What's your favourite alternative kick and snare mic

[Sim]

Ok, thought this would interesting for some of us in case we have a mic laying around we'd never of thought to use on kick or snare. Doesn't have to be your favourite just something different but pleasing.

Let's not get bogged down with the same old mics.
So don't mention sm57, sm7, d112, re20, d6, md421, 56a, beta 91, 52 a, e602, d4.

So let us know what you like about em

I'll go first Akg c3000 on kick paired it up with a crappy kick drum from a drum kit mic pack I think red 5. Got some great attack out of this mic and a lot chesty body. Has a weird nasal mid thing going on worked out sound pretty good.

[FireMoon]

I suspect cos they are expensive and a tad unwieldy for micing them up, the Sennheiser 431 and 441 don't see as much use on snares as they might actually justify.

Beyer M88 can sound good on snares and have heard it used very successfully as an outside mic for a Bass Drum..

AKG D190e on snare can work

Many moons ago use to work with a live engineer use to use, i believe, an old Audio technica 812? on snares and swore by them.

[warhead]

A Radio Shack PZM mic taken off of the backplate and placed maybe 6" from the beater provided me a lot of fun years ago and had a HUGE sound to it. You have to wrap the mic in something foamy to get it into a standard mic clip.

War

[Sean Sullivan]

We had sessions with the Black Keys and Will Oldham a few weeks ago and the kick drums didn't have a hole but we still wanted some snap without having to take the front head off, so we grabbed a cheap-o Rode NT3 and put it on a short stand near the kick pedal and pointed it where the beater hit the head and it sounded surprisingly good.

For snare a condensor is a nice alternative. When we have a bluegrass session and it's just snare or kick and snare, I like to place a AKG 414 a foot or so about the drum, still pointed where the stick/brushes hit, and it gives it a nice natural sound instead of the honky sound you can get with a SM57. A Neumann KM84 sounds great as well where you'd normally place a SM57.

[Trakworx]

Kick: Beyer M88 - deep lows and lots of attack

Kick (outside): Cascade Fat Head II - deep and pillowy

Snare Top: Beyer M201 - good hat rejection and nice freq. response

Snare Bottom: AKG C414B-ULS (hypercardioid/pad) - just sounds good!

thumbsup

.

[Sim]

I've heard a lot of people say they like the M88.

The d190e interests me their cheap second hand might have to grab one and give it a try.

I absolutely love the akg d25 on kick, you get little bit of bleed because of its suspension mount but it sounds great, if you take the front skin off your sorted. Real smooth natural sounds but responds really well to eq if you can minimize the bleed. It's probably quite similar to the d12. Here's a pic to show it's cumbersome mount.
Here

[junkshop]

I have a 60's Senhiesser M411 that kills on snare. It's a lot like a 421 but without as much low end. It's also hyper-cardioid so it rejects the hats nicely.
I also like RE15s on snare.

The big old chrome EV 664 can be great on kick drum. It doesn't always work but in the right situation it's great.
+1 for Radio Shack PZMs inside a kick drum. If there's any damping inside the drum I just pat it on top. If you mod the PZM power supply to take a 9 volt battery or phantom you'll increase the SPL that the mic can handle and be able to use it in a kick with no issues.

[Sim]

Originally Posted by warhead

A Radio Shack PZM mic taken off of the backplate and placed maybe 6" from the beater provided me a lot of fun years ago and had a HUGE sound to it. You have to wrap the mic in something foamy to get it into a standard mic clip.

War

You got a pic, you pick these up for about £45 in the uk maybe worth a try.

Sean.

I think was a tlm 193 on snare pointing straight at the side of the snare with a 57 underneath had a kind of simmons/ roomy sound also worked out great.

[mslim]

Oft mentioned ATM25 on kick or floor tom. EV666 is stellar on kick. Different strokes for snare; the aforementioned RE15 or the Shure SM59 (sort of a "flat" 57)

[Sigma]

BK 5B

[Electric Sugar]

Beyer 201 is my go-to mic for snares now.

