beyer m201 vs. the audix i5

[dannyofmarge]

hello all, im looking for a new mic mostly to use on snares. i mostly record rock drums with a clean modern sound to em.
the pre's i would use on my snare would be either an original neve 1272 or an api 3124.

through much research i have decided to get a beyer m201 or an audix i5.
i up until now i have been using an sm 57, which i have always had to eq more than id like. almost always im adding in a bunch of top end, but sometimes some low end too...

ive done 1 or 2 sessions with a borrowed i5, and was instantly happier. it was much more clear. but im still a geeky nerdy gear slut, and because of reading so many great reviews of the m201, im interested in learning more about your personal experiences specifically comparing the m201 and the i5.

does anyone have both? what are the pros and cons of each?
how about the hyper cardiod thing for the m201, do we like that?

any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks, your fellow gear slut,
Danny

oh and if anyone has a telefunken m80 please include your experiences with that as well. thanks again.

[joeq]

I have both

I would say the I5 is 'closer' to the 57 for snare
in fact, I don't think about it much, grab one or the other for pounding rock stuff

the 201 is different, almost condenserish in its sound
I like it for jazz and other things where there is some subtlety to the snare playing

[dannyofmarge]

no one else has these two mics?

i was really hoping for some direction on this one. thanks, Danny

[Han]

I've been using the 57 for some time (years) and after I got a couple of 201's I've never used anything else on snare. For me the 201 is the perfect snare mic and it's a great mic on a number of other applications, even on kick.

[drBill]

Originally Posted by dannyofmarge

no one else has these two mics?

i was really hoping for some direction on this one. thanks, Danny

Danny, I have both, and you can hear them against a 57 here:

Drum Mic Madness!!!!

Leave your comments at the end of the thread after you get a chance to listen.

I tend to go 57 for agressive music. i5 if it's not slamming rock, and the 201 if I'm bored or just want to try something different. I find the i5 less "honky/peaky" and a little more open while staying in the 57 camp. The 201 has good rejection.


PS - listen to the condensers on Snare as well while you're there. They might be just what you're after.

[passenger]

try a heil pr22

[Jimbo]

I think there are some more comparison clips over at "studio auditions dot com".

[spicemix]

Selecting drum mics has to do with the whole picture you're getting off the kit.

What is it the rest of your mics leave you needing? That's how you pick a drum mic.

[cheu78]

If you could, try a unidyne 57... It has the 57 signature sound with a more open sound and more bottom.. The difference is evident.
I've never used the 201 nor the i5...sorry.

Just my 0.02$,
Bests,

Cheu

[Han]

The 57 sounds okay on snare, but the problem I've had was the hi hat bleed that sounds really nasty in the 57.

The 201 is hyper cardioid, less bleed and it sounds good.

[robertshaw]

201 is better

modded 57's are cool

[dannyofmarge]

Originally Posted by spicemix

Selecting drum mics has to do with the whole picture you're getting off the kit.

What is it the rest of your mics leave you needing? That's how you pick a drum mic.

i have a d112 or audix d6 for the kick
57 and temporarily borrowed i 5 for the snare...
421 or cad m177 's for the toms.
4 akg 451's for oh's btm snare, and hi hat

and usually use an older akg 414 eb as a mono room mic


as of now i think im leaning towards the m201. mostly to help rid myself of that nasty hi hat bleed. In the comparisons it seemed to have that "crack" im going after while at the same time didnt sound too thin. for some reason i i dont prefer condenser mics on the top snare... not really sure why. they just dont seem to capture the tone i want to hear. its wierd their eq is more of what im after, but their sound doesnt feel right... dynamic mics just feel more natural to me. but anyway, im off to track some more. thanks again.

im truly thankful for everyone's input thus far.
-Danny

[KRStudio]

I just used 201's on toms for a metal tune. Can't believe how cool these were. I like them on snare a lot but was told to try them on toms. Still need to try the Cads on toms before I buy more mics though.

[Chonson]

Of the two I prefer the m201. The i5 always sounds like a flabby version of the 57. Less of that honk but still not pleasing.

However I've found the 201 can be a bit on the dark side.

I've been using a KSM141 lately with good luck.

[ray dsr]

i tried both mics as a replacement for a 57 and chose the beyer m201. it's a great mic for top snare duties.

the audix i5 sounds like a 57 on steroids to me- with more beef. but who needs more beef than a 57? i usually end up rolling low mud out when using a 57 anyway.

the beyer m201 is altogether different and IMO better than the 57 for top snare.

