Published 20/2/08
The best way to mount a kick drum mic?
So you need to close-mike a kick drum, but what approach do you take? Do you remove the resonant head and stick a mic inside, or mount the mic outside the drum and hope for the best?
Whatever way you do it, chances are that it’ll involve a microphone stand somewhere along the line, and what’s to stop the guitarist (or the tea boy) from kicking the mic stand mid-session, thus losing your drum sound.
This was obviously what American company Kelly Concepts were thinking when they dreamed up the design for the Shu, a handy system that could prove to be very popular.
It’s a kick-drum mic-mounting system that enables any microphone to be located almost anywhere inside or outside the drum, suspended by rubber cords in a horseshoe-like cradle (hence the name). The cords clip directly on to either the external lugs, or to leather loops that can be fitted by the user to the inside of virtually any bass drum.
As the cords are made of a flexible rubbery material, the actual mic-mounting section, which is made of sturdy but lightweight aluminium, is completely decoupled from the drum. Cleverly, once set up, the Shu and its paraphernalia can be left in place so you can ensure the mic ends up in the same position every time you set up. The rubber cords are adjustable, and the metal mount section has a variety of points where the cords can be connected.
Currently, Kelly Concepts have no UK or European distribution, but customers can buy direct from their web site, and shipping costs will vary. Visit the Kelly Concepts web site for further details. The Shu has a retail price of $154, which was just under £80 at the time of writing.
Kelly Concepts +1 402 421 1169
www.kellyshu.com
So you need to close-mike a kick drum, but what approach do you take? Do you remove the resonant head and stick a mic inside, or mount the mic outside the drum and hope for the best? Whatever way you do it, chances are that it’ll involve a microphone stand somewhere along the line, and what’s to stop the guitarist (or the tea boy) from kicking the mic stand mid-session, thus losing your drum sound.
This was obviously what American company Kelly Concepts were thinking when they dreamed up the design for the Shu, a handy system that could prove to be very popular.
It’s a kick-drum mic-mounting system that enables any microphone to be located almost anywhere inside or outside the drum, suspended by rubber cords in a horseshoe-like cradle (hence the name). The cords clip directly on to either the external lugs, or to leather loops that can be fitted by the user to the inside of virtually any bass drum.
As the cords are made of a flexible rubbery material, the actual mic-mounting section, which is made of sturdy but lightweight aluminium, is completely decoupled from the drum. Cleverly, once set up, the Shu and its paraphernalia can be left in place so you can ensure the mic ends up in the same position every time you set up. The rubber cords are adjustable, and the metal mount section has a variety of points where the cords can be connected.
Currently, Kelly Concepts have no UK or European distribution, but customers can buy direct from their web site, and shipping costs will vary. Visit the Kelly Concepts web site for further details. The Shu has a retail price of $154, which was just under £80 at the time of writing.
Kelly Concepts +1 402 421 1169
www.kellyshu.com
