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[g'bye, Dick Rees]

PL33s sound real good placed about 4" inside the shells.

If that's the sound you're going for.  Placement really is up to the needs of the situation.  One size does not fit all, even if the mic is good.

[David Hayes]

It is the sound I was going for.  I experimented with it until I liked it.  4" inside, pointed not directly at the beater, maybe 6" to the side of it.  Nice low thump, no click.

[Scott Jordan]

I am still baffled that these discussions occur, the whole "what is best", since there are so many variables that have an effect on things: the sound of the drum, whether it is tuned properly, how the person plays, the PA that is being used, the placement of the mic...on an on you are going to find all these variables that makes this question impossible to answer. Add to that personal opinion...

I own an SM91, love the mic, works great. I have used it standalone with great results, as well as with an SM57. I own a set of CAD drum mics, which the kick mic is the same mic that is branded an Equation mic, the one with the fairly big LF EQ on it. Great for flat PA's, but if you got a PA with a lot of low end already, it can be a bit overwhelming, where you find yourself dialing out LF from the channel to make it work with the PA. Picked up a pair Crown PCC-170's on EBAY for $30, came out of an install, and they work surprisingly well for kick mics, in some case prefer them to my SM91 as the mic preamp is built into the mic, not separate like the SM91. Shure Beta52, not a big fan of it. RE20, have had good luck with. Beyer M88, another personal fav. Audio Technica AE2500 dual element mic, really like this one. AT's ATM25 is also a solid mic I have had good luck with. Did a festival last year, where my kick drum mic for the whole weekend was an old EV 666, sounded phenomenal.

So I say, the "best" mic is the one you have that works with the PA you have to run, with the player you have to mic up. There are a lot of choices to fit any budget, so try a bunch out and gravitate to what works for you. And don't be afraid to try something that people might raise an eyebrow to, like when I chose the EV 666 for a kick mic, over the available Beta52, D12 and D112. The one thing that the drummers came up to me to ask about was the kick sound I was able to get for them. Then I showed them the beat up, rusty worn mic with the taped up XLR adaptor.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

I am still baffled that these discussions occur, the whole "what is best", since there are so many variables that have an effect on things: the sound of the drum, whether it is tuned properly, how the person plays, the PA that is being used, the placement of the mic...on an on you are going to find all these variables that makes this question impossible to answer. Add to that personal opinion...

I own an SM91, love the mic, works great. I have used it standalone with great results, as well as with an SM57. I own a set of CAD drum mics, which the kick mic is the same mic that is branded an Equation mic, the one with the fairly big LF EQ on it. Great for flat PA's, but if you got a PA with a lot of low end already, it can be a bit overwhelming, where you find yourself dialing out LF from the channel to make it work with the PA. Picked up a pair Crown PCC-170's on EBAY for $30, came out of an install, and they work surprisingly well for kick mics, in some case prefer them to my SM91 as the mic preamp is built into the mic, not separate like the SM91. Shure Beta52, not a big fan of it. RE20, have had good luck with. Beyer M88, another personal fav. Audio Technica AE2500 dual element mic, really like this one. AT's ATM25 is also a solid mic I have had good luck with. Did a festival last year, where my kick drum mic for the whole weekend was an old EV 666, sounded phenomenal.

So I say, the "best" mic is the one you have that works with the PA you have to run, with the player you have to mic up. There are a lot of choices to fit any budget, so try a bunch out and gravitate to what works for you. And don't be afraid to try something that people might raise an eyebrow to, like when I chose the EV 666 for a kick mic, over the available Beta52, D12 and D112. The one thing that the drummers came up to me to ask about was the kick sound I was able to get for them. Then I showed them the beat up, rusty worn mic with the taped up XLR adaptor.

Dear Scott.....

This is not really meant to be a serious thread.  Think of it more as a permanent alternative to endless new threads on the same topic, sort of a dead horse for all to beat on without cluttering up the Forums with the same old, same old.......

You may now resume your regularly scheduled web-surfing. 

[Dave Dermont]

I am still baffled that these discussions occur, the whole "what is best", since there are so many variables that have an effect on things: the sound of the drum, whether it is tuned properly, how the person plays, the PA that is being used, the placement of the mic...on an on you are going to find all these variables that makes this question impossible to answer. Add to that personal opinion...

I own an SM91, love the mic, works great. I have used it standalone with great results, as well as with an SM57. I own a set of CAD drum mics, which the kick mic is the same mic that is branded an Equation mic, the one with the fairly big LF EQ on it. Great for flat PA's, but if you got a PA with a lot of low end already, it can be a bit overwhelming, where you find yourself dialing out LF from the channel to make it work with the PA. Picked up a pair Crown PCC-170's on EBAY for $30, came out of an install, and they work surprisingly well for kick mics, in some case prefer them to my SM91 as the mic preamp is built into the mic, not separate like the SM91. Shure Beta52, not a big fan of it. RE20, have had good luck with. Beyer M88, another personal fav. Audio Technica AE2500 dual element mic, really like this one. AT's ATM25 is also a solid mic I have had good luck with. Did a festival last year, where my kick drum mic for the whole weekend was an old EV 666, sounded phenomenal.

