Comment your favorite mics BEFORE we reveal them all at the end!!! And huge shoutout to Chuck Levin's for making this whole thing possible... you can check out all the mics in greater detail here: chucklevins.com/collections/drum-microphone-pack-shootout
I would have loved to see y'all go back and pick the best snare, kick, OHs, etc... from your conversations and make a hodgepodge pack and see what it sounded like.
Hear hear. My sentiments exactly. Assuming those particular mics are sold separately and not exclusively in a pack, that would be the ultimate set of mics...
@@demonicsweaters At 9:30 they say they used SM57s for everything. That's why the kick sounds so tight and blappy with little bass, not like a normal kick mic sound like the Beta 52.
Exactly, that and the overhead sound. 57s aren't really "made" to be placed that far away from an audio source, they quickly lose most of their depth at a certain distance. Also, they have a very directional pickup pattern, so to capture a good stereo image they would technically need to sit even further away, which conflicts with the previous point. With them panned in the mix, you feel like part of the picture is missing, since both mics are not really picking up the "middle" of the drum set, which gives it a confusing sound.
Can we talk about the VALUE of the Audix pack, my goodness! The Earthworks are 10x the price for almost no advantage except maybe in the depth of the hi-hat. Stunning. This has solidified me adding an SE V Kick and V7 X to the arsenal.
The thing that stands out for me is how subtle the differences are between these mics. It goes to show that if you get a nice kit in a nice room you'll get a nice sound even with nothing but SM57s. A $2 drum key will get you a farther than a $2,000 mic pack if you know how to use it.
Our rental company had the Audix set, which we were always very happy with. Effectively, there wasn't much more to do on the mixer thanks to the pre-EQing. Until - yes, until there was a very unfavorable stage situation where low frequency resonances occurred, especially near the drum riser. This was an almost unsolvable problem with the Audix on the toms, as the sound is so strongly pre-shaped. Everything had to be gated out and heavily EQed. Since then I've experimented a lot and now have the SE set on the snare (V7x top, bottom SM57) and the toms (V-Kick on the big floor tom), supplemented by the SE BL8 boundary layer in the kick and (old) AKG C451B as overheads. Rarely the Rhode NT5 on the hihat, in case I want it sharper. Sounds fantastic - even in challenging stage situations! Thanks for this great review! You obviously put a lot of work into it and it confirms some of my own conclusions.
Super happy to see SE Pack so high - I liked them the most too and they are the ones I've been wanting to buy eventually. Guessed the SM57s right too. Regarding the video, as a person who has also posted some content myself I feel upset that this only got 900 views over 2 months. I believe a more eyecatching and clear thumbnail would help. The quality of the video, the production/editing (even though maybe a bit overdone at places to my taste), test methodology (blind test), drum playing, quality of sound samples, your personal thoughts and insight on what you were listening to. It's all incredibly valueable and deserves all the views, sadly people just don't seem to be clicking on it. I truly hope this video gets more attention
@@DimitriFantini Looks like the thumbnail change worked wonders! I'm so glad the video took some traction, all the hard work that was put into it really shows. Congrats!
Great video y’all. Love how the top ranking mics had such a spread on price. Proof that great sounds don’t always come from the most expensive gear. Might be worth using the same content to cut some snare/kick/overhead specific videos together too cause I’d love hearing it focused on just those too. Much respect.
they all sounded pretty good. goes to show that if you have a great drummer (not to mention a nice kit and nice room), you can mic it up with a $20 amazon usb mic and it'll still be good. great video! deserves more views for sure.
This video was an absolute treasure-trove of knowledge for me, not just what mics are good and what different mics sound like, but also how to pick out different aspects of a mic's sound and what is important to capture (the comment about hihats having lots of frequencies and how that effects recording them, especially). Great production quality. 11/10.
C for the SM57 pack. Loved this video. Thank you for putting yourselves out there to potentially get roasted. The Earthworks mics reminded me of shooting in RAW with photography, but I agree they weren’t great without processing.
