Recording BASS DRUM:

Recording drums seems to be the most difficult thing in the world. I disagree: there are more difficult instruments to record - have you ever tried a marimba, for instance?

It all boils down to the sound of the real thing and, of course, to the sound you're after. But the most obvious problem is often that of a muffled sound too rich in the 200Hz area.
Before reaching for the eq knob, try the old, well known trick of stuffing a blanket inside the drum, to damp the rear skin. Also, removing the front skin may help. To get that nice THUMP, you don't have to glue your microphone to the point where the beater hits the skin. Try pulling it out a bit, say 4 inches, and angle it a bit so it's off axis with respect to the beater. Also, if you're really serious about the kick, try the following: one microphone inside the shell (usual AKG D112, for instance);
one on the back of the drum, pointing at the beater from the outside, and pos- sibly phase-reversed, if you notice that low frequencies tend to dis- appear; and then a third one, about 3 feet in front of the drum, pointing at the centre of the front skin. This one is best used if you compress the hell out of it - even 10:1 if you wish!
Try setting a very low volume for it, and then push the fader gently. On its own, it may be horrible, but it adds a lot to the overall sound - if used carefully. It may not work for you, but it's worth trying.

For jazz music, a kick drum microphone, along with one on the snare, is usually all you will need in addition to a couple of good overheads. Just add enough kick (and snare) to the overheads, until the balance is good.

Author of this posting is Marco Olivotto, songwriter by mission, producer by chance and engineer by choice (priest by necessity, at times) - but mostly engineer. He runs Sonica Studios in Northern Italy, and Sonica Stu- dios keep him running. He's 32, and would love to receive comments, flames and careful mumblings about these subjects - at sonica@tqs.it