Small Diaphragm Condenser Mic Showdown: Drum Overheads

[@poxcr]

LCT140 for the win! The bang for the the buck is insane.

[@albertosmargiasso9585]

Super video! Awesome right from the beginning!

[@TSR-JiveyTalksTech]

Plenty more coming

[@chandlerfurr9220]

exactly the video ive been looking for! thanks!

[@TSR-JiveyTalksTech]

Happy to help. Plenty more coming.

[@compucorder64]

The Line Audio CM4 is another nice affordable option. They're nice and small. And have a good smooth, but natural sound. Sort of like an affordable Schoeps tonality. Of these, I liked the Vanguard V1 the most. Second favourite was either the JZ BT202. Third the Shure KSM137, while bright, was also satisfying. The Slate ML2 sounded pretty decent, for the money. Not sure I loved the Lewitt air, I think the Line Audio CM4 is a better choice. I sourced mine from Jam, in Sweden. The Warm Audio WA-84 might be another mid-price contender, has a nice tonality too.

[@philburns5656]

Not adjusting the gain is a mistake, honestly. When you want to judge the tone, which is what you want to do, then don't yourself or others be fooled by volume differences. Because we all know who will be the winner then. Plus, in a real recording situation, what are you going to do anyways? You guessed it: you will adjust the gain.

[@johanneseberhard9726]

The STC - no surprise for me there but the Shure is a legend for a reason. It doesn't put on a show but gets the job done. BTW the STC might be the loudest of the bunch so a level matched version would have been interesting ...

[@Funkybassuk]

Excellent video. I love this track - I remember it from the other channel. I was most impressed with the V1 for overall drum sound and Sontronics for detail and clarity. I actually have a pair of Sontronics small diaphragm condensers. I’m not currently using them for anything - but after this I think I should. Acoustic guitar perhaps?

[@DBroce]

The KSM 137 and the STC-1S. The STC is great, but it sounded like there was drop off on the kick. KSM for the win, imho.

[@TSR-JiveyTalksTech]

And thats the thing, we all have our opinions and hey are all valid.

[@Electricowlworks]

Great video! We are fortunate that there are now many competent SDCs that will accommodate various recording environments, genres, and songs. I've used a pair of Audio Technica 4041s with great results, and have also liked the Oktava MK-012 mics in certain situations. The best budget mic I've used is the 12 Gauge Microphones Silver12 SDC. At US $75 each they punch way above their weight class! Outside of the SDC world, I'm a fan of the Roswell Pro Audio Mini K47 LDC mics for Glyn Johns style recording. If I'm presented with really harsh cymbals, I have a matched pair of Cascade FatHead ribbon mics that tame them quite nicely. Horses for courses! -chaz

[@DWHarper62]

sE7 or sE8 should be on the list... the 7 smokes the Lewitt and the 8 is as good as any mic costing 3x as much...

[@TSR-JiveyTalksTech]

I'll see if I can talk to those companies and get those for Shootout Round 2.

[@GearSafari]

What a bloody awesome Video James…So…theres a lot to talk about here and I don’t think there is enough space in the box to type..haha. But I thought there were a couple that sounded decent but I think my favourite was the BT202 which surprised me hugely to be honest. However different live environments etc can definitely play a part in my final decision making on mic choice on some of the gigs I mix for sure. Well impressed with the BT202’s though on this video.

[@TSR-JiveyTalksTech]

Thanks buddy. It was quite an undertaking to piece it together.

[@vzidarov]

Are those the AT2020 on the toms? I was thinking of trying them but I was afraid that they will get a lot of bleed from the rest of the kit. Can you give me some info and opinion there. Thank you!

[@huberttorzewski]

ML2 sounded really full, they captured the kit sound the best and the top end isn't harsh but is present. LCT140 captured the ride transient the best (it really jump out of the speakers) but it was more thin sounding and a bit too bright. KSM137 - nice balance but on the thinner side, not a lot of kit sound and the transients are a bit reduced. Bt202s sounded terrible here unfortunately, very harsh resonance somewhere in the high mids +no body, thin sounding. I had to turn down my NS10s immediately

[@philburns5656]

6:20 Vanguard V1 7:07 Sontronics STC-1S 7:54 Lewitt LCT 140 Air 8:41 JZ BT 202 9:29 Shure KSM 137 10:16 Slate ML-2

[@FrancRobert]

I preferred the Slate, followed by the STC, at least on my monitor system (old Tannoys) just sounded more complete. For a home studio setup I would be looking REALLY hard at the Slates-good price and flexible sound. Would be curious how these mics do with acoustic guitars, another use for SDCs?

[@mickeybarajas4865]

Lct 140. ! But the toms rule !!!

[@SONORSQ2guy]

The backtracking music was annoying. I couldn’t watch the videos sorry.