Audix D4

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KingNothing

KingNothing

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What do you guys think of this mic? Ed? Where are you? RE? Where are you? BV? Anyone whose used this sucker?

I searched the archives and found one guy who thought it sounded ok. What do you think? I think I may be able to swing one for cheap with some trade in so thats the reason im asking. I would just throw down for an ATM25 or Beta 52, but im poor and this one just happened to be offered.
 
I am using the D4 to mic up my 20" DW bass drum going through a Mackie mixer into a Delta 66 card and finally into Cakewalk. The sound is killer! It gives the right mix of punch and bottom end with great control. The D2 is great on toms as well. I've used the D112 before and the D4 is just as good if not better. Good luck!!
 
Sorry

I've not heard or used it. But it seems all the sales guys at the local music shops around me are pretty excited about all the Audix drum mic packages. But for some reason, it seems people here have been reporting not too many good results on the drum packages.
 
Sorry... haven't used them either - I'm partial to 57/58s on snare/toms with two small-diaphragm condensers (ATs) on overs and an ATD12 (vintage) on kick. Salesguys at local shops here are excited about them here too, but you can take that with grain of salt 'cos they were excited about the Marshall 2001XL large-condensers and we all know what they're like!!!

I think salesguys get excited over the low ticket items in general - 'cos they're easy to sell, rather than being impressed by quality or sound. Sales guys concept of what is "good" or not is not the same as an engineers - to them, it's "good" if they blow a lot of them out the door (hmm, a lot of customers buy them, so they MUST be good!). Engineers don't give a damn how many people buy, they try it and if it sounds good, it is good.... you can see the slightly different orientation in quality perception there...

Bruce

PS... before the flames start - I KNOW I'm generalizing... of course, not ALL salespeople are like that...
 
My funny recent story about Audix mics....:)

I was mixing sound a couple weeks ago, and I went to put a 57 on the snare drum. The drummer said "Oh man, you aren't going to put a 57 on my snare are you? Where is the D1?"

I promptly replied "There is no way I would EVER use those over midrange hyped bullshit sounding mics on ANYTHING if I care about how it sounds. You will never see me use that crap". :) The drummer replied "But that 57 has all that crappy sounding hi midrange" to which I replied "That 57 is the mic that has defined snare drums and guitars with most popular music for the last 30 years. It IS the sound for most Pop music" to which he said "But that is old technology. The Audix mics are NEW technology. Come on man, get with the new" to which I replied "Dude, when I hear anything new coming out that sounds worth a shit where they used Audix mics, and I hear a lot of it, I will then start to use them". Not much he could say to THAT!!! ;)

This whole conversation took place with me forgetting that this drummer is a Outside Sales person for Audix....:D The mics are made about 20 miles from where I live now (yes King, I got out of The Black Hole yesterday!). So, it made the whole slam that much better to say it to a guy that sells them for a living.....:)

Now, as to your request. I have used the D4 once each for micing a bass guitar speaker, and on a kick drum. For either application, it will work well enough. I would not describe the sound as "killer", "brilliant", or "stunning". Mostly, "average", "okay", "that will work for now" come to mind for kick drums, but for micing a bass guitar speaker, it actually sounded pretty darn good.

If you really play with mic placement and tuning the kick, the D4 will work very well for you. While it is nowhere in the same league as an RE 27 or RE 20, it is a better overall sound the a AKG D 112, which is the sorriest sounding kick drum mic in 95% of the kick drums I have used it on. So, a D4 is actually a much better choice then a D 112, but I actually liked the ATM25 and the Beta 52 better then the D4.

If you are getting it for cheap, don't even hesitate dude! Get that mic.

As to endorsing any of the other Audix D series mics. Well, you read what I think. You will find yourself eqing out lots of messed up midrange on those mics. They tend to have a sort of "pre-emphasised" sound for snare and toms, and that is the same concept as the D 112 for kick. I don't WANT pre-emphasised sound on drums. I like to TUNE THE DRUMS RIGHT, and use GOOD MICING TECHNIQUES for the well tuned kit to get my sound, not have a mic that supplies it nearly no matter WHERE you put the damn mic.

The D series stuff is garbage mostly in my opinion. The sales guys are definately exciting about pushing Audix for two reasons.

1- Audix is making a big push to cram their mics down peoples throats, so they have great price points for music stores.

2- Most of them like ANYTHING that has a SOUND that doesn't require that you think about how to use it. The Audix D series stuff fits right into what a music stores salesmen wants. A mic that sound great at low volumes and has a pre-emphasised sound. They usually like to take a better mic first, show how "dull" it sounds, then pop in the "darling" mic the are pushing with all it's pre-emphasised sound to amaze the sucker. It works with the NT1!!!

Anyway. Get that D4 because it is a far cry better then like a 57 on kick drum. After using it for a long time, you will find how to use it best, and I am sure it will be something you keep around for a long time to come, at least for certain applications.

It is nice to be back in Portland King! Vancouver (The Black Hole) just was not my scene.....:)

Ed
 
Hey Ed.

Thanks for that info. Im not sure what is happening with this mic situation. If I can pick it up cheap, I'll do it.

