Bass Drum Microphones For Live Audio
This is not a complete list of all mics used in a bass drum or "kick drum" as is the term most commonly used by live sound engineers. Nor is this a tutorial of their use but is simply a list of professional grade microphones live engineers are more likely to be using and more likely to find available than others.
The prime considerations of any microphone to be used on bass drum or snare should be that it faithfully reproduces the sound of the drum and be able to handle the acoustic sound pressure level (SPL). But the latter is merely one of my personal guidlines. As an example of why it is only a personal guidline consider this: A Shure SM57 can only handle about 127dB SPL (they've stopped including this specification in their current spec sheets) but it is immensely popular as a snare microphone in spite of the fact that peak SPL levels of a close miked snare can be in the neighborhood of 140dB. Then why is an SM57 used so much on snare drum? Obviously, many engineers like the sound of the SM-57 when it goes into peak compression trying to reproduce a snare drum (whether they realize that's what's happening or not). So it really gets down to personal preference. However, these are the mics you'll likely encounter as offerings by sound companies or engineers with their own mics. You will not raise many eyebrows by using any of these mics except for possibly the RE20 where the worst anyone could say would be that you were "old school".
Professional Grade Purpose Built Bass Drum Microphones
It's pointless to speak of frequency linearity specifications as these mics are not designed to have flat response but have purposefully shaped response curves designed to enhance the sound of a bass drum. All in this group are large diaphragm dynamic microphones designed specifically for bass drum or high SPL low frequency reproduction. Response graphs, if directly linkable, are included, otherwise they're available via the microphone's PDF spec sheet.
AKG D112 - The D112 is the son of the legendary D12E. The D12E debuted in 1953 and was probably one of the first purpose built bass/kick mics. The D12E did not suffer the road very well (or high SPL) so AKG introduced the D112. The D112 is a dynamic cardioid and delivers a compact tight punchy sound many love. Like the D12E, the D112 was one of the first purpose built kick mics of the modern era. It is rugged and holds up well on the road. It's been around for so long it often gets overlooked as a good kick mic. It has a relatively balanced shaped rises at both ends of the spectrum. Its low end rise is centered around 100Hz so it often requires some EQ to reign in room or system resonance in the 100-200 Hz region. High end rise is between 2k and 5k and falls off very slowly giving it a decent bit of extension at the top - more than some other mics of this type. Maximum SPL handling is listed as being "outside measurement range" (sure it is) but is estimated to be in the 160dB region which would be excellent if it's anywhere close to that. Kick mics designed more recently have shifted the low end rise down in frequency to below 100 Hz and seem beefier at the very bottom end by comparison so the D112 has taken somewhat of a back seat to the newer wave of these type of mics. Impedance is an acceptable 210 ohms. Street price is around $250 which is around middle of the pack and is widely available.
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Audio Technica ATM250 - The ATM250, and its predecessor the ATM25, is a dynamic hypercardioid. At around $180 it's the cheapest mic on this list. If you are/were a fan of the AKG D112 you'll be on somewhat familiar ground. It's response shaping is similar to that of the D112 but its bass rise peaks a bit lower in frequency. The ATM250 has many fans because it's a solid mic and because of Audio Technica's great program of reaching out to engineers with their products. The maximum SPL the mic will handle is stated as an uninformative "very high at close range". However, a potential deal breaker for me as a buyer would be its very high output impedance of 600 ohms. If you are splitting mics among three mixing consoles with standard input impedances of around 2k ohms or less, you could have a situation where the mic would be delivering almost half its output voltage across its own source impedance. Not only that, if you suddenly add or subtract a console to a splitter that is anything other than a single input active splitter (say a three way transformer), you're going to experience noticeable swings in level as its high output impedance is more sensitive to changes in loading. (See this for more detailed explanation about the importance of source impedance).
PDF spec sheet.
Audix D6 Audix has built a very large following among live engineers due to having quality mics and a good endorsement program with live engineers. The D6 is a purpose built large diaphragm dynamic cardioid kick mic. It's response shaping is more pronounced on both ends than some other mics but with a bit more emphasis on attack peaking above 5k and continuing response to above 10k.The low frequency rise is centered below 100Hz making it sound less boxy than mics with rises above 100Hz. It's max SPL handling is the lowest on this list at 144 dB (well, we don't know about that ATM250 now do we?). So if you've got a really heavy stomper on your hands you might consider a beefier alternative. Impedance is an acceptable 200 ohms. The D6 is very reasonable at around $200. The D6 seems versatile and lends itself to a range of musical genres. You won't find the D6 in every inventory but you'll find it in many as it has earned a very good reputation as a go-to kick mic. Audix also has a good endorsement program which puts their microphones into the hands of working engineers.
