Kickdrum Mic

[diablodavo]

Hey guys, was looking for advice on purchasing a kick drum mic for under £200/$350, I've found nothing but contradicting opinions so far....

Thanks in advance.

[Nick The Man]

AKG D112 and Shure beta 52 seem to be the most poular around here

[ozraves]

I like the Audio-Technica ATM25.

[cavedog101]

Here's a list.In no particular order.

EV RE20.....Audix D6...Audix D4....ATM25....AKG D112....Shure Beta 52....

AKG D12.....Neumann U47fet....SP B3....Sennheiser MD421....


There's lots of others.All of these work really well and for significantly different reasons under many different sets of parameters.Define you individual parameters and then trial several if possible.I will say this....all of the mics in the top row are basically 'put-em-up and push the red button kinda mics.And you'll either like em or you wont. For your budget, D6,ATM25,D112,Beta 52. Of these I also like the ATM25, though on my personal studio set of drums(they never move) I use the Audix D4 in tight and an SP B3 out in front.These two would also match your budget.The D4 is a very overlooked kik mic since the D6 was released. BTW...I own most of these mics mentioned.

[Adam P]

Expand your budget by not too much and you might be able to swing the RE20.

[Warhead]

Lately I dig the SM57 with the Earthworks Kickpad.

War

[noodles2k5]

I vote for Shure Beta 52.

[Eagertone]

D6 is very foolproof. just stick it in the drum and go. if you have no idea what you're doing, you can get good sound with it. if you DO know what you're doing, you can get fantastic sound with it.

earthworks kickpad works wonders too.

[earworm]

i used the D12 , was nice, but honestly, i'm getting much better results with my sennheiser e602, pretty popular mic too
421 works on everything

[Cas]

I must agree... great mic. I also like de ATM25. I own the E602 but I can't get it to sound great. It doesn't define the kick.

[mr.rich]

my vote is re20. this is a very versatile mic and sounds great on kick. i do alot of drum tones that need a sharp tight tone with a bit of beater impact. re20 is great for this but sometimes it doesnt handle a resonant tone all that well, flatens it out to much. ill switch to a d112 if i need a lower more resonant tone. i really dont care for the beta52, for some reason it sounds muddy and hyped around 250hhz. works good for live sound though.

[mattamatta]

There ya go, some more conflicting opinions!

I will say that I have a CAD KBM412, and I dont reccomend it over any of the mentioned mics.

I've gotten some decent results out of it with a lot of eq, but it's just not open enough, too constrained and boxy sounding to get more than a woompf without a lot of eq and work.

My 57 doesn't have the low end that it does, but the 57's got all the rest that defins the percussiveness of a kick drum. BTW some of the clips Warren's done with the kickpad-ed 57 sounded pretty nice; it litterally seemed to add stuff that wasn't there before, I assume by tastefull use of subtractative filtering and loading perhaps.


The KBM412 is, however, better than the Nady.

In conclusion, dont even consider this mic. Get one of the ones mentioned in the rest of this thread. =D

[xstatic]

If you are doing mostly rock drums I would go with either the AKG D112, the Shure Beta 52, the Audix D6, or the Sennheiser e602. They are all similarly priced and all perform pretty well. I have used them all tons of times. They are all a little different and require a little different EQ and/or placement. If you can't get a good sound with any one of them, then it isn't the mics fault. In my opinion no one of those mics is really any better than one of the others, just a little different. No one kick mic I have heard really stands out as a kick mic that just has to be had over one of the others. Personally, I don't like the ATM25, the EVRE20, or the sennheiser 421 on rock kick drums. Of course all of this is just my opinion.

[Warhead]

Originally Posted by mattamatta

I will say that I have a CAD KBM412, and I dont reccomend it over any of the mentioned mics.

I've gotten some decent results out of it with a lot of eq, but it's just not open enough, too constrained and boxy sounding to get more than a woompf without a lot of eq and work.

Yes, the CAD kick mic is horrible stuff and I can't not recommend it enough.

War

[giraffe]

sure b52 or akg d112

it pays to remember that with the re-20, although a better all-around mic,
you're going to need more eq to get that "modern" kick sound.

[Dogbreath]

Another vote for the Beta 52 or D112. I've had the D112, then traded out for the Beta 52. Like em both................

[foreverain4]

Originally Posted by Cas

I own the E602 but I can't get it to sound great. It doesn't define the kick.

uhhhh, you must have it backwards, try flipping it around... (yes, that was sarcastic) i use this mic all the time (E602) and get great results, just remember, a great kick drum sound starts with a great sounding kick drum and a drummer....

[EdWonbass]

Originally Posted by Warhead

Yes, the CAD kick mic is horrible stuff and I can't not recommend it enough.

War

I have this mic. While it is doing the job right now I will replace it one day and move it to floor tom or box in the closet.

I found that the fisrt problem I had was the kick drum itself. After putting a decent head on it (Aquarian Super Kick II) I got a better sound but it still seemed off. I then moved it to just inside the drum pointing at the beater and that improved things.
I too wouldn't recommend this mic over the D112 or the Beta52 but it is workable until you can afford better.

[alexthacowboy]

Blue Kickball 130 USD. and sound very nice as vocal mic too in punk rock bands where vocals are like another electric guitar :P

and the best at least for me, Beyer m88 like 350 usd, but u can use on vocals, guitar cabs.

[bileshake]

I'd go for the D112, this mic has major character. Whatever the placement, it still gave a workable kick sound (flat eq). I used a B52 and couldn't believe people would pay good money for that mic. It had lots of attack but no thump to back it up no matter what i did with it. Maybe I was dealing with a lemon but it went back in the box and back to the shop. It might be a nice choice if you've got a million dollars in pre's which most of us don't.

[improwise]

Sennheiser e901 boundry or 902 or both

[formerlyfzfile]

I use my RE20 quite a bit and quite like the the CAD e100 on kick too.

-mike

[junplugged]

I tested the kbm412 when I got it on acoustic guitar and it was nasty. But then I tried it on the kik, and it wasn't nearly as bad. It's just a place to start for me. Maybe I'll post a clip in a week.

[Nakatira]

I`ve had a good experience with the b-52, backed by a B1, really nice Bonham sound.