sm57 vs e609 vs OSP kick mic

bassmonkey144

bassmonkey144

poor college student
i'm getting ready to record a drum kit, and i only have these 3 mics as dynamic mics for the kick mic. i'm looking for opinions on which one i should use. obviously I am going to try all 3 and see which one sounds the best, but I wanted some other opinions if i could get them. it's a 22'' bass drum if that helps. thanks in advance
 
Well, the DT-610, as 'budget' as it is, is the only 'real' kick mic on your list. With that, my best wild-ass guess is the DT-610 will give you the sound most likely considered a good solid bass drum sound. If your SM57 is a newer Mexican model, you'll have a noticeable mid hump, and the e609....... hmmm. The e609 might not be so bad. It'll have a hotter signal, so watch out. But it may be pretty good. I'll take a SWAG and say your preferences will be the DT-610, the e609, and the SM57 in that order. But it will depend on your music and your tastes. This SWAG will have a better chance of holding true if you are recording plain, 'normal' pop rock like a lot of us.
 
ranjam said:
Well, the DT-610, as 'budget' as it is, is the only 'real' kick mic on your list. With that, my best wild-ass guess is the DT-610 will give you the sound most likely considered a good solid bass drum sound. If your SM57 is a newer Mexican model, you'll have a noticeable mid hump, and the e609....... hmmm. The e609 might not be so bad. It'll have a hotter signal, so watch out. But it may be pretty good. I'll take a SWAG and say your preferences will be the DT-610, the e609, and the SM57 in that order. But it will depend on your music and your tastes. This SWAG will have a better chance of holding true if you are recording plain, 'normal' pop rock like a lot of us.
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thanks for that. I'll probably try both the dt-610 and the e609 and see how they sound. my guess is I will probably like the e609 better.
 
Agreed

Your actual kick mic will provide more of a full sound and more true depending on where you place it, your sm57 and e609 wont have as much body and a lot more click to your kick so it depends on what you want out of your kick.
 
snellular5 said:
Your actual kick mic will provide more of a full sound and more true depending on where you place it, your sm57 and e609 wont have as much body and a lot more click to your kick so it depends on what you want out of your kick.
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well, where would you place the kick mic? i'm probably going to take the front resonator head off for recording and stick the mic just inside the drum.
 
Even if you take the front head off, I would say try having a big and heavy pillow in the drum. Maybe not big, but heavy is important. Then put the mic in close to the middle and try that. If this is a 22" x 18", then about a foot high and less than a foot inside. This will give you a dry and 'present' sound. Use a compessor with almost no gain reduction and get some added low end the compressor can bring out. Oh, and just to make it more complicated, tuning the batter head is important.
 
hey, thanks for that advice. luckily our drummer is a percussion major so tuning won't be an issue.:p thanks for the tips on mic placement. i've never done it with the resonator head off before.
 
i would prefer to leave that front head on and cut a hole in it to get the mic in the drum. the front head has a lot to do with the sound of the drum, not to mention the feel. the kick pedal doesn't respond the same way without that front head on.
 
Leaving the front off (with a big pillow inside the shell) always seems to give you that really dry 80's sound. I mean 'popcorn fart' dry. Live I think it's awful, but for recording you can always add FX later. But if you want to start with an awesome tone and spend less time fudging with it later, put the front head on. Then you can put a mic inside the hole, and one mic further back for room ambiance. Now blend the two to suit your tastes.
 
bassmonkey144 said:
but what if there isn't a hole on the front? will that affect the tone noticeably?
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make one. you can either get a kit at a music store or do what i did when i was younger and use a glass or a small bowl as a guide for making a perfectly round hole and draw around it with a razor knife.
 
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