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Author Topic: Best Kick Drum Mic?  (Read 199266 times)

Steve Garris

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #180 on: September 09, 2015, 12:39:22 PM »

I've totally convinced now that the kick itself is far more important than the mic being used.
Bought an RE320 this year and was thinking of sending it back. Tried a D112 and a D6 and didn't like the sound either. I settled on the D6 cause it was the easiest to setup.
Got a new drummer a few weeks ago. Used the RE320 and I was happy from the first beat. This guys kick sounds like a cannon going off.  I can hear bottom end from it with the PA off.
I may try the D6 later but I think that any decent mic will sound good with that kick.

Yep. I was in a bar last year and the band had a single speaker for vocals, and the drum kit was completely acoustic, and yet I could hardly believe that the bass drum was not plugged into something. It's natural thump was amazing, especially at the back of the room. Nice, warm, well-rounded sound with the perfect amount of slap.
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Matt Edmonds

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #181 on: September 27, 2015, 07:29:33 AM »


In efforts to gain some insight on why some people are attracted to certain mic's, I'll pose this question regarding kick drum microphones (I suppose mic's in general): when considering a mic, is it best to buy a mic that has a frequency response that is in the ballpark of what your taste is?  Is it easier if the mic is flat to begin with?  Is it easier to add what you want to a particular mic with processing rather than taking out certain frequencies?  Aside from EQ bands, do some mic's "color" those frequencies in a way that you can't mix that color out?  Or is every mic able to be tailored?

In the ridiculously short amount of time I've been working with sound, I chose to start with the Beta 52A.  Out of the few I got to play with before I made my first kick mic purchase (and I wish there was a way I could test more mic's at a store), it sounded the roundest and most natural to me.  I'm a drummer that is very much into the acoustic sound of the drum, so I guess you can say I come from that place of wanting to capture a more acoustically-accurate mix.  As a rock/pop drummer that dabbles in brass funk, 70's cover music, and a healthy share of swing, I like the sound I get from the my drums.  They sound the way I want them to, so I want to capture that.
Having said all that, is it easier to achieve that result with a mic that is flat or EQ'ed with a frequency response that's in the ballpark?  And I realize that there is more to mixing that EQ.

If you have a nice sounding kit. Then a flatter "all-purpose" mic will probably pick up a more natural tone. Most kick mics are scooped in the mids. Which is where some good stuff happens on a well tuned kick. But where all the bad is on a badly tuned kick. In the studio, on a well tuned kit, it's not uncommon to see a high dollar LDC mic outside the kick. Imo the most important part of this thread is that the most important part of the chain is the drummer. Next is that he's playing a properly tuned set. After that is mic choice and mic placement. But if you have the first two points covered, the mic choice isn't about what mic you have to use to get a decent result, but what mic you want to use to enhance an already good sounding kick/kit.
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Tim Padrick

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #182 on: September 27, 2015, 11:57:27 AM »

Heil PR40.  Sennheiser E901.
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RyanWilliams

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #183 on: October 03, 2015, 01:35:48 PM »

::) 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.


AKG D112 or a BeyerM88.  The D112 never dies, the M88 sounds awesome too.  I have had to have my Shure Beta52 rebuilt multiple times, the ByerM88 Rebuilt once, and the D112's never.  Plus I like the sound of the D112 and the M88 best, and the Beta52 doesn't sound bad either.  I don't like the sound of the Audix D6 at all.  It seems hollow to me.
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g'bye, Dick Rees

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #184 on: October 03, 2015, 01:41:53 PM »


AKG D112 or a BeyerM88.  The D112 never dies, the M88 sounds awesome too.  I have had to have my Shure Beta52 rebuilt multiple times, the ByerM88 Rebuilt once, and the D112's never.  Plus I like the sound of the D112 and the M88 best, and the Beta52 doesn't sound bad either.  I don't like the sound of the Audix D6 at all.  It seems hollow to me.

How can you tell if a Beta 52 is broken?

You can't unless it quits altogether.  Then it sounds better...
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Scott Wagner

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #185 on: October 03, 2015, 02:10:33 PM »

How can you tell if a Beta 52 is broken?

You can't unless it quits altogether.  Then it sounds better...
I feel the same way about the D112. Interestingly enough, I LOVE the original D12.
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Tim Weaver

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #186 on: October 03, 2015, 03:52:38 PM »

I like a mic somewhere near the kick. Thats my favorite kick mic.







Can we put this thread to bed now?
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #187 on: October 03, 2015, 04:01:21 PM »

I like a mic somewhere near the kick. Thats my favorite kick mic.







Can we put this thread to bed now?

Nope, because I used the most amazing kick drum mic the other night:  SM-58.

We may now put this thread to bed. ;)
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Steve M Smith

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #188 on: October 04, 2015, 03:07:32 AM »

Nope, because I used the most amazing kick drum mic the other night:  SM-58.

As did I last weekend.  Works fine with a properly set up drum.

Back in the eighties we never had special mics for drums.  We used SM58 and SM57 (and Peavey PVM38 and PVM45) mics for everything.


Steve.
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Mike Tinsley

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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #189 on: October 28, 2015, 04:31:11 PM »

How can you tell if a Beta 52 is broken?

You can't unless it quits altogether.  Then it sounds better...

Used two 112's Sat. night with wonderful results- one on stand halfway
into the sound hole and other cradled in pillow inside the other kick.
Gave appropriate hi-lo response w great tone and same eq settings.
Love me some D112's. Can't bring myself to use the 52 but did use it
to break the bead on a flat awhile back...  putting it to bed here.
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Re: Best Kick Drum Mic?
« Reply #189 on: October 28, 2015, 04:31:11 PM »


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