HERO ore wo tataeru koe ya kassai nante hoshikute wa nai sa! HERO dakara hitoshirezu aku to tatakau! (Nobody knows who he is!!!)

God bless ya for listing these by time stamp!

Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

Yeah, I would sometimes use the D6 in and the 602 out, it sounded great!

The D30 really wasn't a fair comparison in this particular shootout, but I thought it would be fun to include it anyway just for fun. Due to it's size, it was placed just outside the hole in the drum as opposed to the rest of the mics which were placed just inside. Also, the D30 just really liked that particular drum. It just always sounded amazing on that kit. On other drums, it was still fine, but not nearly as special as it always sounded on this drum. So that's something to keep in mind with shootouts as well! Some drums just work better with some mics, but you can still get a general vibe of the mics! As for your comment about the placement of the mics in shootouts, yeah, there's really no perfect way to do it, in my opinion. I didn't do any measuring of where the capsule sits within the body or anything like that because I wouldn't do that in real life. When I'm working on a real session, I grab the kick mic, put the end of it just inside the hole (my go-to starting place), and then tweak it after listening to get the sound I'm looking for. I approached this shootout the same way. I put all the mics where I would initially place them for a session, so this is basically what I would hear when I first sit down in the control room to dial in drum sounds. Even if I had precisely measured the exact capsule placement, different mics have different sweet spots within the drum, so they'd all need tweaking anyway. So yeah, long winded response, but basically, I agree that my shootout is flawed, but I think every shootout is flawed, but that doesn't keep them from being helpful in my opinion.

Bet money you can’t tell any of them apart. 😆✌🏽

I'm glad you liked it!

Yeah, no problem! I'm glad you liked it!

It's a solid mic! Definitely worth giving it a shot.

Same!

Heck yeah! I'm glad I could help! That's a great mic. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks so much! I'm really glad you like the shootout! And yeah, I'm hoping to do a guitar one at some point as well!

No problem! Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! I'll definitely put together a snare one soon!

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the comparison!

I'm glad I could help!

I'm glad you liked the video! And yeah, those Heil mics are pretty cool!

No problem! I'm glad you found it helpful!

Yeah, I remember being really surprised by the pr30 in this application; I wasn't expecting it to hang with the 40 or 48, but it ended up sounding really good! And yeah, literally every mic shootout I do, I always get to the 57 and go "yeah...that could totally work!"

That is definitely true about placement! And some work better on different drums/tunings as well. I kinda wish I had done two different kicks when I did this shootout to give even more perspective, but...next time! The D30 on this drum is definitely something special though!

Totally right that AKG smokes the competition for 'natural' sound here. As to the 30; the fact that the 30 was slightly further back makes it stand out, partially because of a different resonant emphasis. While the mic captures the same bottom end as the other AKG's, it has a smoother midrange and has more of an 'ahh' sound rather than a thud. Even so, the D112 is already a classic, and the D12VR is en route to become one. It is a great mic, and I've used it with success on piano as well as other instruments. AKG has really made it hard to justify shelling out $2000+ for something like a D30 when the D12VR or D112 get you very close. Moving the mic a few inches or blending another mic would have far more of an impact on the sound than switching between the D112 or D12VR and the D30.

I'm glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!

Surprised you in a good way or a bad way? And I'll definitely put together a video of my snare shootout! I didn't do snare bottom back when I recorded these shootouts, but I might do it in the future!

I'm glad you liked it!

Glad you liked it!

Yeah, the e602 is a seriously cool mic! Like you said, not the most versatile, but it's really good at what it does, and it's often overlooked.

Great mic. Best value for money

That's a great (and quite underrated) mic!

Yeah, the D30 and this particular kick drum got along EXTREMELY well (also, like I mentioned at the beginning of the video, the D30 has a different placement, which might have ultimately been a better placement for this particular drum). On other kick drums, the D30 sounded much more inline with the other mics. I'm hoping to re-do this shootout at some point with a different (and better tuned) drum.

Not surprisingly, Sennheiser's kick mics also sound huge on toms. Haha.

Glad you liked it!

@@BetterMixes I did! Thanks! Another tip for next time: SPAN can show a 2nd overlay spectrum, which can be set to "maximum" and hold its position. Could be useful for seeing the overall peaks. Then you just have to reset the graph (by clicking on it) on each new mic that comes in.

I just watched the video again. You used Q3, but I thought you used Voxengo SPAN. :) Same colors almost (which tricked me). Nevermind then. But you can use SPAN on next video, as it is free.

@@PalleSvensson Ah, thanks for the tip! I'll check that out!

Me too actually! I was surprised to find I liked it better than the PR40 which they actually advertise as a kick mic.

Yeah, I don't see too many people talking about that mic! For the pre-EQed kinda thing, everyone seems to go for the D6, but the 602 is a great option for that kind of sound!

@@BetterMixes check out some other kick mic shoot-outs on KZfaq. It's voted as a favorite quite often. From 15 years of live sound, I can say it's a top contender as long the music has some energy. I've also done some of those Telefunken mixes and the M82 has not disappointed me yet! It seems to me to be the most allround in this case.

You are right

For sure. In my opinion, the e602 is severely underrated... It may not be the best for smooth jazz, folk music, etc, but it naturally gives kick drums and bass instruments a much more modern, punchy sound (not exclusive to metal, though it's definitely a no-brainer for aggressive music these days) I know the D6 is already legendary, but I personally prefer the e602 and e902 from Sennheiser. The e602 is actually $40 less than the D6, so I'm not sure why it's so often overlooked.

