Favorite Kick Mic

  • Thread starter Thread starter BobbyBalow
  • Start date Start date

Fav. Kick Mic

  • Beta 52

    Votes: 19 21.6%
  • Beta 91

    Votes: 3 3.4%
  • AKG D 112

    Votes: 23 26.1%
  • SM 57

    Votes: 3 3.4%
  • Sennheiser Evolution E 602

    Votes: 5 5.7%
  • Audix D6

    Votes: 20 22.7%
  • ATM 25

    Votes: 5 5.7%
  • Radio Shack Discount Mic

    Votes: 10 11.4%

  • Total voters
    88
Electrovoice RE20 inside about 5" away from the batter head pointing directly at the beater
 
After trying an AKG D112, a Shure Beta52, a Shure SM 57 and an EV N/D868 back-to-back the other day, I found that the EV N/D868 sounded FAR superior to the rest. In fact the N/D868 alone (inside a Tama Swingstar kick with one head and a blanket in it) picked up enough boom and click that we didn't need to use the beater mic or dial in any low end from the room mic.

I had never really used this mic before, but it's now my favorite, and a seriously under-rated contender. I highly recommend it. YMMV.
 
It changes based on the drummer, the kit and the tune, but the Beta52 is my usual start point.
 
I have gone through a bunch of them, and for some reason, I have been going to the E602 almost every single time for the inside kick. I use a FET47 or a Lomo 19A19 or a BLUE mouse outside, depending on the situation. Amazing that the inside kick mic has stayed the same for me: E602, about 3 inches from the the beater, inside the drum.
I havent had to EQ a kick drum in a long time now....
 
Lately the Sennheiser 602 has been my go to mic as well for the low and high frequency sounds, with an AT4050 for the mid range slap.
 
What I have been doing is d112 just outside the kick and a crown pzm microphone right inside the kick. I forget which model but it is a crown pzm. It's got the sound I'm looking for.
 
I haven't tried all of those microphones...yet.

But I personally LOVE the Sennheiser 421 for kick.
 
beta 91

has anyone even tried a beta 91? They are pretty expensive, yet no one seems to like em enough to try em out.
 
sound clips

Oh! and if anyone has any sound clips of their kick mics, POST EM please! Thanks!
 
I have both a D112 and a D6. Since I got the D6, the D112 has never seen a kick drum. I only use it on bass amps now. The Beta91 is a really great kick mic, but it sounds best when mixed with something like a D6, MD421, RE20, etc...... I got a chance to use the e902 recently and I was really impressed. It had a big fat sound that wasn't too boomy, and it had a really cool midrange punch to it. As for the most rounded sound, it would have to be a toss-up between the RE20 and the N/D868. The N/D868 is basically an RE20 with a more contoured sound to it. EV actually designed it to sound like an RE20 with has been EQ'd a little bit. One nice thing about the RE20 is, once you use it on kick, you can pull it out and put it on horns, percussion, guitar amp, bass amp, vocals, almost anything that needs to sound good. The same thing goes for the MD421.

Cheers,
Zach
 
A couple weeks ago I did a quick recording with my friend for shits and grins. He was playing drums...some Pearl kit, I believe. Kick drum had the resonant head on, with no hole. I used a Beyer TGX-50 on the resonant side, and a Beyer M424 on the beater side, keyed to duck on the snare hits. Pedal was a Tama Iron Cobra double bass pedal.

Here it is, for better or for worse. (link is from yousendit.com)
 
Depends (of course). Beyer M380 with an SM57 to pick up the click. Sometimes an Audix D6, or an ATM25, or an RE-20.
 
Until this week all I had was a 58 for the kick! lol. So this week I borrowed a beta 52, and now my kick sounds like a real one!
 
OneRoomStudios said:
After trying an AKG D112, a Shure Beta52, a Shure SM 57 and an EV N/D868 back-to-back the other day, I found that the EV N/D868 sounded FAR superior to the rest. In fact the N/D868 alone (inside a Tama Swingstar kick with one head and a blanket in it) picked up enough boom and click that we didn't need to use the beater mic or dial in any low end from the room mic.

I had never really used this mic before, but it's now my favorite, and a seriously under-rated contender. I highly recommend it. YMMV.


I'm cringing at the thought of a one-headed swingstar bass drum.
 
Hmmm... 5 of us so far have voted for Radio Shack discount. But no one has fessed up so far...

I actually have 2 Samson S12s. That's all I have to work with, so it is what I will use. I don't have any clips yet though.
 
I second the EV N/D868..... great kick mic....beta 52 is good also
 
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