How to Mic a Bass Drum

Hi.
Im Going to be Playing live soon with My Pearl Vision VSX set, But my Bass Drum head, does not have a hole in it, what should i Do.Can I put a Mic in front of the bass, What do i do?

ANSWER

Hi--

The easiest and best thing to do would be to invest in a bass drum head that DOES have a hole. They aren't that expensive--if fact, here is one that you can grab for about half price: Aquarian Regulator Bass Drumhead

You COULD cut a hole in your bass drum head but you might well end up ruining your head and it is difficult to do a good job of cutting the right size hole.

You could also mic the drum from the outside, but you have to deal with mic stands and the fact that your mic is going to pick up a lot of sounds from the room.

If you get a head with a hole, just put some blankets or some kine of padding inside the drum and lay the microphone on them facing the beater. If you want to use 2 mics, you could place one further inside and one closer to the beater. This is usually a good set up for LIVE playing.

Hope this helps, and have fun playing!

Lynne