Instrument
Kick drum
Also called bass drum (kit).
- Peaks up close
- up to 156 dB SPL
- Sources
- 9 (3 independent)
Mics sources recommend
20 setups from 9 sources, 3 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.
On stage
Inside
- Shure Beta 52A maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure Beta 57A maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure Beta 91 (earlier version of the Shure Beta 91A) maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure Beta 91A1 independent source
- Shure PG52 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure SM57 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Close
- AKG D1121 independent source
- Audio-Technica AE25001 independent source
- Audix D61 independent source
- Beyerdynamic M881 independent source
- sE Electronics V Kick1 independent source
- Sennheiser e9021 independent source
- Shure Beta 52A1 independent source
- Telefunken M821 independent source
The 3 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Inside Shure Beta 91Ainside, on the damping material, facing the beater
The most common drum mic used inside of a kick drum in live sound is the Shure Beta 91A.
1 - Close Shure Beta 52A or sE Electronics V Kick or Telefunken M82 or Audix D6 or AKG D112 or Sennheiser e902 or Beyerdynamic M88 or Audio-Technica AE2500inside or "outside" (further back inside the drum), live
Listed among the common inside and outside bass drum mics in live sound (paraphrase)
1 - Inside Shure Beta 52A or Shure Beta 91 (earlier version of the Shure Beta 91A) or Shure PG52 or Shure Beta 57A or Shure SM57inside, a few inches from beater, 1/3 in from edge
Mount microphone on boom arm inside drum a few inches from beater head, about 1/3 of way in from edge
2
Studio and stage
Close
- DPA 4055 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Outside
- Shure Beta 52A maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
The 2 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close DPA 4055close, inside or outside
delivers clarity and linear frequency response, both on-axis and off-axis; place inside or outside the drum
3 - Outside Shure Beta 52Aoutside
Placed outside the kick drum for a low, thuddy tone
4
Studio
Room
- DPA 4041-SP maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Multi-mic plan
- AKG D1121 source, 0 independent
- DPA 2011A maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- DPA 4011 (earlier version of the DPA 4011A) maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Royer R-121 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Sennheiser MD 4211 source, 0 independent
- Shure SM571 source, 0 independent
Inside
- AKG D1121 independent source
- AKG D121 independent source
- Audio-Technica ATM251 independent source
- Shure Beta 52 (earlier version of the Shure Beta 52A)1 independent source
- Shure Beta 52A + Beta 91A maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Close
- Beyerdynamic Opus 651 independent source
- Sennheiser E 6021 independent source
- Sennheiser MD 4211 independent source
- Shure SM571 independent source
- Shure SM7B + Beta 91A / 52A maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Outside
- AKG D20 / D251 independent source
- Beyerdynamic M1601 independent source
- Electro-Voice RE201 independent source
- Neumann U 47 FET1 independent source
- Sennheiser MKH 201 independent source
- Shure SM981 independent source
The 15 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Room DPA 4041-SProom/ambient, about 1 m in front
Omni large-diaphragm placed about 1 m in front of the kit for ambient stereo recording (paraphrase)
3 - Multi-mic plan inside: DPA 2011A + outside: DPA 4011 (earlier version of the DPA 4011A)kick in and out
Kick drum (inside): DPA 2011 A cardioid (Marc Hornsby setup, paraphrase) ... Kick drum (outside): DPA 4011 cardioid (paraphrase)
5 - Multi-mic plan outside: Royer R-121 + dynamic partner: AKG D112 or Sennheiser MD 421 or Shure SM57a ribbon outside plus a dynamic, for a modern sound
Angle the R-121 downward at 45 degrees, and position it 10-14 inches from the kick drum head. ... Royer suggests pairing the ribbon with a dynamic such as the D-112, 421 or SM57 for a modern sound (paraphrase)
6 - Inside Shure Beta 52A + Beta 91Ainside, resonant-head hole
91 picks up the snap and the 52 brings the big low end (Jim Riley, paraphrase)
7 - Close Shure SM7B + Beta 91A / 52Abeater side
Kick: SM7B beater side plus Beta 91A or 52A (Paul Wertico, paraphrase)
7 - Inside Shure Beta 52Ainside, off-centre, about 4 in from shell
Simon Phillips: Beta 52A off-centre, 4 in from the shell inside the drum, facing the batter head (paraphrase)
7 - Inside AKG D112inside, near beater
industry-standard inside kick mic; tight cardioid pattern and ability to cope with any SPL (paraphrase of many producers using it)
