the kick, whether you place it inside or outside (when applicable) and the position relative to the center of the kick will all dramatically affect the sound you get.
Good mic placement will yield a nice balance of an emphasis on the warm body “thud” of the sound with a touch of transient punch to cut through the mix:
In Vs Outside the Kick
First, if you’ve got a kick drum head with the hole in it, also known as a “port” (some just call it the “sound hole”), this presents the age old question of placing the mic in vs outside the kick drum itself.
Mic Inside Kick Drum
The port exists both to attenuate the boominess of a kick drum while equally adding some punch to the sound, not to mention allow for miking the inside of the kick drum as well as more easily put in blankets or pillows to dampen the boominess.
Placing the mic inside of the kick drum yields two benefits.
One, placing the microphone inside the kick drum yields a punchier sound by more cleanly capturing the beater against the head.
In other words, you’ll capture more of the 3-6k percussive “crack” which helps the kick cut through the mix and assert itself, drawing the listener’s ear.
Secondly, it isolates the microphone from the rest of the sound of the kit to give the kick a cleaner sound which can sound better for modern sounds.
Mic Outside Kick Drum
Whether your kick has a port hole or not, placing the mic outside of the kick drum will yield a boomier, thicker, warmer sound as you’ll get more of the “thud” of the kick and less of the punch.
If you have a drum with a port hole, moving it farther away from the outside of the hole, as in more to the center of the kick drum will give you more of a vintage sound as you favor more of that dirtier warmth and body.
Mic Distance From Kick and Placement
In terms of mic distance from kick, I recommend placing your mic 1-2 inches away from the head/surface of the kick. This is roughly 2-3 fingers.
Remember that the farther you place the microphone relative to the kick drum, the less low end you’ll capture and the thinner it will sound. Any other microphones in the setup will pick up the kick from a distance, so this dedicated kick drum microphone should be up close and tight on that kick.
If you have a port hole, I recommend situating the microphone roughly 2-3 fingers squarely over the center of that hole. This yields the best balanced tone of body and punch in my experience with a single kick drum mic.
If you don’t have the port hole, aim for placing the microphone halfway between the center and outside rim of the kick drum for the best balanced sound.
For what it’s worth, in that case of no port hole, some producers and drummers like to supplement that placement with one on the beater side aimed toward where that beater makes contact with the skin of the head to capture that punch.
Final Tips
Lastly, a few things to keep in mind:
One and very obviously, make sure the kick drum is in tune before recording. Mic placement will pale in comparison to an out of tune drum.
Also, make sure the resonant head is tight and nothing on the drum is loose to cause a rattling. When the beater hits the head, it should be a tight sound all around to the ear, regardless of the mic.
Lastly, remember to be aware of phase issues when recording your kick drum or any drums.
I mentioned the concept of using a second microphone in the absence of a port hole, one on each side to capture both the body and punch. I also mentioned the reality that you’ll be using multiple microphones to capture your kit in most scenarios.
If you don’t address bleed with drum gating in the mix, be aware of any issues related to the phase with the sound of the kick (or any element of the drum kit) arriving at two or more microphones at different times and refer to my guide on getting in phase audio to correct them.
After you’ve got your recorded kick drum, check out my complete guide on mixing kick drum for tips on how to make your kick sound its best in the mix.
