Restarting an old discussion: T H E Bassdrum-mic?

Matey I woulndn't waste a U47 on a kick drum!
There is no such thing as THE kick drum mic, but I'll offer a few suugestions: EV RE20, AKG D12 or D112 (as you mentioned), Beyer M88 (my favorite), Sennheiser 421, Shure Beta 56 or SM57. Kick drums are like women, You gotta experiment.
 
AKG D12 (vintage predecessor to the D112)

(Of course you realize that you asked a very subjective question and you will get about a thousand different answers!)

Bruce
 
Some kick drums are JUST like women. You can put just about anything in them and it'll work.
 
maybe I was wrong...

Ok...I don't actually have one but I was going to buy one this weekend because I THOUGHT that a lot of people on here spoke highly of them. THEN I read this post and no one mentioned it: the Shure Beta 52

So...give me some input. Has anyone used it? Has anyone compared it to the AKG (I know the sure handles slightly higher SPL)? Does anyone know of a better bass drum/bass guitar mic for $150 (not interested in used)?
 
Hmm. I'm *never* going to get over having sold my old D12, when I liquidated the old studio. I always liked it better than my RE20 for kick, especially my own personal 20" Slingerland kick (which I did keep!)that was already vintage 20 years ago. If available, the D12 will always be the first mic I'd reach for for kick... But that's water under the bridge now.

However, I have a new mic that I just laid in (just for grins, and specifically to record the tuba for a Dixieland band on a location gig), and the next time I get a crack at doing acoustic drums, I'm gonna stick it in the kick: the Byetone IM29 from The Sound Room. The payment for the gig was decent, and half up front- so I got a pair of IM27s to use for horns, and the IM29 to use for the tuba. I wasn't disappointed in the IM29: the damned thing is *amazing* for good bottom.

Since it was a live gig, I figured the chances were very good that mic stands would get knocked over, and I wasn't inclined to risk my good mics. The 27s were just fine on the trumpet and bone (not too dissimilar to SM58s, which are certainly a few bucks cheaper). But the 29 just _sang_ on the tuba. It'd probably be very interesting for a kick: probably nothing like the D12, and it would need radically different placement, but interesting just the same. And at $120, and built like it was intended to survive the siege on Moscow, it's the sort of mic you can use for a live location thing without having your heart in your throat every time someone moves onstage.

I'm kinda getting into the Russian mic thing these days, since I keep getting dragged out to do these live things. The Byetone dynamics are built like _tanks_, and the prices are very reasonable. Just one to consider: I can't say for certain that the IM29t will rival the RE20 or the D12 for kick. But it certainly has *promise*, if you're feeling adventurous...

I used to use an old Audio-Technica ATM63 for snare. That one had the capsule recessed inside the cast-aluminum housing, and was absolutely bulletproof. I used to kill SM57s in this application, and once I wised up I found that the ATM63 was perfect for the Drummer Who Doesn't Aim Very Well, even if sonically is was a distant second to the SM57. Don't even know if they make those mics anymore, but the IM27 needs to be investigated for this application as well: you could drive nails with it, and just hurt the nails... I just never get a chance to record acoustic drums anymore, seems like...
 
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