We tried out some new kick drum mics this week. We tested the Shure Beta 91 and the Audio Technica AE2500DE. The AT mic is a dual element mic, so more engineering would have to take place. It takes up two channels, and it has quite a bit of hype driving it in the audio world right now. One element picks up the “whoomf” of the kick, the other element (dynamic) picks up the attack of the beater. They are in perfect phase with each other, and, in theory, shouldn’t need that much work to get the right sound.
We placed the mic inside the sound hole, angled toward the outer shell a bit. We had to work with EQ quite a bit to get the dynamic element to really pull the beater out from the whoomf.
We then tried the Shure. It’s a flat “boundary style” mic. We placed it on the foam that’s already in the drum, about in the center of the drum. We plugged it in. No EQ. Sound incredible.
We’ll be returning the AT tomorrow. Did I mention NO EQ on the Shure mic?
(If you’re not a tech nerd, then you won’t appreciate this post at all, and that’s ok)