I've seen a few of these comparison of mic videos and everytime I love the natural and clean tone of the audix. In comparison to the price it is amazing!
Really cool video, and though it only tells you what mics would work the best for that specific drum set in that room, it's still cool to see that not always the most expensive microphones are going to be the best for the task. I'm not too surprised that the Earthworks mics got such a low score given that they're generally so flat that they don't necessarily flatter what you're recording, which could be good for you if you're looking for something that is the most versatile. I would love to see what scores the microphones would get when it comes to mixing since bleed and ability to take EQ would be much more important then. Also I think giving out or selling the multi-tracks from this test could be a great resource.
There were aspects of most that I liked. For instance the kick of A, the snare of B, the overheads, hats and toms of E but I think the overall winner for me was D surprisingly. The only thing I was not able to hear in that pack was the toms. But to me it had the best kick, best snare and the most dimensional and tonally pleasing overheads. At least how I'd want to hear that kit EQ'd. Would be nice if you made available for download the complete play throughs of each mic pack in stereo 24bit wave format so we could all A/B without commentary and hear every aspect of the kit. Thanks for going to the effort though. I was surprised how anaemic the Shure SM57 pack sounded. Even on snare only it wasn't my fav by a long shot. It might've been nice to include the complete Shure drum pack as a separate option so it's more on a level pegging with the others.
Very nice shootout! As I'm in the market for a set of drummics, this was very helpful and even confirmed my preference for the sE pack. Was going to do a shootout myself, but I kinda thinking of not needing that anymore ;-)
This was super helpful and so well produced! It really help me decide which mic set was the best just listening and not taking decisions by price or other factors!
Excellent video! I loved this. I'm excited to see the Audix pack ranks so highly. What were the overheads for the Audix pack? The DP5A doesn't come with overheads as far as I can tell....
You earned a new sub from the quality of this video. I agree with other commenters, would love to see you revisit this recording and pick your favourite mics for snare, kick, Toms, overheads, etc and make a mixed mic pack recording.
I was a Beta 52 guy for a long time. I heard a demo of the sE V Kick and got it immediately. It's a dope mic and makes me happy that the best pack here includes it.
Thats a good and classic Combination. I prefer condensers too, especially the KM84. My favorite for the snare and the Overheads. MD 421 on the toms and also on the Bassdrum. Kickout a TLM170. And never ever a SM57, in my humble opnion the worst microphone...
@@markmoog2369 yeah i hate that thing for most applications. But i have three where i like it-guitar amp, room mics and if i don't have anything else-rack tom
..when recording my first home studio project, ..a while back.. I was a little overwhelmed with choices/opinions/stigma, etc, ;) for some close mics for rack and floor toms. I ended up randomly finding an ancient pair of RadioShack (of all things.. lol) .. AA-battery powered, small diaphragm condenser mics at a yard sale and just said Wtf, "Just Try," (Miraculously, they still worked). ($5 for both ) so why not) - and doing what you did here is how I ended up with shock and awe when I heard the kit in the control room. Set up Cad, Shure and These things to A-B-C them in real time. I didn't mark them and wanted to know which Sounded best and most importantly, appropriate for this track. Somehow, these funny magic marker sized dictation mics captured this beautifully deep, visceral sound (which i was near speechless about) and was almost exactly what I was hoping for for one particularly dark and introspective track I was trying to craft. I wanted the quality of the lows for the floor tom especially to have its own signature if possible, and not a 'cookie cutter' Drums in a box' type sound that you hear everywhere. Especially now when when drums are 99.99% computer generated. .(..and sadly now vocals as well. -_- ugh, ..i digress...) - At the time, the rack and floor toms were a set of Remo (12" & 14" respectively and the tuning lugs you could just pull away from the shell ( not needing to remove the tension rod completely - and change the heads that way. Haven't seen them anywhere since., had no idea what they were called, and ultimately traded them for a set of mid 60's Slingerland White Marine Pearl 12" +16" to match my kick drum. ( a 1929 26" Ludwig Pioneer )... But the Remo's were sturdy and cheap, used mainly for doing a very hectic touring schedule. But somehow, this floor tom was just a completely unassuming monster... So really, you are SO correct when you mention early on, the purpose was to test for sonic goodness 'Without Bias'. You never know what actually Trying Things can bring about if you're open enough to even try and do so. Cheers! & Kudos! Thanks for the cool vid!
