I am getting a high pitch poping sound from my atm25 bass drum mic

Once again, we dive into the subject of recording your band's (or your solo) album. So far, we've covered the basics, and how to record drums. Today, we talk about the all-important Bass Guitar.

There are a few different ways that you can do this, one being the industry studio standard of using a Direct In box, or DI. How this works is you run through this box, which then has two cables. One to the mixer, and one to your amp. You then mic the amp (see below for mic placement), and get both the clean and amped signals together on the track, giving you a fuller sound.

Method number 2 - Amp your bass, and add the effects there at the amp. Compression, chorus, and distortion are some popular ones with the bass guitar these days, even in country music. Light overdrive gives a bass more high end sparkle, making it easier to hear it at the lower volumes.

Method number 3, and suggested if you don't have a DI box as well as if you don't want to anger your neighbors, who bang on the ceiling with a broom (just joking on that. Still, don't tick them off!) - Plug your bass straight into the computer, and record two tracks simultaneously. On one of the tracks, apply an amp simulator with the desired effects. On the other, apply ONLY an equalizer and compressor, in that order. What this does is gives you the amp tone, as well as accentuates the lower frequencies of the bass guitar. It's the shortcut that actually produces great results.

For mic placement on your amp, you can use either a condenser mic (which requires a preamp, or a mixer with phantom power), or a dynamic mic. Both will give you a great sound, but it's up to you to find what fits your sound, and your budget.
Placing the mic. - Pick your best sounding speaker. To do this, turn your amp down, and play a note. Go to it, and listen to each speaker by placing your ear directly in front of it (this is why we said turn it down). If your best one is close to the floor, rotate the cab so that it's one of the top speakers. Using a standard mic stand, place the mic so that it's pointed directly at the speaker, but it's about 2 inches in front of the cone, and 2 inches to the side. You can experiment with different placements, such as directly in front, or to the side and pointed across the speaker, but this is usually the best sound you'll get.

That's all for this segment of Home Studio Recording. Join us later for part 4.

This tip, continuing the series of Home Studio Recording, focuses on the hardest part of accomplishing this feat: Drums.

A big sound killer on 'budget' recordings is poorly recorded drums. There is a remedy, though. If you have one set of drum mics, buy another (or borrow. This will come into play later, though).

If you have clips that hold them on the drums, great. With the two sets, you'll only use half of the clips. For the rest of the mics, you'll want stands. You'll need one stand for each drum, plus six.

The dual mics serve this purpose: To capture the sound of the whole drum. One mic for the batter head (the side you hit), and one for the resonator (the side you don't).

For the batter head, you'll use the mic clips, and attach the mics as you normally would during playing. For the resonator head, use the stands to position the mic directly across the drum, making a straight line from the top of the drum to the bottom. This will help eliminate any voicing differences, which can be a real headache.

For the bass drum, you'll need 2 stands. Position the batter head mic close to the edge of the head on whatever side is easiest to access, but is also comfortable for your playing style.

Aim the mic so that it is pointed at a midway point between the center of the head and the edge. You can experiment with different spots, but be sure to NEVER let the mic be directly in front of the head.
For the bass resonator head (the front one that everybody sees), position the mic so that it is a mirror image of the batter mic. Once again, this gets rid of voicing problems.

You have just miked your drum kit, but what about cymbals? That's where the other 4 mics and stands come into play. Those 4 will take care of:

Hi-hats

Ride

Overheads

For the hi-hats, you'll want to position the mic about 3-5 inches from the top, and 2-4 inches from the side. It's best to come in from the outside of the kit, so that you'll pick up a bit of ambiance (the rest of the kit, as well as some natural reverb). Point the mic at a point close to midway between the bell and edge of the hats. Too close to the edge, and you'll get a sound similar to banging trash can lids together. Too close to the bell, and there's too much high-mid noise that CANNOT be reduced with an EQ.

For the ride, follow the same instructions for the hi-hats, but add about 2 inches to the distances. Aim the mic a little closer to the center as well, so that the mic will pick up any bell hits. A good spot is 1/4 the distance between the bell and edge.

Now for overheads. These are the mics that not only record the cymbals, but pick up the most ambiance.

NOTICE: I haven't already mentioned it, but you do NOT want to record with the drum kit up against a wall, nor do you want it in the center of the room. For best results, use the midway rule (as with placing mics on drums and cymbals, place the kit midway between the center of the room and the edge, preferably headed towards a corner). This will reduce unwanted echoes in the room due to sound reflection.

You will want to place the overheads about 1.5 feet above the highest cymbal. Space them out so that the entire kit is between them, but be sure to keep them evenly spaced. You'll want to use the snare as a midway marker for the placement of overhead mics, since it is your loudest drum, and more likely to be picked up in the overheads than any other drum. This will also keep the snare panned center (you'll be panning the drums out to the left and right later on the mixer, but the snare and bass stay center).

These are some guidelines for setting up mics for recording drums at home. I hope that helps, and stay tuned for Part Trés of Home Studio Recording.