It's because you're kick drum is made out of recycled basketballs. Duh.Actually, i'm curious as well. I bet it has something to do with the fact that it's a mini tube. Like when you stand inside a metal tunnel under a highway. I'm probably wrong. I'm always probably wrong.

I dunno but a Four Square ball would make for an awesome kick. I love that deep "Ping" they make.

I mean, when you're listening to what the mic is picking up. What is that sound ? Standing waves maybe ? I don't know. Do you ?

if mic'ing a kick drum with a hole, i find it works best to place the mic just inside the hole; like, no more than an inch. and that goes for D112s too, which are notorious for sounding 'basketball-y'.also, and forgive me if this is too obvious, but you should be listening to the kick in context and not solo'd. a lot of over-muffling/eq-ing occurs when people solo the kick and tune it for hours, only to end up with a lifeless sound in the final mix.

There was a time when a certain sample of a medicine ball thrown against a plate glass control room window was an extremely popular kick drum sound. Just goes to show how things pop in and out of fashion.

dontfeartheringo wrote:Don't cut a hole in the head unless you're just dying for that basketball sound. You don't cut holes in your other drums, now do ya?I have to diagree a bit with this sentiment. I have heard some great kick drums with full heads and some great kick drums with a hole in the resonant head. I think using the argument that it shouldn't be done because it is not done to any of the other drums is not appropriate. With that thinking, all or none of the drums would have snares. Also the bass drum is the only drum that is also traditionally miced from the resonant side only. I bet if toms were miced exclusively form the resonant side there would be holes in tom heads. Or more folks would record with concert toms.I think the basketball sound has a lot more to do with the beater, batter head, mic and tuning than whether or not there is a hole in the resonant head. I do agree on the point that proximity to the inside of the beater head does a lot to determine decay length and attack intensityJon

I'm not sure what causes it, but I know how to remedy it.#1)Least intrusive to drummer. Put a pillow inside the drum. Definitely let it touch the beater head.#2)If you're going for a heavy metal kick sound, take the front head off, put a pillow inside the drum and a 10 pound weight on top of it to hold it in place against the remaining head. Use a Beta52 or a D112 about 1/4 of the way in (adjust to taste) dead center of the hole looking right at the beater. EQ it a bit around 5K, maybe cut a little around 250, and compress it to taste. Instant heavy metal kick if the drummer kicks hard.

endofanera wrote:cjc166 wrote:I'm not sure what causes it, but I know how to remedy it.#1)Least intrusive to drummer. Put a pillow inside the drum. Definitely let it touch the beater head.#2)If you're going for a heavy metal kick sound, take the front head off, put a pillow inside the drum and a 10 pound weight on top of it to hold it in place against the remaining head. Use a Beta52 or a D112 about 1/4 of the way in (adjust to taste) dead center of the hole looking right at the beater. EQ it a bit around 5K, maybe cut a little around 250, and compress it to taste. Instant heavy metal kick if the drummer kicks hard.No. Just no. Get the laundry, pillows, blankets, foam, and other crap out of the kick drum. Please.Show some decency and learn to tune your fucking kick drums.Yeah, but what if the band is in drop C?

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NONONO NON O NONON ON ONONO NONONONO ONONONONONONO ONONO NONONO NO NO NO NONON ONONO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NONONO NO NO NONO NO NO NONO NONO NO NO NO NO.NO.NO.What causes that sound is putting a mic INSIDE the kick drum.here's the mallet hitting the head:p--->|and the soundwave goes towards the other head:p|-->)))))))))now, if the sound wave can't escape or the head isn't allowed to resonate somewhat, what happens? The soundwave bounces back.p|-->)))))))((((((((<---|and when force collides with force, especially soundwaves, what happens?You get cancellation. in this case, it sounds like "ping".the only point in putting a mic INSIDE a kick drum, which basically a place where colliding soundwaves are captured, is to point it RIGHT AT THE BEATER to get the click of the beater against the head. This is useful for making triggers work and stuff, but little else.p|--> C0===You're not going to get anything else useful INSIDE the drum.Put the mic OUTSIDE the drum, don't overmuffle the heads or the shell- you might as well use a cardboard box if you're going to do that. Don't cut a hole in the head unless you're just dying for that basketball sound. You don't cut holes in your other drums, now do ya? Felt strip on the front head, powerstroke or another felt strip on the batter head. DON'T PUT ANYTHING IN THE SHELL...If you HAVE to have a super clicky kick drum then pull the front head off completely so that the soundwave can fully escape and not bounce back to be making with the pinging. Then put the mic right up on the batter head on the inside of the drum.Goddamn you, bad habits engineers picked up in the 1970s!

The kick heads that I've worked with that have done this have always sounded way way better after sticking something with appropriate mass (i.e. some heavy curtains) inside to deaden the whole thing off. I hate that damn pinging sound.