This video helps SO much when choosing mics. Great comparison and the structure of the video was great. I’m guessing the DP5A Audix is actually the DP7 since it got the overheads as well and not just kick, snare and toms. Great video!
I’ve had Audix for live for years. Recently added a Beyer snare top and KD boundary mic to the mix, and I’m using KM184s for the overheads and a Elam tube mic clone for the room. Pure bliss for studio but Audix is a live workhorse.
The phill collins miss-hap' did happen for sure. It was a misshap for that project alone. The 80's drum sound existed long before that. Great video , very interesting!!
Haven't ended the video yet, but IMO the C and the E are the best sounding ones. I am not sound tech guy so I don't have a proper back-up for my preferences, it's just that they sound better in my ears :) Awesome quality in your videos Dimitri, would love to keep seeing these!
I switched all of my mics over to sE for drum recording over the last couple years. They gave me the best sound I've ever gotten on the close mics. Really undervalued as a company as a whole.
thank you for doing this. as a hobbyist i was partial to A C and E -- after seeing all the prices, production, hearing the mixing etc. i lol'd because honestly - i'm super happy with my existing Shure setup at home and what I paid for it. so this was a great confirmation that it's not all about the price. that being said G also sounded the "Best" in my opinion and maybe will take a look at those sE Vpacks down the line.... but for now, content. thanks again
The sE pack sounds as good as the Neumann for 1/7th of the price, while the Audix sound almost as good for 1/10th of the price. Spending more seems almost absurd, specially considering that any differences can probably be compensated by either changing the mic positions and/or a little EQ. Any differences probably become negligible in the context of a mix. Audix wins this one hands down!
A great musician in a well engineered session can really display small differences in gear, this is an eye (ears?) opening comparison, amazingly done. I had those Audix mics on drums in many records I did and they are pretty amazing. And I'm not surprised sE took it, amazing mics, specially sE8. What people should pay attention here isn't really which mic is better or whatever, but how a well chosen, well tuned and well played instrument sounds great regardless.
Man I was surprised about the sE mic pack! I've been using Earthworks for a while and was lowkey rooting for them for them to be high rated haha. Super cool comparison either way, and hope you're well dude!
essentially all of these setups i feel make more sense in the live world than they do in the studio, like in a studio setting limiting yourself to a set pack of mics can sometimes just degrade the quality of your recording they deffo do the job tho
Wow the Audix stood out as one of the best and most affordable. And here I thought they were only known for their kick drum mics. This was really helpful. Thanks for putting it together. And great drumming too.
Fantastic video! Thank you for the content. Amazing playing, thank you for giving us an example in a mix with other instruments, thank you for the back to back solo'd drums example, and thank you for the wonderful playing! edit: any chance at a round 2 of this style video, but this time with some of the mic packs that didn't make it to this video? The AKG, AudioTechnica, Behringer, Lewitt and Shure (PGA line since there doesn't appear to be a kit with B52/sm57/sm81?) mic kit packs - might be a couple brands I'm missing, but I'd love to see that and am interested to see if the more budget conscious microphones hold up!
Cool video, and important information for drummers. Well done. Talk about the most expensive instrument in a band. Just as soon as you think you have your perfect drums and cymbals setup. Now you need microphones and a mixer. Don't forget an interface into your DAW. And then another cowbell or 2. Then gig bags and cases to protect your drums and cymbals etc. And boy look at that new Pearl rack mount system. lol Gear for drummers, it just never ends. But there are certainly worse ways for one to spend their money! lol
man c sounded absolutely perfect to me, i thought it was just a random focal bias but i kept listening to all of them over and over and c just HITS, so glad the sm57 resonates with me in a blind test, best mic.
