bass mic?

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chester

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hello all, christmas is coming up and i only have two overhead mics for my drumset at the moment and would like to get a bass mic for recording.

Ive been looking at different ones and doing a decent ammout of research, but have a question. I have a cheap CB drumset, so its not that great. Would it be worth it to buy a 200 dollar bass mic, or just get a cheaper 50-100 dollar one considering my bass drum isnt that good to begin with?
If so what cheap kick mics would you guys recommend?

thanks in advance.
 
The other 2 "standard" currently produced and commonly used kick mics are the Audix D6 and the Audio Technica ATM25. There is also the AE2500, but it is significantly more $$. Pick your flavor. Personally, I'd spring for a better mic. That way when you get better drums, you won't have to replace the mic too.
 
pohaku said:
The other 2 "standard" currently produced and commonly used kick mics are the Audix D6 and the Audio Technica ATM25. There is also the AE2500, but it is significantly more $$. Pick your flavor. Personally, I'd spring for a better mic. That way when you get better drums, you won't have to replace the mic too.
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yea, that is true, but I play bass and guitar as well and am only 16 so it will be mannnnnny years before I get a new drumset.
I had been looking at the AKG D112, Audix D 6, and sennheiser e602, leaning more towards the first two, so il look into the ATM25 as well.
 
The D112, D6 and ATM25 are all good mics (I own the D6 and ATM25, as well as a couple others). It's mostly a matter of personal taste at this point. If you buy used, you should be able to get a pretty good deal on any of them. I think I paid about $100 each for my D6 and ATM25 off E-Bay. Generally, I subscribe to buying the best gear I can, within reason, even if I have to save up a bit longer to get there. There is nothing quite so disspiriting as buyer's remorse once you buy something and then later think that you should have spent a bit more and bought a better model. I hate selling off cheaper stuff to trade up. Generally ends up costing me more than if I had bought better gear in the first place.
 
ATM 25. I go through mics like an emo kid goes through mascara and this one has stuck around for a few years and tpyically sell on ebay for less than $100. You'll be happy with it, and if you're not, you can definitely get your money back.
 
I've got these and I prefer them in this order for the genre that I mainly record (Metal).

D6 - Metal thump with a click. will require less EQ

ATM25 - kind of a D6 D112 mix Rock

TSM411 - surprise mic for the cost. excellent tom mic and can be used on the kick

D112 - Round sound kinda woofy... Rock, alternative stuff. IMO not a good Metal mic. Okay Rock mic


Recommendation...

live use - spend as little as possible for the best quality which would not include any of the three above except the TSM411

recording - get the best mic you can afford based on genre

the quality of your KIT should not dictate the quality of the mic.
 
d112 is pick of the bunch for me, it sounds good, and virtually indestructable.
 
pohaku said:
The other 2 "standard" currently produced and commonly used kick mics are the Audix D6 and the Audio Technica ATM25. There is also the AE2500, but it is significantly more $$. Pick your flavor. Personally, I'd spring for a better mic. That way when you get better drums, you won't have to replace the mic too.
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I think the ATM25 might be out of production now. Its a great mic and works on more than kicks.
 
I just got the D6 like 3 months ago, it's a great mic for metal and requires very little EQ if any. Great mic!

B
 
K.P. said:
I've got these and I prefer them in this order for the genre that I mainly record (Metal).

D6 - Metal thump with a click. will require less EQ

ATM25 - kind of a D6 D112 mix Rock

TSM411 - surprise mic for the cost. excellent tom mic and can be used on the kick

D112 - Round sound kinda woofy... Rock, alternative stuff. IMO not a good Metal mic. Okay Rock mic
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thanks for that post, it helped a lot. It seems like im leaning towards the D-6 right now, but well c.

thanks to every1 who posted, its made me consider different options.
 
D6 is a great mic. I've used it for Americana/rock stuff as well.
 
Try a ribbon. I've had the best results with ribbons--and only use a ribbon to mike a bass.

Bodhisan
 
...

I guess everyone forgot about the pro go to mic, or they don't care for it, but you can get a used Shure beta 52 for cheap. It's a great mic and standard in all studios. Most recorded kicks you hear now are betas, d112s or telefunken U47s micing. If placed well they don't need eq'ed, but the D6 can be thrown in anywhere and sound fairly okay, not usually my pick though. The B.L.U.E. Kickball is worth a look too, only $119 new, plus it sound good on bass guitar amps. Good luck :D
 
scary

Bodhisan said:
Try a ribbon. I've had the best results with ribbons--and only use a ribbon to mike a bass.

Bodhisan
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i thought that ribbon mics are a little to sensitive for a clobbering from a bass drum ,i guess its a question of placement.this guy wanted something on a budget so a decent ribbons probabley out of range,alot of people complain that a d112 sounds boring ,if your budget is really low and you have no other mics a good starter that you´ll never run out of uses for is an sm57,
I like to use a sennheiser md421 (another good all round mic)if you have a german connection you can pick up a vintage one on ebay for around 140euros
if you save abit more $s an electrovoice re20 kicks some mighty ass and you can use em for vox too
 
chester said:
thanks for that post, it helped a lot. It seems like im leaning towards the D-6 right now, but well c.

thanks to every1 who posted, its made me consider different options.
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good luck... :)
 
AKG D112 gets my vote, or a Shure SM7 which can be used for a whole bunch of other stuff. I record funk and rock mainly though, so it may not be your choice.

The D6 sounds a bit fluffy for my liking, although I do love the Audix D2 and D4 on toms!
 
I use the Shure Beta 52 for kick drum and it works fine. It responds well to the main two focal freq. points I pay attention to in recording kick (70-150 Hz and 4 - 5 kHz). It also responds very well with the high pressure levels of the kick. Price quality is great with this mic.

Carlos
 
Given your current gear and situation I'd get a Shure SM57 ($89 new). It can cover guitar cabs & snare extremely well and it's not too shabby on kick & bass cabs in a pinch.

Upgrade to a dedicated kick mic as your collection grows.
 
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