So I say, the "best" mic is the one you have that works with the PA you have to run, with the player you have to mic up. There are a lot of choices to fit any budget, so try a bunch out and gravitate to what works for you. And don't be afraid to try something that people might raise an eyebrow to, like when I chose the EV 666 for a kick mic, over the available Beta52, D12 and D112. The one thing that the drummers came up to me to ask about was the kick sound I was able to get for them. Then I showed them the beat up, rusty worn mic with the taped up XLR adaptor.

Dear Scott.....

This is not really meant to be a serious thread.  Think of it more as a permanent alternative to endless new threads on the same topic, sort of a dead horse for all to beat on without cluttering up the Forums with the same old, same old.......

You may now resume your regularly scheduled web-surfing.

Stop! You're Both Right!

This thread  is both an inside joke to forum old-timers, and a way to help newbies who want to know where to spend their limited cash on just the right magical microphone for that awesome kick drum sound they are looking for.

What baffles me is that this kind of attention is rarely given to the lead vocal.

Scott Jordan's thoughtful reply is one of the best ever given on this subject. Maybe I should stick it to the top of the forum and lock it.

What I'd really like to see is more posts like "I just used a Brand X Model Y on input Z, and it was awesome!

Don't be scared. If your weird mic choice works out, you will be looked on as a genius. If it doesn't work out, you can change the mic and just be viewed as a guy who cares.

[Ivan Beaver]

What I'd really like to see is more posts like "I just used a Brand X Model Y on input Z, and it was awesome!

Don't be scared. If your weird mic choice works out, you will be looked on as a genius. If it doesn't work out, you can change the mic and just be viewed as a guy who cares.

Everybody is looking for the "magic bullet" that will make the kick sound great in any situation.  It doesn't happen.

Yesterday I did a local Beer fest with several bands.  The kick sounded GREAT.  Absolutly nothing wrong with it.  Plenty of punch-impact-fullness-attack etc.  What everybody is looking for.

So what was the mic?  More on that later-lets look at some of the variables first.

1: The "room".  We were outside-with nothing to get in the way (except a very large thick rock wall behind the band)-so no room modes-reflections etc to screw with the response.

2: The speaker system.  We supplied it.  Plenty of depth and plenty of headroom.  So no running out of gas on that end.

3: System alignment.  I did it-so everything was coming from a single source-signal aligned so everybody got the same arrivals-so that was all good.

4: Kick drum.  The first band did not have a hole in the head-but still sounded OK.  The other bands had drums that were well tuned and played.  So no problem there.

5: The Console.  Yamaha M7-so we had plenty of eq control there.

6: Mic placement.  I put it where I felt it would work fine.  No fine tuning-just "stuck it" well inside the drum-pointed towards the beater and off center.

7: The MIC.  Yes the thing everyone is wanting to know.  It was your garden variety Sm57-properly placed and eq'd.

This was a case in which all of the factors "came together" for a great sound.  Any one-in and of itself-would not give the great sound-it takes all of them.

I was very pleased with the sound and can't imagine anybody saying there was something wrong with it.

Just like a great sports team-it takes ALL of them to make it.  One "superstar" and other average players don't make a winning team.

[PhilKwon]

I have used whatever was supplied and learned to make the kick sound as good as possible.
In a pinch, I've had to use a Shure SM58 or 57....if that's all you have, you make do.

I have used the AKG D112 a lot.
Also the Audix D6.

Lately, I have been using a combination of the D112 and a Shure Beta91...I blend the two for a very powerful result.
The D112 provides the Ooomph and the 91 gives good punch.

Kind of like top and bottom mic'ing a snare drum.

I've heard the RE20 and AT2500 are both excellent kick drum mics and look forward to trying them.

[David Hayes]

PL33 is supposedly a budget knock off of the RE20.  Or so I've heard.

[Sam Zuckerman]

Has anyone tried a Crown PCC-160 inside the kick drum. I've heard people talking about this before but have never heard the results myself. Any comments?
I would probably pair this with a B52 or D112 on the outside. Thoughts?

I will try this next chance I get but I just wanted to hear some opinions.

[Mark Rice]

Figured I'd get this one out of the way. I'll answer that it is situational, what sound I am looking for determines which mic I select. Therefor there are many, "BEST" kick drum mics.

We use the Sennheiser e602-II... We love it.. boost ~5-6k then 53Hz it sounds incredible especially for the price.

[ProSoundWeb Community]