favorite bass drum mic

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kasey
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Kasey

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what is everyone's favorite?? I'm in the market to buy one and i'm not quite sure which direction to go.
 
The AKG D112 is quite a common bass drum mic, with emphisis on "common".
I have heard that the Shure Beta52 is a real nice mic for kick drum as it has more punch than the AKG D112.
 
I still prefer the AKG D-112. Very solid performer.

There's a good article about mic'ing and recording Brazilian percussion in the new issue of Electronic Musician, and most of the photos feature D-112's on the various drums.
 
the sound of ones' kick is going to be far more determined by the drums, the room, the heads, the tuning, the beater and the player than it is by the mic.

there's no magic mic that will make your 18in plywood kick sound like "when the levee breaks"......so there are merits to just about every kick mic......but keep in mind that many "pro" studios often use 2 or 3 mics on the kick (like a 112, a beta91 and a U47) as well as a load of "processing" to get a working kick sound these days. even then many kicks these days are replaced or doctored with samples.

so, in a nutshell, you should aim to create a kick sound that is distinctly yours.....and use whatever gets you there.


cheers,
wade
 
I'm usually using 2 or 3 mics on the kick. One b52 inside the shell, one b52 just in of a couple of inches from the soundwhole (? is that correct english?) and a RE20 about 7 inches in front of the kick. combining them results in a strong dry kick and at the same time that lovely hearing of the actual wind being moved. I'm lucky to have no restrictions on using numbers of mics and with the hd recording tracks are plenty available too. I decide in the mix what to use or not.
 
The only thing I can recommend is the D6. IMO its the best kick mic, but thats just me. I get such a good kick sound I have to do very little eqing to get it sounding good.
 
I have heard great results with the Sm-91........Usually complemented by another mic (beta 52/ EV 868/ AKG d112).....But it really reproduces the high end in the kick.... :) :)
 
I'd sujest an Audio technica atm-25. They're alot more neutral than the other mics mentioned and can get a wider variety of sounds. The other mics are good but they're all very modern rock sounding.
 
The "Franz Ferdinand" albums kick drum was recorded using a SM57. Thing is the engineer taped TWO drums together so the kick was like a big tube.

Prety good results too
 
I've used the D112, MD421, RE20. My favorite is the Peavey 520i.
 
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