@@colehetzel5003 I liked it cause it was the only kick sound that would get through in a metal mix without much work on it. Should have a sub mic on it as well though. Plus it had the most mids, and whenever the mids aren't pronounced enough, the high end can quickly start sounding out of place.
@@Mezurashii5 Yeah, to me the 57 captures the soul of drums, it is kick snare toms hats cymbals, it's not breath or twinkle or rumble or splash. it is 30 fps. it's punchy and slappy and clicky and pingy and choppy, and just a tad boxy. i would not mic a kit with ONLY sm57s but if i had to mic a kit with only one mic model, it's sm57 all day.
The most shocking microphones I’ve ever used were Beringer 3-piece vocal set. They look like black SM 58s, and sounded better than anything I ever heard. They were noiseless, sensitive as a condenser, punchy and worked equally well on Octobons, rack toms and 18” floor tom. All three came together in a case and only cost $30! Ultravoice 1800.
I'll go with Steve Albini's take that if an SM57 were a mic, it'd be a Beyer M201 ;) I somehow managed to pick out the signature midrange '57 honk on my phone speakers!
Mic pack C, just by the kick drum sound, I’m thinking is 57’s. It cuts through and sits in the mix great although it doesn’t have much below 90hz. I may be wrong though. Gotta watch the rest of the video.
@DimitriFantini Late to the party, but THANKS Heaps for this Blind comparison. Removing Sighted Expectation/Confirmation Bias is a must in order to make a decision purely on the SOUND, so a massive 👍👍for that! My personal impressions and preferences were pretty much in line with you guys for the most part. However, I really did like the Kick on "F" the Earthworks. I think Bob may have mentioned this, too, and it was my initial impression before he said that, so I was like, "YESSSS!" when he said that, LOL. 😊 At least one thing to point out, though: Put this kit in a different area in the live room, or in another room altogether, and your impressions and ratings of these drum microphone kits could easily be VASTLY different, at least in terms of their Spectral Balance or overall timbre. However, the overall level of Detail and Dynamics should remain more consistent. As an example, I just recently recorded a series of "SOUNDSTAGE POSITION TEST TRACKS" to be used by home or car audio HiFi enthusiasts and "audiophiles" when either setting-up or evaluating their loudspeaker systems. The majority of these tracks used a variety of percussion instruments, including one of my favorite Snare Drums...a 5.5″ x 14″ Dixon Artisan Equator with a hybrid Oak with Steel Band shell... I used a near-coincident A/B+X/Y "N.O.S." stereo microphone configuration ("Nederlandse Omroep Stichting", which is a variation of ORTF) with a pair of Lewitt LCT-340 SDC mics (which happen to be extremely versatile). The track was set up to capture the Snare Drum in 7 Equally-Spaced Positions across the soundstage, from Far Left to Far Right: Far Left / Left / Left Center / Center / Right Center / Right / Far Right The sound of the snare at each position was very Similar in Timbre & Amplitude as expected, EXCEPT when I placed & struck the snare in the "Right" position! In just that one position, the Timbre & Amplitude of the snare changed SIGNIFICANTLY, to the point that you'd think it was now a 8" x14" Snare that was tuned much lower! My standard 5.5" x 14" snare suddenly became "fat & massive", but just in that one position! The immediately adjacent "Right Center" and "Far Right" position snare hits returned to their more uniform or "normal" timbre & amplitude. For reference, each of these 7 Positions were only space 28" apart, but a constructive interference mode in the room caused a massive anomaly in just that one particular position. Unfortunately, this forced me to have to shift and re-set the entire setup until I could mitigate this anomaly, as it was then more obvious that it affected the other instruments while being played at this position/location as well. The same effects are found in the majority of professional "live rooms", and of course, are often taken advantage of when tracking drums. So again, just sayin' that your mic preferences COULD potentially be completely different based on the position of the kit in the room, or when placed in another room. I'm using quite a few ribbon mics now on my drums and the room, as well as my saxophones. Favorites are the Mesanovic model 2, Samar VL-38A, AEA R88, and KU4, the