PDF spec sheet.
Beyer Opus 99 Beyer Dynamic's large diaphragm dyanamic hypercardioid comes with a stand for easy placement inside or outside the kick. It is listed as "suitable for very high SPLs" but does not specify it (which could mean its SPL handling might not be competitive with other mics of the same class). It has an impedance of a slightly high 280 ohms and at $360, it's one of the more expensive ones. It's response shaping is tilted toward the attack region and the low frequency rise seems to be centered around 120Hz. This probably gives it more of a D112 type character. Beyer doesn't do much to promote this mic so it is not as widely used as other mics on this list.
PDF spec sheet
Electro Voice N/D868 The N/D868 was purpose built as a large diaphragm dynamic cardioid kick mic. It has high SPL handling cited at 157dB, a textbook 150 ohm impedance, and a resonable price at around $240. As with most purpose built kick mics, it has response shaping. There's a broad dip between 100Hz and 800Hz with balanced rises in the both the low end, centered between 50 and 60 Hz, and in the top end rising from its dip corner around 800Hz to peaking around 1500Hz, dipping slightly, then rising to another peak around 5kHz, falling off to below the level of its middle dip region after about 7k. Some favor this balanced combo of peaks over typically more exaggerated peaks in the 2k to 4k range.
The 868, being the "one trick pony" of the N/DYN line (as all kick mics are), never caught on as well as other N/DYN series mics like the 408 and the newer 468 which are popular on tom-toms but are also excellent utility microphones in general. I see them everywhere. But you won't encounter all that many N/D868's as most buyers spending budget money for a kick mic will opt for the Shure Beta52 because it's a bit cheaper and it's a Shure mic - thus viewed as more generally acceptable. Who wants to hear, "You don't have a Beta52!!!??" (shock & dismay). Other manufacturers like Audio Technica and Audix, put their products in the hands of professional engineers for them to use and to generate a positive industry buzz. But Electro Voice doesn't have much of an endorsement program so the N/D868 remains as one of the most underrated and underutilized purpose built kick mics. The 868 is so far below the radar that Sweetwater doesn't even stock it.
PDF spec sheet
Sennheiser e902 Sennheiser's large diaphragm dynamic cardioid kick mic has no published specification on maximum SPL handling. But if you want the big diaphragm kick mic with a nearly 15 dB mountain of attack extending out to 10kHz, this is your mic. It has so much attack, you might find yourself for the first time having to get rid of some of it. As with more recent designs, the bass rise peak happens below 100hz peaking around 60Hz. Its 350 ohm impedance however makes it a borderline candidate for loading and level changing problems but at only $200, it has a large fan base of users of it and the even less expensive e602.
Shure Beta52 Currently, the Shure Beta52 dynamic hypercardioid is nearly as omnipresent in the kick as the SM58 is on vocals. Most live engineers are familiar with it and consider it almost a default microphone - it might not be everyone's favorite but like an SM58, everyone knows how to get what they need out of it and are happy to use it. It's specified as handling an unbelieveable 174dB of SPL and having a 150 ohm impedance. It sports a huge presense peak centered just over 4kHz but drops off rapidly afterward. This sharp high end drop off has given the mic a reputation as suffering less "bleed" from the rest of the kit as other mics. Some like to put it inside the drum on a pad as they would with an SM91 and others like it on a stand at the front head hole pointing at the beater or all the way in a few inches from the front head. It has a pronounced proximity effect so moving the 52 around to find a sweet spot always pays off. At around $190, it's a no-brainer on adding it to live mic inventory. You have to have some SM58's - you have to have a couple of Beta52's.
Professional Microphones Also Used in Bass Drums Live.
The following microphones weren't specifically designed for use as bass drum mics but engineers found that the mic's character worked well when pressed into duty as a kick mic.
Beyer M-88 Introduced in the 1960's, the hypercardioid dynamic M-88 was offered as a vocal mic but so many engineers have used it for so many different things that today it is listed in Beyer's site for "Vocals, bass drum, bass amp, cajón, studio". It's also great on solo trumpet and perfect on octobans (mic at the bottom). It's simply a great microphone with a distinct character. It's easy to see from the response graph it would lend itself as a decent kick mic. For a while M-88's were popular on kick drum but at some point it acquired a reputation for crapping out after being used for too long as a kick mic. Curiously, Beyer doesn't specify a maximum SPL rating for the M-88. Many started refusing to allow their newer M-88s to be used in the kick as by that time there were dedicated kick mics like the D112. It has a 200 ohm impedance. After the Shure SM91 & Beta52 came out, one rarely ever saw an M88 in a kick again. But I would have definitely have a couple of these in the mic kit as utility mics.
