6 Best Mics For Kickdrum Comparison

[@audiotoolshed]

Which of these 6 mics is your favorites and why?

[@andthensome512]

That E602 kills!

[@scottykomer9992]

I use the 602. I record punk, metal, and hardcore, so the click works well for me. I also have a D112 but am always annoyed with how much eqing I have to do with it. Though it takes the eq very well. Thank you for showing a relatively shallow drum with the mic deep inside. A lot of kick videos use deep drums only, and my world hasn’t used deep kicks in years.

[@audiotoolshed]

Yeah kicks with only 1 head are still one of the main things used in studio, so why not include it. Its such a different sound than double headed bassdrums.

[@LetsTalkAboutReaper]

I love my Audix D6, it seems to give me dang near the sound i want with minimal work. I recently bought an Earthworks DM20 that i am using for snare instead of my Audix i5. I am curious to try their kick drum offering now.

[@audiotoolshed]

I'm dying to try out Earthworks stuff, especially because it's so small form factor. Would be such a great solution with a lot of drummers I record.

[@LetsTalkAboutReaper]

@@audiotoolshed the bleed rejection on that thing is legendary, and as you said, the form factor makes precise placement so easy! The only downside is the cost, which is why I bought one to test first. Sadly, I now want to replace my other drum mics with earthworks but I'm still recovering from a nasty tax bill this year 🥲

[@jannevaatainen]

That is the original E602, not the mk2? I have couple of mk1's, and they really have way too much low end. You really need to take it a way pretty much. I've heard that the mk2 has more controlled low end. If that's so, that sounds like a perfect kick mic! I have and like the D6 too, but it's maybe slightly too scooped.

[@audiotoolshed]

Its original one indeed.

[@danmagee5]

602 would have way more click than the D6 if that blanket wasn't in there. For anyone out there wanting the Deep bass and click the 602 is ready to go out of the box if you set it up right. I have all these Mics. Thick blanket will dull the sound too much, you want something that will move away from the head when you hit it and then dampen it. What I used was one of those ankle weights velcroe to the bottom of the kick drum, when I hit the kick drum it falls away from the head and then lands back on it so just the right amount of dampening. Also you can use a small towel touching both heads but believe me you'll have way more power with minimal muffling. Just enough to stop the overtones don't overdo it.

[@audiotoolshed]

2 things: with hard lacquer drumshell you easily get basketball type of ''poing'' if that blanket isnt there to stop the bouncing around of those frequencies. Second, the blanket barely touched the batter head with the two headed kicks, and does exactly what you describe. With the kick without front head it's more closely to the batterhead for a different sound.

[@williamtheconjurer]

You definitely have a point there

[@lucianoluggren]

I know all of these microphones (except the DPA) and each of them has a sound. The DPA seems the most natural to me, I liked it. Greetings from Argentina.

[@audiotoolshed]

Spot on. The DPA is also designed to be eq-ed instead of having a ready to go built in EQ curve.

[@marshy_moo]

Why not the e902? That would be a fairer comparison. e602 amongst this lot is like SM57 vs M201 for Snare.

[@EdThorne]

Great comparison, thanks. D6 all the way for me!

[@audiotoolshed]

Thanks Ed! Why the D6 in particular?

[@jeffbridges6110]

It's hard to beat an e602. I had a d112 and hated it. Got a Beta 52 which was ok for awhile. When I saw and heard the e602 , I knew I had to have it. Been using it ever since. Though sometimes I use a D6. But I find with the e602 , I don't have to process near as much.

[@audiotoolshed]

I love my e602. Low end can be a bit much at times, but otherwise it always delivers.

[@jeffbridges6110]

@@audiotoolshed I use the e602 with a sub kick mic I made. E602 normal phase , sub mic phase flipped. It's awesome like that. In any genre of music.

[@audiotoolshed]

Yeah good combo. I have a subkick as well, the yamaha version they made. It actually gives me more in the lower mid range like that, the e602 has more than enough sublows.

[@漫波Manbo]

Good job! I think the beta 52 is a basic and classical kick drum sound!

[@audiotoolshed]

Its a staple kick drum mic for a long time already. For pop rock metal etc its absolutely works , i have found it to be too clicky at times when the bassdrum already has a lot of attack.

[@漫波Manbo]

You are right ,when i stay in collage, i often use that to REC kick drum, that sound looks like strong and havey. but is not suitability to any style@@audiotoolshed

[@williamtheconjurer]

Great video and thank you. I am a fan of the Audix D6 my self as it is very close to what I prefer for the work I do.