[SoundUniverse]

Heil PR 40

[fhames]

Charter Oak M900 on snare (top).





Bryant - Hames Music

[tincan]

Snare: AKG 451
Kick: ATM25

[vernier]

I use one of the "Let's not get bogged down" mics.
.
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[Nelson89]

The Sennheiser e906 isn't actually too bad on snare

[vincentvangogo]

AKG D19 over snare and Ball and Biscuit (STC4021) underneath.

[softwareguy]

RCA SK-46 on kick. I read about Gene Paul using that mic on AWB's "Pick Up the Pieces," and it surprised me. OTOH, I happen to own one so I tried it. It's limited bandwidth, going up to about 5K before it starts droppiing off, but in kick drum terms that's about enough, and it rocks pretty hard, big sound. Obviously, since it's a ribbon it can develop a pretty huge low end with the proximity effect.

Apparently Paul also used it on "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack, so there are two places to hear that sound if you're interested.

It's not that well known a mic, so here's a picture of it at Coutant.org (hope it's not too big):

[Sim]

Huge variety here alot of mics I wouldn't have even considered going to give the at25 a go on kick.

Any sound clips of the kick or snare on it's own or on a finished mix would be great.

[honeypiestudios]

Sennheiser e602 on Kick. Great, blooming low end and needs no eq in the mix (well, maybe a slight cut at 200hz). Also perfect as a floor tom and bass cab mic. Been using that inside the kick combined with a TLM 103 about six inches from the front head with great results, but in a pinch the 602 is more than fine all by itself.
Beta 57 on snare (I like the additional sparkle it brings to the game over a standard 57).

[Turdadactyl]

I like the AT4047 as an outside kick mic and the AT Pro 25 inside.

[suedesound]

for snare i've had great results several times with: re15, re10, 409, 441, 414, km84, 451 (i like the condensers on the shell instead of on top).

kick: r84, ksm44, fathead, 441, m88, 666, 906

i'm fine with using the standards but i like to play around when i have the chance.

[LinusWendel]

Originally Posted by Turdadactyl

I like the AT4047 as an outside kick mic and the AT Pro 25 inside.

you and me both! thumbsup

[Lee Cardan]

Altec 633a on snare top (441 on bottom of course)
AEA A840 on front of kick

[andychamp]

I used to have a Joemeek 37 that i liked on the kick's front head. Insane lows. Wasn't good for much else, though, so I got rid of it.
A current fave is the C&T NakedEyeRoswellite/ Shure KSM313 inside.

On snare, I'll echo the sentiments about the 441.
Some of the "lesser" EV dynamicss like the 660, PL6, DS35, etc., can get some nice snare tones, too. I like the different shades of "clang" they give me.

[AndyZippy]

Another one here for the A/T Pro25 on Beater head, though i used to couple it with the more obvious d112 in the reso hole. I have a second pro 25 for floor toms too - It's just a cheaper version of the ATM25, lovely mic!

Nice to see others using it

[Sim]

I know a guy who uses 414 b-uls on not just the kick and snare but also the whole Kit still haven't heard what it sounds like. He's got a case of 12 or so he swears buy them, he's got the stereo model to. Anyone tried this out of curiosity.

[Halloween]

You named all my favorites.

[thegatsby]

Originally Posted by Sim

I know a guy who uses 414 b-uls on not just the kick and snare but also the whole Kit still haven't heard what it sounds like. He's got a case of 12 or so he swears buy them, he's got the stereo model to. Anyone tried this out of curiosity.

I have used the 414 b-uls on snare, it kills. But I only use it with drummers I trust.

[Sim]

Originally Posted by vincentvangogo

AKG D19 over snare and Ball and Biscuit (STC4021) underneath.

I'd love to hear it if you have a sample or a song.

Halloween - I wanted to stay away from the pointlessness of people saying they prefer a d112 to a beta52 I know their different but they do the same job make all kick drums sound similar. Ye their different but their very similar if you chuck in to the context of some of the mics in this thread. But I understand you can augment these mics with another quite nicely as most of us do.