Best kick drum mic for many styles of music

nuemes

nuemes

Be Here Now
I'm aware that kick drum mic polls have been around lately but they've specified that they're for click-heavy kick mics for heavy metal/prog music.

I would like to know what kick drum mic you've had direct experience with that you feel can best handle many types of music: pop, country, indie, jazz, rock, etc.

If you could have only one kick drum mic for all of these styles, what would you choose (and why)?
 
I'd probably go with something fairly neutral, that will basically pick up the natural sound of the kick.

That way, if it doesn't sound right, then it isn't your fault. :D

In all seriousness, though, if you start with something fairly neutral in character, you can use EQ to tailor it from there to get whatever kind of sound you're looking for. A good starting point might be the Electrovoice Re-20. But as a general rule, the flatter, less colored mics tend to be the most versatile.
 
Chessrock - what would you consider to be nuetral (or close to nuetral) around $200? I've looked at the RE20 but am not sure at $400.
 
I put an sm7 on kick a couple of days ago and really liked it actually. I am confident that good kick sounds could come from it. I got mine for $200 on ebay so it's in your budget if you can find a deal. I think john feldman uses it on kick.
 
nuemes said:
Chessrock - what would you consider to be nuetral (or close to nuetral) around $200? I've looked at the RE20 but am not sure at $400.
Click to expand...

You could probably get a used PL-20 off ebay, which is basically the same mic, for around $200 or so.
 
I've had good results with a beta57 stuck inside...placement will enhance the natural vs. click vs. "bap" sounds of the drum and, I know it sounds odd but I dig the results...there are probobly better choices for this) my "beater" xmlv69 on the outside, an inch or so off the floor but a few feet back out of the "blast zone" to pick up the shell sound of the toms and kick. Sometimes I'll move it up higher to about 3 feet to emphasize the mid tom sounds. The front mic really seems to help with getting a more natural sound as opposed to the triggered heavily isolated metal like set ups.

I'm not a big fan of having a dozen mics on a set. Usually a pair of 603's as x/y over-heads, 2 snare mics (top and bottom), one in the kick (the beta) and one down low out front off to the floor tom side (the mxl69). It gets a little tricky getting the phase on the front mic but I've got tape marks in the sweet spots.
 
Atm25 160.00

Go to this link and you can listen to an atm25. Scoll down to drum mic test and click on that.
the recording is nothing but me testing some mics The setup is One overhead mic, A 603 mxl and one kick mic, A atm25.
http://mysite.verizon.net/resopl6x/
 
Last edited:
I love my beta 52. I have done some session work for ppl, with the styles range-ing from R&B to latin to jazz. With some minor or extreme eqing, the beta fits right in. For a jazzy sound, cut the lowend and some highs. For rock, leave it flat or take some mids away and maybe add a little bit at like 35. I LOVE MY BETA 52!
 
After using all the different kick mics out there many many times (at least most all of them) I have been preferring the Sennheiser 602 lately. Amazing bump in that little mic. The Beyer m88 is another good shure bet. The shure Beta 52, Audix D6 and even the AKG D112 are also very easy to use on just about any kick drum. Personally, I hate the sound of RE20's and 421's on most all rock stuff.
 
For me, I just got the best result in any of my endeavors by dropping an AKG451B over the front of the kick (like draping a mic over an amp), just above a cut-out hole, which gave me the warmest, fullest, deepest sound of anything I've tried. I also had a T3 about four feet above on the kick side to get the "click." I wish I'd discovered this earlier -- and I'm sure something like this has been posted on here, but I've not been looking.
 
xstatic said:
The shure Beta 52, Audix D6 and even the AKG D112 are also very easy to use on just about any kick drum. Personally, I hate the sound of RE20's and 421's on most all rock stuff.
Click to expand...
Hah, that's funny, I was just going to say the exact opposite. :D

Don't much like using a D112 or a Beta 52 -- they end up requiring way too much EQ or another mic used in conjuction to get a decent sound that cuts through the mix.

OTOH, I've had very good experience with 421s and RE20s, especially the former. Nice fat natural sound but also captures a good amount of 'click,' making it easier to sit in a mix. Either the RE20 or 421 can probably be found on eBay for somewhere around what you're looking to spend.

For cheaper, take a look at the AT mic suggested. I've never used it myself but I have a friend who gets very nice kick sounds on his recordings and it's what he uses and swears by.

Of course, a lot depends on what the drummer's kick actually sounds like in the first place. :)
 
If you are looking to spend no more then $200 take a look at the ATM25, Beta 52, and D112. Those are all in your price range. I'd like to have a RE20 so I could use it on vocals also.
 
Chessrock's suggestion is a great one. Also consider the E/V ND868 which is a very neutral kick drum mic and sounds good on lots of different kicks.

If you own an SM57 try that too, it can make a great kick mic and typically leaves you with "what you want" in a mix rather than having to roll everything off that you "didn't need" in a mix. I'm finding the 57 more and more useful in this position.

War
 
nuemes said:
I've looked at the RE20 but am not sure at $400.
Click to expand...

Buy it used, it will never lose its value and will always be easy to sell. Its also a standard for voice over and excellent for vocals. EV parts and service department is excellent too.
 
Don't forget the SM-91!!!!! for prog rock combine this mic with a large dynamic for ultimate "click and body".......For most large shows I have run sound for----5000 to 20000 seats, sm-91 was a second mic in addition to and D-112, Beta52, M-88....etc...etc....If click you want.....click you will get... :)

We always had 3 old RE-20's in the drawer...(in fact one of them was so old it was a PL-20)...they never won out over the other standards.....don't get me wrong I love the RE/PL-20......just not on the kick Drum.
 
ATM25 all the way! About as neutral as you can get on a kick. I've used it at festivals on many different kicks and it always sounds good!

I've never used either, but from what I've read, both the Shure Beta 52 and the D112 are rather colored. This may be perfect for a certain sound, but if you want a mic to do many types of music, I'd get the ATM25. You can always add "color" via EQ, FXs, tubes, etc.

Just my $0.02

Joel
 
I gotta agree...ATM 25...very neutral yet very full-range throughout its frequencies...not much of a bump or a valley..I use them on bass cabinets also with great results...and toms....I have a Beta 52. Its a nice mic and rather well suited to clicky kinda kik sounds. The D112 sounds like a basketball being dribbled in an empty gym....minus the reverb...Its also quite easy to use but has the most definate 'sound' characteristic. The Audix is an incredible mic on some applications. I dont think jazz is one of em. RE 20 is a great cocktail set drum mic.If you dont have a lot of volume with a drummer and you're looking for detail, this is a great mic. Best bang for the money is still the ATM25.
 
Personally, I don't like the ATM25 much. It is fairly neautral, but in most all rock drum scenarios neutral is not necessarily an advantage. I find it much easier to get a good falt kick drum sound out of most of the other mics than I do getting a good rock drum sound out of an ATM25. Maybe thats why I have never seen it on any riders or used in many studios. I do however like the ATM25's on rock toms:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top