[rumimusic]

201

[Ben B]

I think I'm over using the 201 on snare for now. I do like the thick attack it provides, but I'm finding that I have to work harder than I want to put back the "zing." I think I'm going to go back to the RE-16, which I used all the time before I got my 201. I'm going to try this today. I'll either remember what it was that I liked about the RE-16 on snare, or I'll remember why I wanted to change in the first place. I think I was just bored. I've reached the point of being bored with the 201, at least on snare.

For what other applications has the 201 really shined for you? Now that it won't be on my snare, it will be available for other duties.

-Ben B

[Han]

I've used the 201 on banjo in an old style jazzband. The player was sitting next to the drummer and there was no significant bleed from the drums into the 201.

And as with most Beyer mics, bleed sounds good on Beyers, the M88 is another fantastic mic.

[David Watts]

201 all the way!

though ultimately a Telefunken M80 dfegadon all three.

[Ben B]

Yeah, the RE16 rocked it on snare today. Looks like I'm definitely over the M201 phase.

-Ben B

[dannyofmarge]

Re16 huh? Ill have to check one out.
I'm pretty excited to have gotten so much feedback.
How does the re16 sonically compare to a 57 or i5.

And has anyone one else have experience with the m80?

[steelyfan]

I like the i5 on just about anything. If the sound isn't rich enough, the source isn't either. Pretty open sounding to me, almost no eq.

[joeq]

Originally Posted by chickenlunch

though ultimately a Telefunken M80 dfegadon all three.

how does that work, exactly?
how often do you have to refill it?

can you refill it with water or beer or do you have to use monkey urine?

[Ben B]

Originally Posted by dannyofmarge

Re16 huh? Ill have to check one out.
I'm pretty excited to have gotten so much feedback.
How does the re16 sonically compare to a 57 or i5.

And has anyone one else have experience with the m80?

The RE-16 is far more open and detailed than a 57. It seems to capture "more" of the source, if that makes sense. (Gotta love subjective metaphors for describing gear.) The sound I get from a 57 is much "smaller" to me. The other cool thing about the RE16 is that despite its open sound, it doesn't sound artificially hyped in the high end. I love it on guitar cabs too. Try it!

I haven't used the i5, so I can't comment on that!

-Ben B

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by joeq

how does that work, exactly?
how often do you have to refill it?

can you refill it with water or beer or do you have to use monkey urine?

Monkey urine only I'm afraid, though they do provide a monkey with every purchase just in case you come across any stray 57s, i5s or 201s masquerading as snare mics!

dfegadSM57
dfegadAudix i5
dfegadBeyerdynamic M201

[Soundmanluke]

Ever thought of a Senn 441?
I've never tried a Beyer201 but have tried lots of things for snare and the 441 has been my favorite for just about everything from jazz to hard rock and metal. Almost no hi hat bleed.
I really love the Blue Ball for rock snare too but quite a bit of hat bleed.

[spicemix]

Originally Posted by chickenlunch

Monkey urine only I'm afraid, though they do provide a monkey with every purchase just in case you come across any stray 57s, i5s or 201s masquerading as snare mics!

dfegadSM57
dfegadAudix i5
dfegadBeyerdynamic M201

But they won't provide you with a free rebadged Apex 460, and they won't provide you with a free glass tube crammed into a metal housing. tutt

[Han]

Originally Posted by Soundmanluke

Ever thought of a Senn 441?
I've never tried a Beyer201 but have tried lots of things for snare and the 441 has been my favorite for just about everything from jazz to hard rock and metal. Almost no hi hat bleed.
I really love the Blue Ball for rock snare too but quite a bit of hat bleed.

The 201 has even less bleed than the 441 and this bleed sounds better. The 441 is a great microphone, no doubt, but it's much more expensive than the 201 and not much better on snare.

Try a 441 wrapped in foam in the bridge of an upright bass and be amazed how bad it sounds. Placement is everything with microphones, but a Beyer M88 in the bridge of the upright sounds a whole lot better than the 441. But aim the 441 ath the upright somewhere between the bridge and the neck at 1' distance and it sounds just fine.

The problem with drummers is the hi hat bleed into the snare mic and IMHO the off axis response of most Beyer mics is very nice, haven't found any better mic so far. The MD421 can be nice as well on snare, but the OAR is far from nice, something like the 57. No problem with a decent drummer, but beware the hat bashers, you'll definitely need a 201 with bashers.

[Soundmanluke]

****, so now I gotta buy a 201 too!

[Dr Gris]

I also love the 441 on snare and always use it for that.
I have a 201 and will probably try it on snare on my next session.
Can anybody tell me what differences to expect?

/M