Last night one of my bands was playing a show in a dive bar. I was horrified to find that the sound guy had a Sure SM57 microphone for the kick drum. Anyone who has used even radio shack microphones knows that 57’s are for snare or guitar, and would totally suck for miking a kick drum. When I asked about the mic he said,
That’s what we always use.
Fortunately for me, I always carry round some mics in my hardware case for my drum kit. I was able to whip out a great kick drum mic and a stand for it, and the sound of the kick drum through their system was far better than it would have with a 57.
Always carry around a bass drum mic, just in case.