latter of which I don't own, yet. But when I compared and made my "Go-To" Drum Mic Pack purchase decision, I settled on the original Lewitt DTP BEAT KIT PRO 7 set. This kit included a pair of the LCT-340 SDC mics for the overheads which included both Omni & Cardioid capsules. The Lewitt LCT-340 are now discontinued and the updated 2nd Gen DTP Beat Kit Pro 7 set comes with the newer LCT-140 AIR mics which are still nice but are less expensive and don't have the interchangeable Omni/Cardioid capsule option, and they have a bit more self-noise, but higher Dynamic Range. One of my favorite mics in this kit is the Bass Drum DTP 640 REX mic which has both Dynamic & Condenser capsules that are aligned in the common mic housing/body. There are also multiple settings on the mic for each capsule. It pretty much has never failed to give me both the Attack & Body of the kick, regardless of the tuning or muffling. Needless to say, I would have loved if this Lewitt drum mic pack was included in this comparison. But there are obviously a few others that didn't make it into your comparison as well. Having said that, I'm surprised you tackled as many as you did...HUGE undertaking! One last recommendation: For Drum O/H's (or nearly ANY Percussion or Acoustic String instrument for that matter), I highly recommend the Audio-Technica AT5045. For drums & percussion, these are ideal due to their 149dB SPL capability + 141dB Dynamic Range. FANTASTIC on Upright Double Bass, or ANY strings! Other than the AEA KU4, I haven't heard any other mics that capture as much LIFELIKE Depth, Detail, Dynamics, Harmonics, and Ambiance of the instrument and room. Sure, sometimes that is NOT what you want, but if you're looking for REALISM, these are incredible...but unfortunately not cheap. Thanks again for all the time and effort put into this comparison, as well as the great production quality! ...One of the best I've seen to date. 👍 Cheers
Amazonf work on the video. Every recording was neautifully done. I knew the VPack Arena would take it if it was in the collection. Killer mic pack. I have the Audix DP7 and going back I would have bought the SE pack if I knew about it first. As of now I am gradually picking up parts of the pack. Love the V Kick. It has replaced the Audix D6. Such an amazing kick mic... Especially with the variable settings. Its a swiss army knife of kick mics with everything you need in one mic.
Once again with mics, price does not always equate to sound. Zero correlation in this comparison. I use the audix mic pack in my studio, paired with a matched pair of Coles 4038s. About 10 feet back as overheads to get a natural room reverb. It’s a professional enough sound.
Because I’ve always been a struggling musician/producer, I never had the chance to own expensive (better??) gear. So, with what I could afford and experience I made great productions with cheapo mics and middle of the road mixers (mackie 32-8). The mic pack that I used for years was the Samson. I known I know..😂😂..I made them work anyway
For cost/performance ratio Audix drum packs always seem to come out on top. I’d have these over anything Shure make any day. It’s unfortunate that Audix mics are prone to damage when placed near the port of a kick drum, best to either place the mic fully inside or a good distance away to save the diaphragm being ripped to shreds from the air pressure. Particularly on the D6.
Very cool blind test! I loved the Audix sound! Quick question though: as the the Audix DP5A doesn't come with overhead condensers, what did you use for the overhead mics? Was it just the other (2) D2's since you only had one tom?
Good question. The DPA pack was not the DPA5A like I listed in the video, that’s a mistake on my part. That pack is the DP7 like you’ll find in the description!
Is there a video only with the drum recordings without you guys talking over it? I would love to listen to the recordings little bit longer Thx for the video i love such content
This was very well done, although I honestly can't tell the difference between any of these - they all sound fine. That may be youtube's fault for compressing things quite a lot by the time it gets here, and my USB headphones are probably deeply mediocre. This will be a useful video for years to come. Interesting to see that price does not correlate significantly with performance here, beyond 'don't buy the cheapest ones'. To be fair I guess there are a boatload of much cheaper stuff than Shure SM57s which you just ignored.
