Favorite Kick Mic

[Warhead]

I second the EV N/D868..... great kick mic....beta 52 is good also

The ND868 will pretty much always work. The RE20 as mentioned is a great go to kick mic as well. The Beyer M88TG is a good one as well, nice round low mid thing happening that is sort of a classic rock sound.

That D6 is CRAZY. Some mics have click...some have slap...this mic has TONS of paper-y slap that can make a metal track shine. But for typical use it would be quite annoying! Very specialized in my opinion.

Fairly often though it's an SM57 for me, on rock kick that you don't need all that sub-bass stuff going on it can be the balls.

War

 

[PacoWang]

I love my D6. Although I also own a Beta 52 and a 602, I still like the way the D6 goes with the sample I use on my DMPro for kick drum sounds.

 

[DigitMus]

Another vote for the RE20, though sometimes an ifet7 (or a U47fet in good shape) is just the ticket.

 

[bigwillz24]

I heard a Beyer and man did it sound good on a kick....

The RE-20 is a good call too...

 

[Justus Johnston]

I've only ever really used the D112. I noticed it got the most votes. I didn't vote because I haven't actually used many of these mics. I've tried the SM-57 on, by now, just about everything, and I think I prefer the D112 on kick for pretty much any style of music.

So what are some thoughts on the D112? Is it truly the most well-rounded kick mic?

 

[Justus Johnston]

Just thought of something else to ask. There's no doubt the D112 is the best SINGLE mic I've ever used to pick up a kick, but what about using two mics? I've used the D112 inside the drum close to the beater and a large diaphragm condensor (I've tried various types with varying degrees of success) placed about 1 1/2 feet away from the outer head (and a blanket put over the mic and kick to minimize bleedthrough) in order to pick up the really low bass. This combination seems to work OK, for something I just thought of on my own.

Is this an optimal setup for dual-micing a kick? I got really good results from it, but I'm sure there are better ways.

 

[jake-owa]

Blue Kickball.

...it's the red one.

 

[giraffe]

is that thing seriously useable?
or just another piece of crap from blue?

 

[jake-owa]

Well, for the kind of kick sound I like it rocks. I like a humpy sound with tons of whomp and a bit of papery slap. It does that well. It kicks ass for bass as well if you cut some lows and shove it up close. It has a three way low cut and suprisingly, for less than a hundie it sounds decent.

I also like my 421 for kick but lately the blue has been winning in the mix for kick. Alone the 421 sounds like it'd be a better kick sound but in the mix..

I am by no means a kick mic afficianado, I love an RE20 but I don't have one so...to answer the original question, I don't know what my favorite is yet.

 

[treymonfauntre]

i've used a cad kbm412, that things only like $50 new isn't it? well its not too shabby at all!

 

[Phildo]

I tend to go with the good ol' RE20 (mainly because they impress the hell out of people!), but I've had some stunning results with a £250.00 Shure PZM before now (upgrade from my old Radio Shack PZM) - can't remember the model number. Such total clarity and punch and enough SPL handling to withstand a Saturn 5 takeoff.

But then a 58 can work wonders in the right situation. Especially where the bass player's really low and dubby.

 

[EdWonbass]

i've used a cad kbm412, that things only like $50 new isn't it? well its not too shabby at all!

That's all I have and I make it work. I mean, you have to eq the crap out of it but it will do the trick.

 

[trizzent]

I personally am not a fan of the RE20. I mean sure, it works if you EQ the heck out of it, but I've never seen anything special in it.

I also think that the D112 sounds aweful in comparison to the original the D12 wich sounded wonderful.

The audix D6 seems to be the way to go on all around sound quality and response in a newer mic. It seems to work well on any kick right out of the box. The only thing I don't like about it is the low end is bumped a little too much, but other than that it rocks.

A 421 is always a nice bet for a kick any day.

The real truth is you can use any mic on a kick and make it sound good. The first thing that has to be right is the kick tuning and sound. If it sounds like crap, then thats probably the first thing to fix.

Heck, I've heard kick recordings that were done with a 57 that sound great. We all have whether we realized it or not.

 

[ibleedburgundy]

Right now I'm using a 57. It sounds pretty good. My D6 should be here any day now. I didn't vote in the poll.

 

[something cool]

ElectroVoice RE20 or Sennheiser MD421

 

[corso]

i've used a cad kbm412, that things only like $50 new isn't it? well its not too shabby at all!

Yeah. I am not a big fan of discreet, close-miked drum sounds, I tend to favor a 3-mic jazz kit type technique (one OH centered on the snare, one off to the floor-tom side and one out front low, all equidistant from the snare) and usually those three are ribbon mics, but I did pick up one of those CAD dynamic drum mic sets for the hell of it acouple of years ago....and I was pleasantly surprised.

I put the 412 close on the kick, level with the beater, and if the drummer is wimpy or inconsistent, I have that track that I can compress a little harder and bring up into the mix for a little more punch without having to dick around too much with the more natural sound of the main three mics.

I've had a D-112 and a Beta 52, and if the main basis of your drum sound is close-miking, it is best to spend the money on mics like those if you can, but the CAD dynamics are absolutely useable, and if I remember correctly, I think I paid $100 for all four mics and a aluminum flight case. Maybe it was $150, but still.

To my ears the 3 TSM-411's that came with the 412 compare favorably to SM-57's, as well. All in all, I would recommend that kit to someone starting out looking for an affordable drum-mic solution.