@@iokanedrummer9804 Agree, it's underrated, and instead of cutting mids or boosting lows with other microphones, why not cut some of the lows using the e602? Besides you can olways pair it with MD421, Beyerdynamic m88 or Heil PR 40 or something "less huge sounding".

It really does sound great! If only they didn't sell for 2-3000 dollars!

The studio I used to work out of came across one for sale a while back. It's a seriously cool mic! To be fair, it didn't sound THIS good on every kick drum, but it was always at least pretty good. But it REALLY got along with this particular kick!

Absolutely! It's crazy how much you can do with that mic. Like you said, not always the perfect choice, but it always gets the job done!

If it makes you feel any better, the D30 didn't sound this great on every drum. I mean, it always sounded good, but it REALLY liked this particular drum!

I'm hoping to do a new version of this shootout at some point (with a handful more mics I didn't have access to at the time), but I'll keep this in mind when I get around to doing it!

Nope, no processing at all. Totally raw.

That is D12, Not C12. So only €200,- difference

Yeah, I love the sound of the D30! If only they didn't cost $3,000 if you can even find one! The D12VR is definitely nice and is probably a pretty good alternative, but the D30 is something special!

@@BetterMixes Do you have any experience with these old vintage AKG D12?

@@grzegorzkowalski6341 Unfortunately, not much! I used one a couple times years ago, but I don't really remember how it sounded too much.

@@BetterMixes I am coming back to this video. Do you remember how did you position these mics? All of them were inside the kick? I bet D30 was too big to fit inside.

@@TheKevbe Yeah, they were all positioned with the end of the mic just inside the hole in the kick except the D30 which, as you said, was definitely too big to fit. So that one wasn't really a fair comparison, but I thought it would be fun to still try it. It was placed just outside the hole, about as close to it as I could get without making contact.

Woohoo!

The e602 is a seriously cool mic for that more attack-y sound and is definitely overlooked a lot of the time! Another really great one that I've been using lately is the Shure Beta91a. I'm hoping to do another shootout at some point that includes that one.

@@BetterMixes Oh yeah, 91a is a staple. I still have one in the locker. I ended up adding the Telefunken M82 for inside and that pairs very nicely with the Telefunken CU29 outside. Killer combo.

@@diavimusic4523 Niiiice! I bet that sounds killer! It's been a while since I've used the cu29, but I remember it sounding really good.

Haha yeah, that mic has always been hit or miss for me.

This was the older model. I haven't used the new one yet. Do you know if there are supposed to be sonic differences? Or is it just the built-in mount?

@@BetterMixes newer one is made in a different factory (China) and made of plastic. Recording hacks.com says it’s the same otherwise. Not sure I believe that. I haven't been a huge fan of D112 but it sounded best in this test. Lacks some of the sub bass, but I typically use an outside mic for that. D112 seemed to have the most punch in your test.

@@gordongurley3982 Ah, interesting! I'll have to get my hands on one at some point and compare them.

Hahaha that's great. But yeah, the 602 is a killer mic! And often overlooked for whatever reason.

This shootout was recorded through Lynx Aroura converters.

It's pretty solid! It doesn't sound all that close to the original d12 (I wish I had had that one on hand while doing this shootout), but it's cool in its own right! And with the multiple modes, it's pretty flexible!

@@BetterMixes Right, I see. Im between a few mics for my first kick mic. Cant decide haha.

@@underpressureman Which ones are you between?

@@BetterMixes Lewitt DTP 640 Rex / AKG D12VR / AUDIO TECHNICA AE2500 / Telefunken M82

@@underpressureman I haven't tried the Lewitt (yet...), but out of the other three, I've actually been using the Audio Technica for probably 90% of my sessions for the last few years. I actually only use the condenser element, and it doesn't sound the best straight out of the mic, but once you get some EQ on it, it really comes to life! I'm able to really shape it with EQ, and I really like the character of the mic once it's been processed. The other two probably sound closer to a finished product straight out of the mic, but once processed, I prefer the AE2500. They're all solid options though, and obviously, your mileage may vary, but I do really dig the Audio Technica!

It's a great mic! And it REALLY gets along with this particular drum that I used for this comparison.

Maybe it was just an Oak Custom then? I don't know Yamaha models super well, but I know the kit was made out of red oak and had custom in the name! 😆

@@BetterMixes That will be a Live Custom. Great kit 👍

I'm going to HARD disagree. Let's say you own or are familiar with one or two of these mics, but want something that's brighter, darker, fuller, rounder, whatever. With comparisons like this, you can "tune" your ears to the mic or mics you know, and then see how the other mics compare.

Isolated clicks cannot reveal what a mic is capable of without mixing and eq ing to suit a specific recording or live performance.

@@swisscottagecleanairaction And that's why I included a download link so people can eq and compress and process the mics to see how they handle it. Obviously, the only way to 100% know if a mic is going to work for you is to try it on a session, but videos like this can at least point people in the right direction. For instance, I found the Shure beta91a through videos similar to this, and it's become my absolute favorite kick mic! I probably never would have tried it if not for shootout videos. Now yeah, I could have shown the mics in the context of a drum mix, but that can sometimes be even less helpful because you could say "well I wouldn't use those overhead mics, so this test is pointless. Well, I wouldn't tune my drums this way, so this test is a waste of time. Well, my room sounds different, and I would have processed them differently...." Like I said, I saw those videos comparing the beta91a to other mics and I was able to go "ok, I know the d112 they're using pretty well. I know I like this about it and dislike this about it. By comparison, the beta91 has more of this and less of that, so chances are, it will work better for me." And it did.

@@BetterMixesFor example chosing between Re20 and D112 can be like splitting hairs. Both are 100 % capable of being eq ed to sound perfect in combination with any well played/recorded bass guitar.