Comment your favorite mics BEFORE we reveal them all at the end!!!
And huge shoutout to Chuck Levin's for making this whole thing possible... you can check out all the mics in greater detail here: chucklevins.com/collections/drum-microphone-pack-shootout
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Quality video, would love to see a bass drum depth comparison, 22 by 20 deep, 22 by 18 deep, 22 by 16 and 22 by 14.
Audix were my fave,
Sm 57 are the value king!
Maybe we’ll have to do that!
I would have loved to see y'all go back and pick the best snare, kick, OHs, etc... from your conversations and make a hodgepodge pack and see what it sounded like.
It’s a good idea!! Couldn’t fit it into this one, it already took three days to shoot! 😂
Yes!
@@DimitriFantini I could tell! Easily my favorite mic shootout video on youtube. Well done!
Wow thank you Jeremy!!
Hear hear. My sentiments exactly. Assuming those particular mics are sold separately and not exclusively in a pack, that would be the ultimate set of mics...
Came for the mics, stayed for the drummer. Sick playing.
the kick drum sound with the sm57 was the giveaway for me
@@demonicsweaters At 9:30 they say they used SM57s for everything. That's why the kick sounds so tight and blappy with little bass, not like a normal kick mic sound like the Beta 52.
@@AfferbeckBeats Ah
@@demonicsweaters 13:32 it is a 57 on bass
Exactly, that and the overhead sound.
57s aren't really "made" to be placed that far away from an audio source, they quickly lose most of their depth at a certain distance.
Also, they have a very directional pickup pattern, so to capture a good stereo image they would technically need to sit even further away, which conflicts with the previous point.
With them panned in the mix, you feel like part of the picture is missing, since both mics are not really picking up the "middle" of the drum set, which gives it a confusing sound.
Can we talk about the VALUE of the Audix pack, my goodness! The Earthworks are 10x the price for almost no advantage except maybe in the depth of the hi-hat. Stunning.
This has solidified me adding an SE V Kick and V7 X to the arsenal.
I already use the sE VPack arena and they just sound awesome. Very clear, punchy, but balanced.
The thing that stands out for me is how subtle the differences are between these mics. It goes to show that if you get a nice kit in a nice room you'll get a nice sound even with nothing but SM57s. A $2 drum key will get you a farther than a $2,000 mic pack if you know how to use it.
Or an eq and some savvy sound design
Nah. You'd at least need a vintage collectible Ludwig tuning key.
You’re absolutely right.
You know you´re a Gear nerd when you recognize all the mics by their mounts even when they are censored
lol damn I guess I didn't censor them well enough haha
Truth!
I would have believed you if you could have proven that... but.. just words.
Wow the quality of production and reviewing is great
Thanks really glad you enjoyed it!! 👊
Mindblowing production, playing, everything. WELL done. Subbed.
That really means a lot, thank you!
That was unbelievable thanks a lot for taking time and producing this video
I can’t believe you have such few subscribers, such a great video! Thanks so much for the quality content
Our rental company had the Audix set, which we were always very happy with. Effectively, there wasn't much more to do on the mixer thanks to the pre-EQing.
Until - yes, until there was a very unfavorable stage situation where low frequency resonances occurred, especially near the drum riser.
This was an almost unsolvable problem with the Audix on the toms, as the sound is so strongly pre-shaped. Everything had to be gated out and heavily EQed.
Since then I've experimented a lot and now have the SE set on the snare (V7x top, bottom SM57) and the toms (V-Kick on the big floor tom), supplemented by the SE BL8 boundary layer in the kick and (old) AKG C451B as overheads. Rarely the Rhode NT5 on the hihat, in case I want it sharper.
Sounds fantastic - even in challenging stage situations!
