Hello,

I was wondering if I could get some advice / opinions as to moderately priced bass drum mic's. I'm looking to spend between $200 & $400. Right now I'm using a Audix D6 and I'm not real happy with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Scott Picco
Piccoman2@hotmail.com

the 2 most common kick drum mics are the AKG D112 and a Shure Beta 52. the 52 is a lump of crap coated with a stainless steel shell. The D112 is alright and it's pretty much impossible to overload - which is a plus.
But I've been using an ElectroVoice RE-20 on my kick. The problem with the first two microphones I mentioned is that they are really great for bass response - and that's it. A kick drum gives off more than just low frequencies, so you want something that has great low response but will also respond to the rest of the drum's sound.
the EV RE-20 is good for other stuff also, but i primarily use it on my kick drum. It's about $400 but well worth it as it is also a great vocal mic.
I've also used the Sony c48 on the kick, but that mic's about $1200 and, honestly, I like the EV better ( better on the bass drum that is).

i've also had decent results with a sennheiser 421 and the unsung audio-technica atm25. the 421 is a pretty versatile mic.

The ATM25 is by far my favorite dynamic bass drum mic. The D112 scoops too much mids for my taste.

I tend to use the ATM25 on a folded t-shirt or rag laying against the shell gaffer tapd down by the stand mount part. This give a bit more los and take out the dreaded bouncing basketball kick sound some kick drums have (especially those with two clear heads). Then I'll throw some condenser mic somewhere on the kick, like an SM81, akg460 or C1000, Oktava 012, or anything else like those microphones.

I've also found I really like the AKG D12, which has much more mids and low mids. This works great as well in the above configuration.

YMMV.

Good luck,

ben adrian
oakland, ca

an overlooked option for those that are on a budget is to get a crown/realistic PZM and toss it into the kick drum on top of whatever dirty rag the drummer uses to muffle that thing. i found that this technique picks up the natural tone of the drum w/o alot of frequency boosts to sweeten up the sound. the only thing it lacks is a strong attack, however, this can be compensated by relying on an overhead or mic'ing the beater side of the drum. i recently picked up a crown proxo on the ebay for about 50 bucks and have been very pleased with the results i have been getting from it. and if nothing else it is fun to play around with.

eml1122 wrote: and if nothing else it is fun to play around with.

And it looks like some sort of poisonous sea creature.

scott,

i thought you had an akg d12? or is that what rick or keith used on the records you did with hell-op?
in any case, i would say to try that one, and then (to diffuse cash spent) try the ev re-20 that chris mentioned above--although if i had one, i might use it on a guitar cabinet. perhaps the d12 is more common, but it withstands high spl and really doesn't sound all that bad. i could have sworn that that's what you were using anyway. the other methods discussed above sound interesting, but i'm not sure about how it would sound in a vistalite kick.

regards,
jet.

Piccoman2 wrote:Hello,

. Right now I'm using a Audix D6 and I'm not real happy with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Scott Picco
Piccoman2@hotmail.com

Hi
I've used the D4 with greatest success, followed by an Oktava MK-319. I have also tried the Beta 52, the D112, the 421 extensively. None of thosoe tickle my fancy, although they work.

It's so hard to say what mic is best, since all kick drums are so different. The D4 never sounds muddy, has excellent low-frequency response, and is very "tight", for lack of a better term. It is also very small and easy to place just about anywhere, and seconds as an excellent snare mic. Don't know about the D6, but the ads with all those lightning bolts really turned me off. The mic's unique feature was that you never have to spend time positioning this mic, it will always sound good wherever you put it. Bologna.

I was wondering if anyone had used a Beyer M88 on a kick drum. If so do you know if you absolutely have to use the pop screen that Beyer says you have to if micing bass or bass drum?

the Beyer M88 has a pretty high SPL, but it all depends on how close you mic stuff. I didn't actually like this microphone on a kick. It is suited better for woodwinds and brass. Maybe vocals.
Someone mentioned the fact that you really could use different mics depending on the drum. This is true.
I still hold fast to the EV-RE20 because it's pretty darn versitile.