Differnece between Audix D2 and D4

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Nate74

Nate74

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I've been recently very impressed with the Audix I5 so it got me thinking about Audix as I begin to explore tom mics. Currently, the few times I've tracked drums I've been fairly pleased with the sound of just my overheads when it comes to toms. But recently I got the tracks from one of the mix contests (#9) with all 5 of the tom tracks and it helped me realize I might need to start thinking about micing up toms as I get more serious about drum recording.

So my question (at long last) what are the differences between the D2 and D4? Seems like just the frequency repsonces and cost...

Heck, are these even worth looking at? They're right in my budget range. Others I've considered are e604, beta 56a or maybe a couple more I5s...

Geez, just what we need, another "tom mic" thread....
 
the D4's response is a little bit "deeper" than the D2, but other than that there's not a lot of difference...both are the same size, and are actually pretty small. the only thing i have against them is that i don't know how well they work on sources outside of drums - i tried using a D2 on a distorted guitar cab, and it sounded like ass. if you need versatility, i would probably just go with sm-57's

if you do spring for the d2/d4's, i would consider snagging something like the dp-5a set, which has the d6, 2 d2's, a d4, and i5 + a road case and 4 clip-on rim mounts...the whole thing can be had for less than $600, which isn't much more than getting just the d2's and d4
 
Personally, I do not even care too much for the D2's on toms. I would much rather have D4's on toms with a D6 on the lowest toms, but then I am usually after that big rock drum sound. 604's and even 609's work really well on toms, as do the beta 56's and beta 98's.
 
X, 609's on Toms! I've never thought about it, but as I do I can't see single reason it isn't worth a try. :rolleyes:

Ironklad Audio, thanks for the heads-up on the Audix kit. Looks like it would snag me another I5 (which I'm really starting to dig) though I might not really need the D6, still it's worth a look!
 
I used the i5 on a guitar cab and it sounded awesome, it beats a '57 on everything i've tried. D2 i havn't tried on anything other than drums, but i tried the D4 on bass cab and didn't really like it.
 
Elton Bear said:
I used the i5 on a guitar cab and it sounded awesome, it beats a '57 on everything i've tried. D2 i havn't tried on anything other than drums, but i tried the D4 on bass cab and didn't really like it.
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I've sworn by the '57 for so long I'm affraid to try the I5 on much, thinking it could make obsolete my pair of '57s.... interesting point on the D4 not being the best on a bass cab.

I guess I'd be extra pleased if the mics I chose for use on toms, also doubled for something else (other than paper weights.)
 
I have had good luck with 604's on guitar cabs as well. Picking up a three pack of 604's is cheaper than 3 609's, but the 609's also work nicely on toms as well, so either direction would not hurt. As far as I5's go... a lot of companies around here have picked up I5's. at first most of them used them pretty blindly in place of 57's. Now I am seeing many of them swtich back to 57's about 50% of the time. Almost like the initial infatuation has passed. I personally can remember many times at a club that I work at when we have taken the I5's off of certain guitar cabs and snare drums and replaced it with 57's or a beta57a and been much happier. Half the time though the I5 does sound better. Basically, I would hesitate to put all your eggs in the I5 basket and not have 57's around as well. If you do want a mic specifically for snare, the beta57a works better for me than either the standard 57 or the Audix I5 almost every time. It also seems to work wonders on bass cabs when you are blending with the direct signal, and on stage makes an excellent vocal mic that I usually prefer to the Sennehiser 8xx or 9xx series (dynamic models), the Audix OM's, and the shure 58 and beta 58's.
 
Nate74 said:
Interesting point on the D4 not being the best on a bass cab.
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I was using a D6 at the same time, which I thought I would like, but the best bass sound I can get is SM58 on the back and an EV RE20 on the front
 
Nate74 said:
Geez, just what we need, another "tom mic" thread....
Click to expand...

Ironklad Audio nailed the differences between the two Audix mics.

If you're looking for an absolutely killer tom mic, the CAD M179 in hypercardioid with the pad engaged is absolutely a sound to die for. If you want to hear attack, punch & depth delivered with as much off axis rejection as any dynamic hypercardioid can deliver, check them out. I have yet to find anything that delivers like them in any reasonably priced range, and placement is way too simple. They also reach down to 10hZ so using on rack and floor toms = consistent sound and full delivery.

Seriously crazy good tom sound, I own 3 for this very reason.

They also work wonders on tons of other sources and have completely variable patterns.

War
 
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