For all intents and purposes, what are the reasons for using each of these mics in a particular kick drum? In other words, when do conditions prescribe one or the other?

Thanks.

Dan

I would use m88 (I know just the old one) on jazz-rock kind of kick,
I am not really fan of 112 who does the job with his bump in hi mid...let's say you desperatly want to sell that bass drum sound with drum skin being older than you...112.
Re20 is nothing but dissapointment after PL20,IMHO.

I love the M-88 on tone rich, well played bass drums. They can be destroyed when used on harder hitters though.
Of the three, the re-20 is the most mellow. I like using them with another, brighter mic for fast/loud music, and by itself on more sparse music.
The D-112 is a generally good on all kicks (to me anyway). I think they got it right with that one.

danmaksym wrote:For all intents and purposes, what are the reasons for using each of these mics in a particular kick drum? In other words, when do conditions prescribe one or the other?

On my last project, I combined the D-112 with the RE-20 and got a very desirable sound. It was a 20" DW kick, and the D-112 was inside, right up against the beater batter, while the RE-20 was poking just inside the cutout of the other batter. No noticable phase issues, but a nice combination of punch (D-112) and thump (RE-20).

Haven't tried the M-88 (yet).

Although it is quite bulky and difficult to squeeze into a tight space, I find that the RE-20 sounds good on the batter side of the kick drum. An even better choice for this position is an Audix D4. This is a very small dynamic that can handle high spl and sounds great on kick drums. I find the D112 works well, but it's not my favorite for kick drum micing. I personally like it better on floor toms and bass cabinets.

I just picked up a new mic made by Stedman called an N-90. It looks like a mini U-87, but it's a large diaphragm dynamic. The capsule is closely modeled after the RE-20, and it sounds great on kick drum.

The only one of these mics that I have used is the D112, I'd say its a safe bet for making any kick drum sound good, however, I have not done much experimentation.

A curious question, though:

How do these mics, especially the D112, compare to the D12?

Hey guys,

Something I just stumbled upon the other day was that using a D112, side by side with an AKG 451E, to close mic a guitar amp is quite effective- almost like a thumpy ribbon mic. It's a very smooth and pleasing sound (from what I've witnessed) Give it a try... maybe you'll have similar results...

Dan

D12 is nice looking mic. Sound however, is very special and when I heard that mic on bass drum, I remembered bunch of crappy LP's from '70.
It can be used for brass, but I can easily think of 44 microphones that could do this job better...They are cheap to get (around 100 Euros) and usually found in a good shape.