Its good you got out of Vancouver when you did. I think the coolest thing Vancouver has to be Briz Loan. The pawn shop. That place is the best thing we got going for us. They were the place selling the Phonic and Valley compressors for cheap. I think when I get back in town, me and this other dude are goin in there with everything we own, clothes, bikes, tools, assorted parts...and are throwin down for some decent mics. They usually got some sm57s that well pick up.

The kick drum mic is like the final deal. We need that son of a bitch bad, but no one wants to put up $150.
 
The D4 is an excellent Microphone. The top 7 tracks on this page where recorded using the D4 for the Toms. http://www.mp3.com/tallman

They are all the same drum kit, but the first 3 where mastered proffessional style, while the next 4 are quick mixes (which actually give you a better idea of the raw nature of the microphone).

Listen for yourself and decide.

http://www.mp3.com/ebonyrun
 
Thanks... but chances are, you weren't listening to my band 8-).. Tallman is a great band.. I just helped out with production on their 3 latest tracks.

If, on the other hand, you listened to Ebony Run, well.. wicked.. I'm glad you liked it!

TTYL.

Oh.. I should mention that We used only D4's.. not D1's and D2's.

http://www.mp3.com/ebonyrun
 
Too bad....

Too bad all that music is on mp3.com.

I just don't download from there.

On the other hand, on my website, I have some drum tracks done with SM 57's. http://www.echostarstudio.com/Download.html .

You are looking for The Heavy Brothers. The two songs I tracked, mixed, and produced were Banana's In Pajama's, and Heavy Brother.

The tracking was done with 57's on the snare top and bottom, and the toms going through ART Tube MP's, straight to ADAT's (Type 1). The kick mic is a RE-27 n/d (the Audix rep I mentioned above even had to admit they don't have a mic in league with a RE 27....:)) The overheads were AT 4033's. The Hi Hat was a AT 4051. We even mic'ed the Ride cymbal with a C1000S, and yes, we did use the track while mixing. The over heads used a TL Audio Classic mic pre's, and the hi hat ran through a Peavey Tube mic pre. The ride I believe was running though the Soundcraft Pro mic pre on my Ghost console. Not bad for a bunch of cheap home recording gear I suppose....

Audix is a rip. Great sounds can be achieved with SM 57's, which cost about half to 1/3 what the D series mics cost. Also, throw those D series mics on a guitar cabinet....:( Or a trumpet....:( Not a pretty sound.

Although, give me a OM 5 for a tenor voice live any day of the week. The pre-emphasised high mid hype on those mics works very well to bring a voice out in a dense live mix with a PA that is lacking a bit in horns.

I will not go as far as to say that the D series mics are the worse thing I have ever heard. No. I believe it was the EV 608's or something like that were the worst drums mic I have ever heard. Two mics have defined what you have heard for years on toms, the SM 57 and the Sennheiser 421. I find that the Audix D series mics are wannabe 421's, but seem to be missing that certain something. I think it is that they have too much ability at handling high SPL's. Many of the classic mics for drums had a nice way of taming transients, and when you overloaded the mic, the transformer had a nice way of making the sound warmer. The D series mics seem to allow it all to go through, thus, placement to minimized attack from the drum is crucial.

Distortion has been prevelent in Pop music since the beginning. I like having that bit of warmth distortion provides on drums. I don't hear it on the Audix mics, and that to me makes then unlikely candidates to be in my mic box.

But hey, most of us aren't recording stuff for major release either, and few of us have the benefit of a nice fat 2" tape machine at 15 ips with Dolby SR on every channel (or not), and a nice Neve mic pre, or API, or Avalon, or a Amek console, or a SSL console. So, who the hell cares what mic you use anyway....LOL....

Ed
 
Your SM57's on the Snare sound fabulous.. now I'm not sure if it's the Mic's or the Kit, but I'm much more impressed with the D4's on the Toms.. Really.. deeper sound.. more energetic.. Artificial or not.. I'm only interested in the final product.

Having heard your recording, however, I think I'll be using 57's for snare micing from now on!
 
Hey King, keep in mind that the size of the drum, the head and the tuning make all the difference as far as getting the sound you need and choosing the right mic. Also, I think some engineers need to let the drummer decide how he/she wants the drums to sound instead of slapping the same 'ol mic on the same kit every time and trying to get a "good" sound. The reason I am even responding is because I notice quite a bit of exaggeration on a few postings regarding a certain mic or piece of gear. The D series mics aren't "crap" and they aren't "garbage" either. Find a drummer that knows his/her sound and you're more than half way there. I use an sm-57 on my snare, D4 on the kick (20") and D2's on my toms (10, 12 and 14".) I get a great sound from my DW's with this combo. I've also recorded an acoustic guitar with the D2 and I achieved an excellent sound with that mic. Modern Drummer reviewed these mics a few months back. Great article as they compared them to the D112's and 601's of the world. That's why I got the mics in the first place. Good Luck and no I am not an Audix salesman!!!!!
 
m2nblues: Yeah.. the singer designs their stuff.. I work with him at Alavator Multimedia, a brand new advertising/netintegration company.

Kelly: got a question? if I know the answer I'd love to post it!

- Rich
 
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