unhyped kick drum mic

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unhyped kick drum mic

Post by michaelkerchner » Thu Jan 09, 2020 9:41 am

ive been living in beta 52 land for too long. not really feeling the scooped mid, 5K boost aggressive modern rock metal sound any more. i believe the d112 also falls into this category as well. so i guess im looking for first hand experience with flatter kick mics.
sounds good, compress it
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by DrummerMan » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:38 am

I personally love an re20 or sm7 for most natural sounding to my ears kick. Unfortunately my re20 has been in need of maintenance for a while and I dont currently own an sm7 myself. I tend to use my Senn 421 the most now. It's got a little exaggeration going on but nothing like the beta52 that my old studio partner had and that we used by default for a while until I realized that I spent way too much time trying to undo all the things that it did, and trying to make it do things that it didn't.

The 421 through a CAPI vp28 preamp sounds absolutely great for the the thumpier/rockier stuff that I do.
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by joninc » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:42 am

I also like an SM7 - it's really nice and clear but a little lean, for my ears usually I'd want a condenser on the outside of the reso head as well to capture more low end unless i really wanted more snap than BOOM.

An ATM 25 is a great choice and not that expensive for single mic use. An engineering buddy described it to me as "an RE20 on crack" :D
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by michaelkerchner » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:49 am

DrummerMan wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:38 am
I personally love an re20 or sm7 for most natural sounding to my ears kick. Unfortunately my re20 has been in need of maintenance for a while and I dont currently own an sm7 myself. I tend to use my Senn 421 the most now. It's got a little exaggeration going on but nothing like the beta52 that my old studio partner had and that we used by default for a while until I realized that I spent way too much time trying to undo all the things that it did, and trying to make it do things that it didn't.

The 421 through a CAPI vp28 preamp sounds absolutely great for the the thumpier/rockier stuff that I do.
if you had to pick between the re20, sm7 and 421 which one would you choose?
sounds good, compress it
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by joninc » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:02 am

hard to answer without knowing a little more: what type of music are you typically recording? what kind of kick sound do you like the best?

re20 will offer most flexibility and is the least "pre eq'd" of these options.
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by michaelkerchner » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:11 am

joninc wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:02 am
hard to answer without knowing a little more: what type of music are you typically recording? what kind of kick sound do you like the best?

re20 will offer most flexibility and is the least "pre eq'd" of these options.
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by digitaldrummer » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:26 am

I picked up a Telefunken M82 recently. it's got switches for the "smile" (Kick EQ and high boost) vs natural sound. I use the Kick EQ setting and I'm liking it more than my D6. the low-end thump is unreal. I think there are sound samples on the Telefunken site. downside is that it's one of the more pricey dynamics out there...

or maybe try an outside kick mic too? I have an sE X1 D that sounds great, but of course they are out of production now. I've used an AKG C214 and it was Ok too. our any LDC that can take some SPL. Ribbons can give some roundness too.

edit: I'll also add that I use an Avedis MA5 for the kick mic. Another reason for that unreal low end.
Last edited by digitaldrummer on Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by DrummerMan » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:51 am

michaelkerchner wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:49 am
DrummerMan wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:38 am
I personally love an re20 or sm7 for most natural sounding to my ears kick. Unfortunately my re20 has been in need of maintenance for a while and I dont currently own an sm7 myself. I tend to use my Senn 421 the most now. It's got a little exaggeration going on but nothing like the beta52 that my old studio partner had and that we used by default for a while until I realized that I spent way too much time trying to undo all the things that it did, and trying to make it do things that it didn't.

The 421 through a CAPI vp28 preamp sounds absolutely great for the the thumpier/rockier stuff that I do.
if you had to pick between the re20, sm7 and 421 which one would you choose?
I've never had access to all three at the same time or place so it's hard to say, but I've been severely missing the re20. Like said above it depends on the style and what you need from it. Agree that the re20 is flexible and could go in almost any direction with a little eq massaging. The 421 through that CAPI pre just sounds like 70s rock to me without barely doing anything to it. It's been a while since I had my hands on an sm7 so i don't trust my memory for accurate analysis of the sound, just remember liking it and putting it in a neutral category like the re20.

I personally almost never use 2 mics or a condenser on the kick, but I'm usually not trying to get a huge low end for the styles I tend to do. I'm almost always looking for sounds in the range of "thump", "thonk", or "bonk". Just take that into consideration as a grain of salt when hearing my anecdotal advice.
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by drumsound » Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:59 pm

In addition to the above mentioned dynamics, the Beyer M88 can sound really good for a "natural" BD mic. The Sara Quah record in my signature has an M88 on a short stand just inside the shell with no resonant head, to give you an idea of the sound.

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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:05 pm

michaelkerchner wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:49 am
DrummerMan wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:38 am
I personally love an re20 or sm7 for most natural sounding to my ears kick. Unfortunately my re20 has been in need of maintenance for a while and I dont currently own an sm7 myself. I tend to use my Senn 421 the most now. It's got a little exaggeration going on but nothing like the beta52 that my old studio partner had and that we used by default for a while until I realized that I spent way too much time trying to undo all the things that it did, and trying to make it do things that it didn't.

The 421 through a CAPI vp28 preamp sounds absolutely great for the the thumpier/rockier stuff that I do.
if you had to pick between the re20, sm7 and 421 which one would you choose?
If I had access to all three I'd choose an ATM25. It's really that good.

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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by vvv » Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:17 pm

I like the Senn E602II.

It's is scooped, but not anymore than I would do on mixdown - I sometimes add a little narrow 90 or so, never have to cut it.

But I must add, I like kick under the bass ...
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by kslight » Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:15 pm

My default “natural” kick sound would be a RE20.

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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by michaelkerchner » Fri Jan 10, 2020 5:00 am

vvv wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:17 pm
I like the Senn E602II.

It's is scooped, but not anymore than I would do on mixdown - I sometimes add a little narrow 90 or so, never have to cut it.

But I must add, I like kick under the bass ...
ive tried a friends e602, it wasnt bad at all but i heard it as in the same boat with the beta52 and the d112. if somethin is getting scooped around here im gonna be the one doin the scoopin'
sounds good, compress it
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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by Scodiddly » Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:14 am

Remember when there would always be a suggestion for an old CAD E100? That's what I still use, though I'm a live guy and pretty much only do jazz these days. Flat down to 10Hz, add your own damn scoop.

Weirdly enough the original E100 mics are now selling for real money again on eBay. In my own mic collection they have acquired "slightly finicky vintage" status.

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Re: unhyped kick drum mic

Post by drumsound » Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:33 pm

Scodiddly wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:14 am
Remember when there would always be a suggestion for an old CAD E100? That's what I still use, though I'm a live guy and pretty much only do jazz these days. Flat down to 10Hz, add your own damn scoop.

Weirdly enough the original E100 mics are now selling for real money again on eBay. In my own mic collection they have acquired "slightly finicky vintage" status.
Are those the flat ones that came out in the 90s? I had someone bring one in to the old studio.

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