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[Rich Orde]

The music is a variety of pop and rock, mostly from the 80's so a heavier kick is warranted.  The drummer is a good friend of the band and an all around good guy so nobody is interested in replacing him with a harder hitting player.  The band has 2 alternating sound men and we have both been scratching our heads over a solution to this.  I have worked with the parametric EQ to try to notch out the violating frequency but it just happens to be right in the ballpark of where you get all of the thump.

We have only tried the 2 mics, unfortunately we don't have any others available to test out.

Sounds to me like the OP possibly has a compressor set up on the kick channel with too much make up gain or weird threshold/ratio settings.

I do have heavier compression on the drum than I would like to but it's because he is extremely inconsistent with the velocity of his kicks.  Every once in a while he will stomp on it but not consistently, and it's usually when he is coming out of a fill.

We have been having to settle for a happy medium all this time but it's less than ideal for what I am trying to get out of the kick.

[Tim Perry]

The music is a variety of pop and rock, mostly from the 80's so a heavier kick is warranted.  The drummer is a good friend of the band and an all around good guy so nobody is interested in replacing him with a harder hitting player.  The band has 2 alternating sound men and we have both been scratching our heads over a solution to this.  I have worked with the parametric EQ to try to notch out the violating frequency but it just happens to be right in the ballpark of where you get all of the thump.

We have only tried the 2 mics, unfortunately we don't have any others available to test out.
I do have heavier compression on the drum than I would like to but it's because he is extremely inconsistent with the velocity of his kicks.  Every once in a while he will stomp on it but not consistently, and it's usually when he is coming out of a fill.

We have been having to settle for a happy medium all this time but it's less than ideal for what I am trying to get out of the kick.

Add a gate on this channel. 

[Mark McFarlane]

...
I do have heavier compression on the drum than I would like to but it's because he is extremely inconsistent with the velocity of his kicks.  Every once in a while he will stomp on it but not consistently, and it's usually when he is coming out of a fill...

Do you have makeup gain applied? That's a likely source of feedback when the kick stops hitting, the gain reduction goes away and the makeup gain kicks in.  Use your compressor like a limiter, a high ratio and set the threshold just above his average kick level, and don't use any makeup gain and see if that helps.

[Kevin Maxwell]

I guess another way to look at it is does the style of music played warrant a kick sound with more attack? If the answer is yes, you can try getting the mic on the inside closer to beater as discussed or even try micing the batter head from the other side. If you still don't get the results you need, try triggering a sample.

If one were to use a trigger on the kick in a case like this what trigger is recommended and where do you put it. Is this something you temporarily mount or does it have to be installed? I have a Roland TD10 sitting around (long story) and have wanted to try this on a drum kit just for curiosity sake.

[Gordon Brinton]

The music is a variety of pop and rock, mostly from the 80's so a heavier kick is warranted.  The drummer is a good friend of the band and an all around good guy so nobody is interested in replacing him with a harder hitting player.  The band has 2 alternating sound men and we have both been scratching our heads over a solution to this.  I have worked with the parametric EQ to try to notch out the violating frequency but it just happens to be right in the ballpark of where you get all of the thump.

We have only tried the 2 mics, unfortunately we don't have any others available to test out.
I do have heavier compression on the drum than I would like to but it's because he is extremely inconsistent with the velocity of his kicks.  Every once in a while he will stomp on it but not consistently, and it's usually when he is coming out of a fill.

We have been having to settle for a happy medium all this time but it's less than ideal for what I am trying to get out of the kick.

The mic is not the problem. If your boy refuses to adjust his playing style to match the genre he is playing within, then he is not a suitable drummer for the job. There is little more that we can suggest that will fix the problem. You can't very well turn a pitiful squeak into a sonic boom.

[Rich Orde]

I will have to check the make-up gain setting.  Unless the default setting on the compression includes that, I would not have turned it up myself, but it's worth checking and does make sense why feedback would start when he is not playing. 

I did a lot of toying with the gate but because his foot is so light I could not close the gate sufficiently without muting some of his hits.  I would think that mounting the mic in line with the beater and close to the batter head would allow more flexibility with that though.

[Marcus Thiel]

Im afraid nothing would really work in this situation. A gate will not work properly, as will for Example a Trigger or something ... the ONLY thing will work is him playing an adequate Bass Drum ... otherwise he has to go. I would explane this politely to the Drummer and the Band, and let them decide.

If they don´t want to skip him, just live with not having a propper BD and just let it sound the way it sounds ... there is nothing really technical you can do.

[Bob Cap]

If all else fails.

Use the mic as a trigger to a midi kick drum sound sample.

We have discussed this here before.

Totally solve the feedback problem because you are not using the acoustic sound of the drum.

If you can't find the original posts let me know and I'll describe the process.

Bob Cap (Electronic drummer from the 80's)

Advanced Audio Inc,
Gilbert, MN

[John Penkala]

If one were to use a trigger on the kick in a case like this what trigger is recommended and where do you put it. Is this something you temporarily mount or does it have to be installed? I have a Roland TD10 sitting around (long story) and have wanted to try this on a drum kit just for curiosity sake.

I would consider them installed. Some use double sided tape to stick to the drum head and have a short cable with a 1/4" female jack on the end that is secured to one of the lugs on the drum. Others mount directly on the lugs. A few types are made by Pintech, Roland and DDrum. Most are single element, some are dual. YMMV

-JP

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

If you really want to make it work, get an EV N/D868, get it inside the drum about 2" from the beater and a bit to one side, then run it through a Drawmer MX-40 "Punch Gate".

I guarantee you it'll work.

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