drummaman1

Hello All!

Back from Greece! It was a great time! Now, back to work....

I played over last weekend, after being away from drums for a month...kinda rusty, but I played well. I NEED to start practicing again...but thats another thread...

It isn't even my rusty playing that I'm angry about....the sound guy, or one of his lackeys, put a rip in my bass drum, about 2 to 3 inches, when they were taking out the microphone from the hole...I didn't find out until the gig the next day!!!!! WTF!!!!

This is the THIRD BD front head in 8 months that has been damaged at the hands of these brainless (too harsh???) people.
It has forced me to take action... I am drilling a hole for a MAY internal mount, and no more holes in heads!!!!!!!! I am done with holes!!!

Now, I need to drill a separate hole in the shell because the vent hole on this bass drum (Sonor Hilite) is directly on the bottom of the shell. I have the set up the bass drum too high for the XLR mount to be off the floor. So I have some questions that I wish for you nice people to consider:

1. Where would be a good place for the hole that will hold the XLR mount? I like it to be somewhat discreet, but not for the sake of sacrificing set-up. Also, how big should the hole be? It will have a grommet, possibly the ones you can thread if they dont look too overbearing...I'm NOT good with a ball peen hammer just yet.

2. Bass Drum Mic.... Shure Beta52 or AKG D112? Any other brands I should consider?

3. Head selection...for a general good sound all around, all styles. I'm somewhat partial to the Tony Williams bass drum sound...It kicks when you need it, but it can sound like your lowest tom when you need that also.

4. Muffling. I like some decay after the initial BD hit, but it's murder when close-miking such a drum sound. What is the appropriate amount of muffling, so I can get that 'feel' that I like, and that the sound guy is satisfied with the sound he's getting fron my bass drum.

Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to reading your answers. Laters!