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anonymous 9 February 2004

I'm currently deciding on either buying a RE-20, SM7,AE2500, or a D6. I've used every mic (and some I left out such as a D112 which I hate the sound of) I listed except for the AE2500 which is a new mic AT made which is a dynamic and a condenser mic housed in one body as a daul element kick drum mic. Has anyone used this mic yet and what was your response. Most kick drum mics are usually under $500 which is the cost of the Ae2500 so I don't wasn't to here anything about another mic being a better choice at $300 less because its $300 less but doesn't sound as good, just comments strictly on performance.

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Randyman... Mon, 02/09/2004 - 17:27

I, too, am eying the AE2500 for dedicated Kick Drum duties.

Last time I asked about it, it was too new to get a response. There has to be some users getting some pro experience with these by now, right?

Right now, I'm using a Beta52, and I'm contemplating the D-6 and AE-2500 to add to the arsenal (a very small arsenal, but it's growing)...

Any opinions on the AE2500?

Later :cool:

TanTan Tue, 02/10/2004 - 13:59

The d6 is a lovely mic, and when i a it with a d112 the d6 sounded much better , until i've recorded all of the drum kit ,with a bassguitar and the soft bassy sound of the audix got lost in the mix imediatly and you could not hear the "puk" of the kick , i switched again to the d112 with the exact same signal chain and i rerecorded the song and the kick sound had much more presence and it was perfectly set in the mix.

anonymous Tue, 02/10/2004 - 21:53

Originally posted by TanTan:
The d6 is a lovely mic, and when i a it with a d112 the d6 sounded much better , until i've recorded all of the drum kit ,with a bassguitar and the soft bassy sound of the audix got lost in the mix imediatly and you could not hear the "puk" of the kick , i switched again to the d112 with the exact same signal chain and i rerecorded the song and the kick sound had much more presence and it was perfectly set in the mix.

I have had the exact opposite results. I find that the added midrange/hi boost coupled with the lowend of the D6 prevents it from ever getting lost in the mix. No eq, almost never. With the D112, I always boosted a little 1K, and some 5 and 7K. Typically I record punk, metal and rock, and expesially with the punk and metal where the "beater click" is important, it really shines great sound.

What kind of music do you normally record?

ooh, its late, i better go to sleep.

Eric

anonymous Wed, 02/11/2004 - 03:08

Originally posted by Barkingdogstudios:
I use an RE20 combined with a Sennheiser 421. Nice thing about these two is that you can use them for a ton of other applications.

hey, IMO that's the best combo you could possibly get! :D

don't have an re20 (borrow one sometimes), but i use md421 pe-ri-od. toms, horns, speech, percussion... :tu:

falkon2 Wed, 02/11/2004 - 04:50

Originally posted by Kurt Foster:
I think it also matters what kick drum you are using, and how it is tuned and damped. On my kick drum the D6 sounds great, soloed and in a mix but on other kicks, sometimes the D6 can get lost, with little hope for pulling the tick back out ... at those times, I find myself wishing I had used the D112.

Would you kill me if I suggested Drumagog? :D

anonymous Thu, 02/12/2004 - 00:08

No drumagoog, I like to get the kick sound right off the uhhmmm..... kick. About drums, I'm very anal about recording drums that are tuned right, I can't stand recording a set thats tuned bad; if I don't have a good sound its time to screw with the drum, after thae drums sound good then its all about mic placement and pre colors. Also helps to have have a great drumer which is a no-brainer. And by the way I usaully use a mic about a foot infront of the kick, usaully a cactus, givin the frontskins off or theres an airhole to put a mic near the beater. I'm still very anxious to demo the AE2500, for now I'm leanig towards the RE20 though, always have good results with those, full low, nice click and beater. So I guess no ones used the AE yet?

anonymous Thu, 02/12/2004 - 11:34

Here's a few tips. I've worked at trying to improve my kick sound and I think I am getting there.

Using three tracks.

T1-D112 to capture some bottom and the beater tick.

