Mic Archive

Instrument

Concert bass drum

Also called gran cassa, orchestral bass drum.

Peaks up close
up to 142 dB SPL
Sources
4 (4 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

8 setups from 4 sources, 4 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio

Spot

Main pair or array

  • Decca tree (valve omnis)1 independent source
  • main microphones (type not named)1 independent source

Close

  • EMI RM1B1 independent source
  • RCA 44-BX1 independent source
  • close ribbon pair1 independent source
  • REDD valve pair1 independent source
The 8 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Spot Neumann TLM 170 (earlier version of the Neumann TLM 170 R)
    spot, on a low bass drum used for a special effect
    another TLM170 on a low bass drum that was used for a special effect (quote)1
  • Spot Schoeps MK 21
    spot, percussion section (timpani, bass drum, cymbal players)
    the percussion had some MK21s, which are the wide-cardioid pickups (Jackson; group included a bass drum player)2
  • Main pair or array main microphones (type not named)
    main, mics where the conductor would normally stand (Ludwig and Yamaha bass drums)
    The mics were positioned where the conductor would normally stand, which means the hall's acoustic is discernible3
  • Main pair or array 3 × Decca tree (valve omnis)
    main, Decca tree of Abbey Road's classic valve omnis (Tree 1)
    A decca tree formed of Abbey Road's finest trio of classic valve omnidirectional microphones4
  • Close 2 × REDD valve pair
    pair, 'Mids': a pair of valve REDD mics between the conductor and the drum
    A pair of valve REDD mics placed between the conductor and the source4
  • Close 2 × EMI RM1B
    pair, 'Vintage 1': a pair of original RM1B mics in front of the conductor
    A pair of original RM1B microphones placed in front of the conductor4
  • Close 2 × RCA 44-BX
    pair, 'Vintage 2': a pair of 44BX mics by the conductor
    A pair of classic 44BX microphones placed by the conductor for an alternative vintage scoring stage sound.4
  • Close 2 × close ribbon pair
    pair, close ribbon pair, plus blends of close spot mics
    A pair of close ribbon mics capturing a rounded and detailed image.4

Frequency bands

body45 Hz – 200 Hzpeaks at 61, 83, 108 and 137 Hz (inharmonic head modes)
beater300 Hz – 1 kHzfelt-beater thud, strongest in the first 10 ms
upper1 kHz – 4 kHzvery little energy above 1 kHz

Own analysis: 1/3-octave band levels of the first second after the hit (dB re loudest band), plus a 12 ms attack window and spectral peak picking. A band is listed where the level stays within about 10-15 dB of the loudest band (weaker bands are given with their level). "tone" = clear spectral peaks; "noise" = dense or broadband energy. Measured from: VSCO 2 CE BDrumNewhit_v5_rr1 (and v3).

Sounds it makes

Single strokeboom with 3-4 s ring
Rolltwo mallets: continuous thunder
Secco / copertodamped: short thud

The sound

A large, loosely tuned drum: head modes spread between about 50 and 150 Hz give a deep pitchless boom; the felt beater adds only a soft thud.

Recording it

How loud

Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.

Playing level
74–94 dBat 3 m5
74–94 dBat 3 m; UK Sound Advice table, row 'Timpani and bass drum' secondary5
90–105 dBnot stated (no 3 m mark on this row); UK Sound Advice table, row 'Percussion' (instruments not named) secondary5
96–111 dB(A)0.1-0.5 m from the player's ears; Percussionists in Polish orchestras: maximum A-weighted slow level LASmax per session, 10th to 90th percentile (mean 103.4, SD 6.4 dB)6
Peaks
106 dBat 3 m5
106 dBnot stated (peak column); UK Sound Advice table, row 'Timpani and bass drum' secondary5
123–134 dBnot stated; UK Sound Advice table, row 'Percussion' secondary5
136 dB(C)personal dosimeter at the player; Percussion players, Queensland Orchestra 2004-2007; mean of the highest LCpeak per session (SD 6.2 dB)7
120–142 dB(C)personal dosimeter at the player; Percussion players, Queensland Orchestra 2004-2007: normal spread of the per-session LCpeak7
117–134 dB(C)0.1-0.5 m from the player's ears; Percussionists in Polish orchestras: LCpeak per session, 10th to 90th percentile (mean 126.9, SD 7.6 dB; median 129 dB)6
Player's exposure (dosimeter)
88.8 dB(A)personal dosimeter at the player (Queensland Orchestra programme); Percussion players (not timpani), Queensland Orchestra rehearsals and concerts 2004-2007, 67 sessions of about 2.5 h; mean session LAeq (SD 3.1 dB)7
85.4 dB(A)sound level meter or dosimeter microphone 0.1-0.5 m from the ears; Percussionists in Polish orchestras, 21 measurements in rehearsals and performances; mean LAeq,T (SD 4.8 dB; 10th/50th/90th percentile 80/87/91 dB)6
90 dB or more(A)dosimeter microphones on the shoulders, 10-15 cm from the ears; Two percussion students, Chopin University of Music Warsaw, individual practice and symphony orchestra playing8

The UK Sound Advice figure is shared with timpani (74-94 dB at 3 m, peak 106 dB). For the kit's bass drum, DPA lists the 2011A cardioid at 159 dB SPL for inside the kick; this is the mic's maximum, not the drum's level.5,9

Sources

  1. Mix: The Changing Landscape of Orchestral Recording (engineer Steve Smith, Music Works Studios)magazine · mixonline.com
  2. Sound On Sound: Jake Jackson: Recording The 2012 Olympic Anthemsmagazine · soundonsound.com
  3. Sound On Sound: London Orchestral Percussion review (Dave Stewart, Oct 2002)magazine · soundonsound.com
  4. Spitfire Audio: Abbey Road Orchestra: Low Percussion (36 in gran cassa; engineer Simon Rhodes, Abbey Road Studio One), mic signalsengineer · spitfireaudio.com
  5. Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)eclass-b.uoa.gr
  6. JOSE: Evaluation of Sound Exposure and Risk of Hearing Impairment in Orchestral Musicians (Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska, Dudarewicz, Zamojska, Sliwinska-Kowalska)Malgorzata Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. · academic · 2011 · portal.ciop.pl
  7. AKUTEK (BNAM paper): Skalevik, Sound levels in symphony orchestra musicians (with O'Brien's Queensland dosimetry table)Magne Skalevik · academic · akutek.info
  8. Noise Control 2022 digital monograph, ch. 4: The risk of musicians' high sound exposure during performances of classical music (Pietrzak, Zera)Agnieszka Paula Pietrzak, Jan Zera · academic · 2022 · ciop.pl
  9. DPA: Miking drums with DPAMarc Hornsby · manufacturer · 2020 · dpamicrophones.com