8 - Inside AKG D12 or Shure Beta 52 (earlier version of the Shure Beta 52A) or Audio-Technica ATM25inside
Classic predecessor of the D112 used inside the kick by many producers (paraphrase) ... Beta 52 named by Joe Barresi as an inside-kick option (paraphrase) ... Billy Bush chose the ATM25 inside the kick for Garbage (paraphrase)
8 - Close Sennheiser MD 421inside or outside
Used inside the kick by Barresi, Leckie, Henderson, Wright; 100 Hz roll-off and 5-8 kHz peak (paraphrase)
8 - Outside Neumann U 47 FEToutside, front head
Primary outside kick mic choice among the 50 producers surveyed; flat well below 30 Hz (paraphrase)
8 - Outside Electro-Voice RE20 or AKG D20 / D25 or Beyerdynamic M160 or Sennheiser MKH 20outside
unusually flat for a dynamic mic, and good resistance to proximity effect ... Large-diaphragm capsules with a flatter bass response than D12/D112; preferred by Platt, Emerick, Kimsey (paraphrase) ... Joe Barresi lists the M160 ribbon as an outside-kick option for character (paraphrase) ... Ian Grimble used the MKH 20 on kick together with a D12 (paraphrase)
8 - Close Shure SM57inside (unconventional) or outside
Ian Little and Tore Johansson mention the SM57 for kick (paraphrase)
8 - Outside Shure SM98outside, beater definition
Steve Albini mentions it on the outside of the kick for beater definition (paraphrase)
8 - Close Sennheiser E 602inside or outside, budget
Budget-friendly option; moving-coil mics are better suited to kick drums, being more robust (paraphrase)
9 - Close Beyerdynamic Opus 65inside or outside
Moving-coil alternative to D112 / D12 for kick (paraphrase)
9
Range
Fundamental usually about 50-60 Hz; kicks can be tuned from about 50 Hz up to 80-90 Hz (iDrumTune).10
Frequency bands
| body | 50 Hz – 150 Hz | this jazz-kit kick: 83 Hz and 146 Hz; kicks are commonly tuned to 50-90 Hz |
|---|---|---|
| punch | 150 Hz – 600 Hz | strongest in the attack |
| beater click | 1 kHz – 5 kHz | weak with a felt beater and no port; much stronger with plastic beaters or a front-head port |
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: Virtuosity Drums kickmic_kick_snoff_vl3_rr1 (and mid-kit mic).
Sounds it makes
| Open (resonant) | long boom |
|---|---|
| Muffled | pillow or blanket inside: short, punchy |
| Snares on | the snare drum buzzes along (jazz kits) |
The sound
A large two-headed drum: the lowest head modes give the boom; the beater contact gives a short click that helps it cut through.
Recording it
- Inside, near the beater: attack and click; a few inches back balances tone and beater; toward the front head more tone
- Outside: 10–25 cm (4–10 in) from the port or front head for boom and body; up to about 1 m for a roomier sound
- Mics: dynamics made for kick inside (the AKG D112 has a presence boost at 3 kHz for the beater); a large-diaphragm condenser or a ribbon outside
- Watch: phase between inside, outside and overhead mics; small changes of angle to the beater change the sound a lot8,3
Frequency areas
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.
| Peaks | |
|---|---|
| 156 dB or more | close range (close-mic position); A drum kit at close range, on DPA's kick-drum miking page secondary3 |
| 140–150 dB | close-mic position (distance not given in the excerpt); Kick drum played very loudly, as measured by Shure: 'may exceed 140 dB SPL, but has never been measured by Shure above 150 dB'11 |
| 96.6 dB(Z) | at the entrance of the drummer's ear canal; Kick drum of a DW Performance Series kit struck individually with wooden sticks at moderate force by two drummers, live room of a recording studio (Valderrama et al. 2025, Table 2)12 |
| 97.7 dB(C) | at the entrance of the drummer's ear canal; Kick drum, same single-hit test12 |
Sources
- Berklee Online Take Note: Drum Mics, How to Place Microphones Around Your Kit for a Live Concert
- Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcement
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a kick drum
- Shure: Recording Drums Part 1, Setting Up and Microphone Technique
- DPA: Miking drums with DPA
- Royer Labs: Introduction to Recording Drums
- Shure: Beyond the Basics, Drum Miking
- Sound On Sound: Kick & Snare Recording Techniques
- Sound On Sound: Recording Drums
- iDrumTune: Mixing drums, know your drum frequencies
- The Broadcast Bridge: Maintaining Realistic Maximum Sound Pressure Levels with Dynamic Microphones (reporting Shure's measurements)
- International Journal of Acoustics and Vibration: Valderrama, Arenas, Cardenas, Noise Exposure During Regular Practice Sessions of Drummers and Their Risk for Hearing Loss (vol 30 no 4, pp 423-431)
- iZotope: EQ Cheat Sheet
- Sonicbids: EQ Cheat Sheet, Mixing Frequencies for Every Instrument