[@impulseproman]

D6 Beta 52 my choice

[@jameshodson3450]

The only two I honestly really liked and thought had a nice deep bass sound as opposed to a thin clicky sound are the e602 & the D112.. I happen to have both but only by accident really, I didn't test anything else out at the time, I just bought an e602 with 604 tom mic kit and have always had that. I'd often read various comments about it having either too much bass or having the right amount of bass & reading all these comments I can see why... it's very very subjective indeed... so many mics people liked I thought sounded crap & vice versa... the D112 is a friend's that I have just sat on a blanket inside an old Pearl export kick with remo pinstripe head on my trashy drum kit & the E602 inside my nice Tama superstar kick with aquarian heads & they both sound great (I also have an SM7 on a big marching drum that sounds really great.)... I'd not heard all these very common kick mics compared before & am very happy to hear I have just the right ones for the heavy stuff I play more or less by accident.

[@audiotoolshed]

All these mics, minus the RE20 and the DPA, are extremely colored. That means it will always be a hit or miss with certain kicks ( thats why i use 3 in this video).

[@azurhandanovic8813]

What about shure beta 91A

[@williamtheconjurer]

I love the D6, but if you want accurate or flat earthworks, it is great. A sound engineer I respect once told me we are there to amplifier the pure or true sound of the performer, not change it.

[@jeffreyduncan989]

Different mics for different kits… the same mic doesn’t work for all singers and I feel the same way about drum sets. I like to have a few different mics to compare. I have the d6, beta 52, the re20 and the beyerdynamic tgd70

[@audiotoolshed]

Spot on.

[@nosucherror]

Great video, thanks!!

[@audiotoolshed]

And thank you for watching!

[@queenpurple8433]

RE 20 all the way

[@audiotoolshed]

You’re a fan!

[@saxyrep1]

OK, the audix D6 stands out for me as the best value and a pleasant, though colored, sound. My list : 1-Audix D6 2-Electrovoice RE20 3-DPA 4055 4-AKG D112 5-Sennheiser e602 I'm really surprised that the "cheap" mics weren't ridiculous at all.

[@saxyrep1]

Thanks for a great review! I now know which mic I'm going to buy and which I'll dream of buying one day. 😉

[@audiotoolshed]

Thanks for watching! I normally use the e602, but the other mics also perform great. I liked the beta52 better than I thought I did. Funny how stuff works out in a proper test. I was also surprised that the AKGd112 wasn't that far of from the re20.

[@crazeyjoe]

E602 for the win!

[@williamtheconjurer]

Earthworks I would choose for a more natural sound

[@audiotoolshed]

I never tried those.

[@williamtheconjurer]

@whitenoisestudio keeping in mind, I only mix live, and I do simple clasic rock bands or country rock bands. I also do smaller events for under 2000 people and most of the time 200 people. I have never been in a studio setting. I really admire some of them I see on KZbin. Love your channels.

[@matthewstewart5008]

Surprised by the 602… does alright For price DPA is disappointing here D6 appears most reliable and consistent between most videos and comparisons I’ve seen

[@audiotoolshed]

The DPA is created to be as flat as you can get - not heavily pre-eq'd like a typical bassdrummic. So you have to dial in your own EQ settings - which makes the DPA by far the most versatile of the bunch.

[@hippydippy]

Interesting... I bought a Audix 6 & never really cared for it. No balls. Too me, overall the AKG is the winner. Nice attack with a nice low end punch to my old ears.

[@audiotoolshed]

Its nce to see that eveyrone picks their own favorite, i personally go for the e602 often.

[@pierre-andregueguelarpin1473]

THERE IS ALSO : LEWITT 640 REX AUDIO TECHNICA AE 2500. AKG D12 VR FOR ME THE LEWITT 640 REX IS ACTUALLY THE BEST ONE AND NOT TOO MUCH EXPENSIVE THE AKG HAS NOT A NICE MODERN DESIG AND THE AUDIO TEC AE 2500 IS UNKNOWN IF YOU MAKE A/ B TEST YOU WILL NOTE THATH THE BETA 52 IS A 40 YEARS MIKE, AND FOR ME THE AUDIX. D6 IS TOO MUCH EQ'ED OK FOR METAL BUT NOT FOR ALL STYLES OF MUSIC

[@the_rummer]

D112 is the most overrated mic of all time. Basically it sound like a card board.

[@mrsayang]

agreed

[@thenomadicpen]

AKG for me.

[@officialvisaural]

4055 sounds uncomfortably honest - basically sounds as if i was sticking my ear in there. The others have a pre-eq’d sound.

[@audiotoolshed]

And that's exactly what it's intended for, so you can eq it the way you want.

[@officialvisaural]

@@audiotoolshed Yup - thanks for the content, it's down to the 4055 vs the SR20LS for me then. I can just cop a D6 in the future if i want that sound.