Kick Drum Mic Shootout: Shure SM52a vs AKG D112 vs Neumann U47fet vs EV RE20 vs Ribbons!

Delighted to be sharing this kit test with everyone, two years after we actually did it! The lockdowns delayed some of these videos because we were distracted with other things.

Claire Brock on drums to help us understand more about our own kick drum mic options.

Chapter timings:
00:00 - Introduction
02:32 - Solo kick drum - just kick drum mic
04:29 - Kick but along with snare and hi-hat played to demonstrate bleed - just kick drum mic
09:09 - Kick, snare, and cymbals played with simple 4 mic set up, switching between kick drum mic options

The mics:
Shure SM52a
AKG D112
Neumann U47fet
EV RE20
Coles 4038
Extinct Audio BM9

In this test we look at the mics isolated, first with just the kick being played, then along with the hi-hat and snare to demonstrate the bleed. Finally we use a simple 4 mic set up (Oktava MK012 overheads and SM57 on snare) to show how they sit in the mix.

NO PROCESSING - THIS IS THE RAW AUDIO.

Two important things I didn't say in the video, to answer the question 'why does it matter how they sound raw as you can do so much in the box to make them sound how you need?'
1 - The raw sound is what the player will be listening too, and a great sound encourages a great performance
2 - If you get the sound most of the way there by 'mixing in the mic' with the right positioning, it makes the whole mix process so much easier and quicker!

Don't forget to like and subscribe, and leave your comments to continue the discussion! Lots more to come!

Video edited by: Seb Fisher & Robin Phillips