Mounting internal kick drum mic

Gene B

Junior Member
I'm ordering a Kelly SHU mic mount---looking to install an Audix D6 inside 18x22 Dw kick
anyone have experience as to the mic positioning? Most playing is Classic Rock

thanks for any help
Gene
 
I've been using the Kelly Shu for about 10 years, and am very pleased with them. I use two - one for a flat mic, the other for a Beta 52. No problems with the rubber 'straps' breaking or stretching out. I carry a complete repair kit, and have yet to use it. :)

kellyshux2.jpg
 
I personally prefer the Randal May internal Monorail system instead. Much easier to mount inside and still flexible to get your kick mic anywhere you need a lot faster and less screwing around. Kelly Shu always seemed much more complicated than it needed to be.
 
Bermuda,
That is a unique set up---does that position give you that solid thud beat? Almost all the pics of the Kelly show the mic centered and facing at the beater.
 
I have mine centered, but mic faces the edge of the head. I may have to try Bermudas install and see or rather gear the difference. Pointing the mic at the beater was picking up too much attack from the bearer but not the lows.
 
Bermuda,
That is a unique set up---does that position give you that solid thud beat? Almost all the pics of the Kelly show the mic centered and facing at the beater.
The flat mic is mostly for my Buttkicker, a nice immediate 'pop' that translates nicely to the seat. the Beta52 picks up a little more of the air inside the kick for more fullness. We experimented a bit with the positioning, and found that the angle was a little better for the overall sound.

Even with the two pillows inside, the drum somehow still makes a nice note!
 
That's pretty darn cool. Does it pay to go for the Pro if you just have fairly light duty schleps? Composite price is more attractive.
 
with the d6 i'll try to aim more towards the side and see how much attack i lose---thanks guys
The D6 has so much attack, pointing direct at the beater may be overkill anyhow.

I personally prefer the Randal May internal Monorail system instead. Much easier to mount inside and still flexible to get your kick mic anywhere you need a lot faster and less screwing around. Kelly Shu always seemed much more complicated than it needed to be.
There are pros and cons for sure. The install for the Shu isn't the most straightforward thing, but it's not so bad either. The biggest issue is figuring out where you want the mount, and adjusting all the elastic bits as necessary. After that, you still have some range of motion forwards, back, and directional facing. If you want to do a major change, then you have to redo the elastic bands again.

I'm not really in the habit of moving the thing around, so it works for me as a set and forget system. I have yet to encounter an audio engineer who hasn't loved working with the signal.
That's pretty darn cool. Does it pay to go for the Pro if you just have fairly light duty schleps? Composite price is more attractive.
I can't really see how. Without looking up the specs, the weight difference is probably a few ounces at best. The piece is essentially shock mounted in a large case, I can't see wear and tear ever being any kind of factor.

Perhaps the polymer will go brittle and start cracking in the next 20 years.
 
I use the Shu with an Audix D6 in my kicks as well. I have it positioned as close to the reso head as I can without the mic cable touching it. And the mic itself is pointed directly at where my beaters strike the batter head.
 
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I use the Shu with an Audio D6 in my kicks as well. I have it positioned as close to the reso head as I can without the mic cable touching it. And the mic itself is pointed directly at where my beaters strike the batter head.

My positioning also, but I use this (at half the price) .

Absolutely no resonance issues , never had it come loose- screws get precautionally checked/tightened during reso head changes (which is once every couple of years) and I'm plugging and unplugging the mic cable 100 times a year.
Good bit of kit(y)
 
I prefer my dynamic mic angled toward the edge of the shell to catch more of the tone of the shell. I recommend that you take the better part of a day experimenting with placement until you find the sweet spot to your ear. Name of the game is personal preference.

SHUdual4.jpg
 
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I have two different bass drums currently outfitted with the Kelly Shu. I use an EV68 bass drum mic in both bass drums.

I also position my Kelly Shu as close to the resonant head as possible without the cable rubbing against the head.

After a couple hours of experimenting, I ended up pointing the mic about halfway between the beater impact point and the bearing edge, in order to have somewhat of a blend of punch and boom. Admittedly, it's still a touch more punch than boom at this point, but I'm happy with it.
 
I forgot to mention that Jeffery Kelly (inventor of the Kelly Shu) prefers the Shu be mounted in the center of his personal bass drums with the mic pointed at the beater head or slightly off center of the head. He feels most of the tone comes from the brand/model head you are using, and the rest is determined by what FOH does with the mix. The last contact I had with Jeffery his batter head of choice is the Aquarian Superkick II. Last I heard he is still using a Heil PR48 microphone.
 
My positioning also, but I use this (at half the price) .

Absolutely no resonance issues , never had it come loose- screws get precautionally checked/tightened during reso head changes (which is once every couple of years) and I'm plugging and unplugging the mic cable 100 times a year.
Good bit of kit(y)

I have something similar to this that I had made years ago before the Kelly Shu was a thing. I still use it and will take it with me on tours where I'm flying out for an extended period of time. I always hung mine from on of the top lugs and pointed the mice directly at the batter head. It wouldn't be in the middle where the beat strikes, but kind of half way between the striking point and the edge of the shell. I've used it with both Beta 52's and D6's and they always sounded amazing.
 
Has anyone here ever tried using an omnidirectional mic inside a bass drum?

Any guesses to what it would sound like?

Probably bad because who does that?

It would make for an interesting experiment, ported and un
 
Has anyone here ever tried using an omnidirectional mic inside a bass drum?

Any guesses to what it would sound like?

Probably bad because who does that?

It would make for an interesting experiment, ported and un
DPA Microphones claim to have achieved great results with their 4007 Omni microphone mounted through the reso port, slightly to the side. I can see experimenting with this in a treated room just tracking only the drums. I think it would pick up everything on stage in front of the drums.
 
DPA Microphones claim to have achieved great results with their 4007 Omni microphone mounted through the reso port, slightly to the side. I can see experimenting with this in a treated room just tracking only the drums. I think it would pick up everything on stage in front of the drums.
But internally mounted isn't in front. My internally mounted cardiod (Heil PR48) hardly picks anything else, usually just some very subtle snare backbeat. I imagine an Omni is still going to get more, but I don't see a very practical reason why you would use an Omni to try and get an isolated signal in the first place
 
But internally mounted isn't in front. My internally mounted cardiod (Heil PR48) hardly picks anything else, usually just some very subtle snare backbeat. I imagine an Omni is still going to get more, but I don't see a very practical reason why you would use an Omni to try and get an isolated signal in the first place
Point noted. The dpa omni mic comment I made was in response to Larry's question using a ported head. Even though it wasn't technically a fully internal
mount (it was positioned inside the bass drum through a port in the reso head on a stand) it's a reference for how an omni has worked for dpa. The 4007 Omni was not used mic-ing the reso head on the outside of the bass drum.

Microphones never lie, especially omni mics.
 
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