PDF spec sheet
Electro Voice RE20 The RE20 is a big hog of microphone that has been around for decades. It earned its reputation long ago in the studio and is still used extensively in broadcast studios as an announcer/voice-over mic due to its flat response and lack of proximity effect via its dynamic "Variable-D" cardioid design. It has a 150 ohm impedance and has a bass roll-off switch. For its time, 148 dB of SPL handling was considered very high and the RE20 became a studio workhorse in many situations requiring close miking and high power handling for things like bass cabinets, brass, and bass drums. It's fallen mostly out of favor for live kick drum use due to its lack of response shaping, size, and cost - it's the largest and heaviest on this list and runs about $430. In live environments with modern drum cages and risers with tight space requirements, the RE20 is problematic due to its sheer size and weight (you need a big heavy stand base to keep the thing from tipping over). But the RE20 still has some fans who use it on kick and it is still used in many live situations other than kick drum. There should be at least one or two in any live microphone inventory.
Sennheiser MD421(II) The ubiquitous Sennheiser 421 has been a mainstay of microphone inventories for 50 years both in the studio and in live audio. Designed as a general instrument mic, for many years it was a mainstay in the kick drum. Its high SPL handling and ruggedness earned it its place at the live audio table. Although no longer as popular as it once was as a kick mic, it still has some fans. It is also still well represented in studios and live audio as a utility mic and a bit of a reference standard for tom tom mics. For a while, until the advent of high quality clip-on mics freeing musicians to move around the stage, it was also the go-to mic for saxophones. The 421 mkII handles 160 dB of SPL and its broad presence peak around 5k allows the 421 to retain fans of it as a tight snappy kick mic when huge bottom end is not as important as tightness and focus. You won't get a load of deep bottom out of the 421 as its response has fallen off by 8dB by the time it hits 40hz and is heading south. It also has a rotating bass roll-off switch for low frequency contouring. Impedance is an acceptable 200 ohms. Although it's expensive at around $380, any mic inventory should include at least four to handle other duties like horns or toms. The most common blemishes on 421s are dings in the windscreen caused by errant drumsticks while being used as tom mics.
Shure Beta 91. The original SM-91 half-cardioid +48V condenser came out in 1984 designed primarily as a boundary microphone although now Shure's web site labels the newer Beta 91 specifically as a "Kick Drum Microphone". However, the original SM-91was an instant hit among live engineers as a kick mic due its tight sound, high SPL handling, and emphasis on attack - not to mention you could dispense with the sometimes difficult to place mic stand on a drum riser and simply lay the mic inside the kick on a small sand bag or taped to some padding where it was less likely to get distrurbed during a set change. Some even used cloth covered bricks as a platform for it. This consistency of placement also lent itself to sonic consistency, a huge plus in live audio. Minor positional changes didn't seem to affect it much as a mic on a stand - you still got the same basic sound. But the SM91 required a considerable amount of EQ in the low end to get it to move air so the market was ready for the large diaphragm Beta52 when it arrived. 91's are often combined with large diaphragm dynamic kick mics to get the best of both - tight attack from the 91 and fatter low end from a Beta52, for example. The Beta 91 is 150 ohms, is rated to handle 160dB SPL and is priced around $220, slightly more than the Beta 52.
DPA 4007 (formerly Brüel & Kjær 4007) Best for last? At about $1600 each, you won't find many DPA 4007's in sound company mic cases on the road. It's more of a reference microphone than anything and it is used extensively in high level acoustic testing. This is the mic they use to test the SPL of jet engines. If you whip out a 4007 and stick in the kick drum, they'll think you're either a fanatic or a fool (for risking someone stealing your 4007 at a live event) - or both. It's a small diaphragm +48V omnidirectional condenser. It is flat 20Hz-40kHz +-2db and can handle 155dB of SPL. Or 168dB with a 124dB dynamic range if you use the model 4004 with the 130V external power supply. I include this microphone because I get a bit suspicious when other mics claim to have the SPL handling and dynamic range in the neighborhood of this mic. I also include it because it's a great kick mic, or more accurately, its simply a great microphone - period. Compare the 4007 to other "kick mics". It doesn't have the response shaping of today's purpose built kick mics and might even suffer from the comparison on an immediate subjective level, but you might be surprised at what you hear (or don't hear) (or have never heard before).
PDF spec sheet
Live Audio by Steve Guest
Zenkai Audio Inc.
