Dynamic Kick Drum Mic

[jeremynothman]

I can agree to a certain point, but it depends on the other mic used.
If I use a RE20, Sennheiser MD421 or Beyer M88 on the kick drum I would use for sure a SubKick to represent the sub frequencies that the kick drum has and are common on a modern jazz record, as those mics are not that responsive in the sub region. So for me it depends on the mic combination and choice, also of course on what the band/artist want to achieve.

If I use a FET47 or U87 I normally don't need the subkick as a complement.

I love the punch of an M88, but is anyone seriously using it as the ONLY mic on a kick? I don’t much care for the sound of a D112, but I think that maybe if I only had one mic up, it would get me there faster. Isn’t practically everyone using a condenser and a dynamic in tandem, or at least one in, one out?

Anyway, I know none of this answers the OP’s question, and my answer would be that if they love the D112, they should save up a little money and buy one secondhand. In Germany they sell for 100€ secondhand, which is certainly less than an MD421 or M88 (not to mention an RE20, MD441 or D12 which all cost a good bit more)

 

[mhelin]

Shure 91A/Senn E901/Behr 19A inside, and some other mic outside (does it HAVE to be a dynamic?).

 

[wlinart]

If on a budget, i like the EV PL33. About half of what the more popular kick drum mics are, but sounds very similar to a d112 EDIT: not similar to a D112, similar to a beta 52, so less "clicky"

 

[Tubetec]

RE-20 is a great all round mic , wish I had one ,
they can sometimes be found with floppy headbaskets ,
in which case a foam kit is avialable from EV ,
its an easy fix , not much can go wrong with them .

I never liked the AKG D112 series as a bass drum mic , Id take a Shure Beta 52A anyday ,
I did see the capsule for the SM-7b is available as a spare for reasonable money , might make an interesting kick drum mic project .

Mics like the Beyerdynamic M380 and its variants all contain a similar driver to a DT-100 headphone , so that might be a good diy idea if you happen to have a spare lying around , it has a figure 8 patern , and a very tame top end .

The problem with modern kick drum mics is everyones trying to out hype everyone else and you end up with this quacky bass drum sound , more treble than the snare ,
I blame Lars Ulrich for it

 

[Whoops]

The problem with modern kick drum mics is everyones trying to out hype everyone else and you end up with this quacky bass drum sound , more treble than the snare ,
I blame Lars Ulrich for it

Not all of them to be honest,
the worst one is really the Audix D6, overly hyped in the high end and the sub, it's just for an Heavy Metal kick drum sound. I personally can't stand this mic.

For modern Kick Drum mics that sound great and are not over hyped I really like the Electro Voice 868, EV ND68 and the new AKG D12VR. All of them sound great

 

[Elksonic]

I can vouch for the V-Kick. I use it a lot. Very versatile and sounds great.

 

[Mammals]

Agreed on EV ND868, perfectly fine mic that can typically be found cheaply in good used condition

 

[Dave Obergoenner]

FREE kick mic...

I had a destroyed RE20. Plastic phase thingy under the diaphragm had broken loose (very common), so not repairable, unless sent to EV for a fairly expensive repair. The case was all beat to crap anyway, so I didn't wish to invest much in it.

I also had a set of Koss open air headphones with one side blown.

So, I removed the element from the RE20, wrapped a little foam around the still good Koss headphone driver, and soldered it in place of the EV element.

Lots of very deep bass on the kick from that! But not really boomy like using a speaker. Just emphasized the deep sounds of the drum. Had to HP filter it actually if used alone. Used in conjunction with any garden variety dynamic (like an SM58, or a cheap 57/58 clone) the combination proved very useful, and gave some really beautiful kick sounds. My son still uses that combination in his studio fairly often.

Dave O.

 

[kingkorg]

Most kick mics are not much more than dynamic capsule + simple RLC circuit which is just passive EQ to tailor the frequency response. You can use pretty much any dynamic capsule + capacitor, inductor and resistor to make any response you like.

 

[jeremynothman]

FREE kick mic...

I had a destroyed RE20. Plastic phase thingy under the diaphragm had broken loose (very common), so not repairable, unless sent to EV for a fairly expensive repair. The case was all beat to crap anyway, so I didn't wish to invest much in it.

I also had a set of Koss open air headphones with one side blown.

So, I removed the element from the RE20, wrapped a little foam around the still good Koss headphone driver, and soldered it in place of the EV element.

Lots of very deep bass on the kick from that! But not really boomy like using a speaker. Just emphasized the deep sounds of the drum. Had to HP filter it actually if used alone. Used in conjunction with any garden variety dynamic (like an SM58, or a cheap 57/58 clone) the combination proved very useful, and gave some really beautiful kick sounds. My son still uses that combination in his studio fairly often.

FREE kick mic...

I had a destroyed RE20. Plastic phase thingy under the diaphragm had broken loose (very common), so not repairable, unless sent to EV for a fairly expensive repair. The case was all beat to crap anyway, so I didn't wish to invest much in it.

I also had a set of Koss open air headphones with one side blown.

So, I removed the element from the RE20, wrapped a little foam around the still good Koss headphone driver, and soldered it in place of the EV element.

Lots of very deep bass on the kick from that! But not really boomy like using a speaker. Just emphasized the deep sounds of the drum. Had to HP filter it actually if used alone. Used in conjunction with any garden variety dynamic (like an SM58, or a cheap 57/58 clone) the combination proved very useful, and gave some really beautiful kick sounds. My son still uses that combination in his studio fairly often.

Dave O.

Beyer quite famously used the DT880 600ohm driver in the M380 microphone, which has a lovely sound.

 

[Migs 31]

Most kick mics are not much more than dynamic capsule + simple RLC circuit which is just passive EQ to tailor the frequency response. You can use pretty much any dynamic capsule + capacitor, inductor and resistor to make any response you like.

And you is absolutely right Sir!
« You can use pretty much any dynamic capsule »

In fact this BETA 52 capsule looks strangely similar to any BETA 57 or other Shure mics of that range.
It measured 30mm outside diameter.
I was expecting something bigger under that grill !?!

Now, I don’t have the balls to dismantle the plastic clips structure inside. Just to look at cap values-inductor-resistor. For I need that mic in a gigging state this week...
M

 

[Tubetec]

I knew there was a headphone driver used in the M380 , we had one in a studio I worked years back and I took a sneaky look inside .

The M380 is of course nominally fig 8 patern , the side rejection helps keep the top end kit out of the bass drum mic to a very high degree , I often used a large duvet to 'tent' the front of the bass drum and reduce the ambient sound hitting the rear lobe of the mic .
less spill means you have more scope to eq the sound as you wish .

 

[thecr4ne]

Re: Beyerdynamic M380, I made a pair and have a thread about it:
Beyerdynamic M380 from Parts

That mic is literally just the driver. The real deal has a humbucking coil, but no other circuitry. I bet you could get something close, or at least interesting just experimenting with the 250 and 600 ohm DT770/880/990 headphones as-is with some adapters if you don't want to dismantle them. The difference between the open-back and closed back would be interesting to check out. Or even other headphones with decent impedance.