T2-is my secret weapon, I found out about this one over at electronicmusician.com, How to get great bottom end in your mix. . I use a 10" speaker that I pulled out of a GK100 guitar amp, this little speaker has a monster magnet in it and responds great to the bottom end of the kick. The speaker is hung at the opening of the kick using elastic bands attatched the the lugs of the shell. I wired the speaker to a mic cable and run it to a Radial passive DI (Jenson Iron). Then I go to a mic pre and then a LA4 comp. They call this a reverse transducer. It really grabs the bottom punch at 40-80Hz. You can feel the air move in the mix. I blend in enough into the kick mix to get the effect.

T3-I spent about a year trying to find a program that I could use to midi trigger a kick sample. I just couldn't justify the money on Drumagog just to improve my kick sound. Then about a month ago I found a free VST plugin which has answered my prayers. It is simple to use and does the job. You can find it here: KTDrum Trigger. I use kick sample from Drums From Hell to sweeten the kick sound a bit.

The final kick mix is just a blend of the three and wow, the guys are raving about the kick. I've been asking around and the kick reverse transducer seems to be one of those studio secrets that you don't here about too much on the outside. I work in the basement.

anonymous Thu, 02/12/2004 - 12:31

Sennheiser E602...I also use an RE20 sometimes, but less and less it seems lately...the E602 just requires less EQ fiddling (which really translates into spending more time with tuning and placement, I'm not lazy but can be "impatient", but I digress) so not only do I favour this sound (sucked mids) on a kick, it's also easier and quicker to get, which translates into more time for those important things, like auto-tuning tomorrows stars...know what I mean :)

BW

anonymous Thu, 02/12/2004 - 14:10

actaully done the speaker mic thing already with a woofer I look out of a boston acoustic bookshelf, i does get alot of air moving, and you really don't have to add much of it in a mix. Well thanks for the responses thus far, but I'm never going to have my mind made up till I see the AE2500, or rather hear it.

anonymous Fri, 02/13/2004 - 10:18

As a drummer, I went through a lot of kick mics, and checked out the Audix D6, Shure Beta 52, AKG D112, etc. The most natural of the dynamics in my opinion is the Audio Technica ATM-25. It just seems to provide a better starting point for whatever I want to do. While the others can deliver a very good sound, it often seems to be just one good sound, while with the ATM-25 I could either put it right up to the beater for more 'click' or pull it outside the drum for a rounder, more lively tone, and it worked well in all these applications. I've also had decent results sticking a CAD E100 ldc right into the kick (don't try this with your ELAM251...)

Actually, lately I've gotten away from close micing the kick, and have been doing the 'tunnel' trick with a Soundelux U195. I haven't missed the close mic yet...

-- David

Davedog Mon, 02/16/2004 - 09:13

I've used a lot of mics and combinations of for a lot of years.I used to own a D12e which I swore by forever.The MD421 is a great mic but I've never liked it for heavy rock..I love the D6 and I agree its a very easy sound to get as all it requires is the proper mic stand to position it.I've used the D112 a lot and its a very good mic.I always like the MD409 for really fast rock with a lot of kick happening...its a very quick mic.I agree with the post about the ATM25.It is the most natural sounding of all the kick drum mics and though it may not have the distinctive sound of a D6 or the D112, it sounds as good as any of them on many more types of drumming.I also use it in close or out in front for more boom.Its really quite nice.It also is starting to replace my ancient Unidyne 57 on guitar cabinets as it has a bit tighter bottom.

anonymous Sun, 02/22/2004 - 14:07

Hey DoubleHelix - we've used many a mike for kick (D12 yuk, Sennheiser 409, OK, MD421, good). You're right though - there is lots of snap with a 441 which is why we used to occasionally use that mike. With a wooden beater pounding away about 8 inches from the mike there is no shortage of attack detail!

anonymous Thu, 02/26/2004 - 12:15

I have the AE2500. I've also used the d112. The thing I don't like about the AE2500 is that you have to position the dynamic and the condensor mic in the same place (obviously), but this makes it difficult to place each one where they are most needed. For instance, the dynamic mic would be best closer to the head that is being kicked facing the beater to pick up the attack. Then, the condensor would be best facing away from the beater and at the least, further back, maybe outside of the drum. So in my opinion, the AE2500 has it's flaws. I thought it would be a great mic, but I am kinda dissapointed. I think I might go back to a d112 or try the d-6, and then mix my own condensor mic with it. (thinking about the AT4040 for that...since it is cheap, a great mic, and has very minimal low end distortion).

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