Thanks for this great review! You obviously put a lot of work into it and it confirms some of my own conclusions.
Thanks for your insights! I’m sure they will help others as well!
Super happy to see SE Pack so high - I liked them the most too and they are the ones I've been wanting to buy eventually. Guessed the SM57s right too.
Regarding the video, as a person who has also posted some content myself I feel upset that this only got 900 views over 2 months. I believe a more eyecatching and clear thumbnail would help. The quality of the video, the production/editing (even though maybe a bit overdone at places to my taste), test methodology (blind test), drum playing, quality of sound samples, your personal thoughts and insight on what you were listening to. It's all incredibly valueable and deserves all the views, sadly people just don't seem to be clicking on it. I truly hope this video gets more attention
thank you so much for the kind words!! Maybe I'll swap the thumbnail, maybe I'll just keep plugging away at new vids! Glad to have you here :)
i bought the SE a year ago and they are outstanding
@@DimitriFantini haha, something you did worked! 2 more months later youre at 24,000. Great vid man, really enjoyed it
Ah thank you so much!!
@@DimitriFantini Looks like the thumbnail change worked wonders! I'm so glad the video took some traction, all the hard work that was put into it really shows. Congrats!
Great video y’all. Love how the top ranking mics had such a spread on price. Proof that great sounds don’t always come from the most expensive gear. Might be worth using the same content to cut some snare/kick/overhead specific videos together too cause I’d love hearing it focused on just those too. Much respect.
We might have to do that in the near future, appreciate the suggestion!
they all sounded pretty good. goes to show that if you have a great drummer (not to mention a nice kit and nice room), you can mic it up with a $20 amazon usb mic and it'll still be good. great video! deserves more views for sure.
You mean for Shure?
This video was an absolute treasure-trove of knowledge for me, not just what mics are good and what different mics sound like, but also how to pick out different aspects of a mic's sound and what is important to capture (the comment about hihats having lots of frequencies and how that effects recording them, especially). Great production quality. 11/10.
I wish u added Beyerdynamic TG Drum-Set Pro L MKII. Interesting choise in my opinion
That was the sweetest mic kit blind test I’ve seen yet! Kudos to you guys! And thanks!! 👍🏻👍🏻
Great shootout! Thanks for doing this :)
You’re welcome! 👊
C for the SM57 pack.
Loved this video. Thank you for putting yourselves out there to potentially get roasted.
The Earthworks mics reminded me of shooting in RAW with photography, but I agree they weren’t great without processing.
I use earthworks overheads all the time at Red Bridge Studios and they work great - RAW photography is a good analogy
Thank you for taking the time and great work. This is real world experience
I've seen a few of these comparison of mic videos and everytime I love the natural and clean tone of the audix. In comparison to the price it is amazing!
they sound great! I use the Audix D2 and D4 on my toms here at the studio
This was an incredible video bro! I loved the whole thing. Those sE mics honestly blew me away. Figured they were the Earthworks or Neumanns.
thanks dude! so glad you dug it!!
@@DimitriFantini hope this video catches the algorithm wave, it deserves it. I know this was a ton of work
@@Chance_Drums that means a lot, thank you!!! 🥰
looooved mic pack G. absolutely fantastic sound. D was great too.
Really cool video, and though it only tells you what mics would work the best for that specific drum set in that room, it's still cool to see that not always the most expensive microphones are going to be the best for the task.
I'm not too surprised that the Earthworks mics got such a low score given that they're generally so flat that they don't necessarily flatter what you're recording, which could be good for you if you're looking for something that is the most versatile.
I would love to see what scores the microphones would get when it comes to mixing since bleed and ability to take EQ would be much more important then. Also I think giving out or selling the multi-tracks from this test could be a great resource.
There were aspects of most that I liked. For instance the kick of A, the snare of B, the overheads, hats and toms of E but I think the overall winner for me was D surprisingly. The only thing I was not able to hear in that pack was the toms. But to me it had the best kick, best snare and the most dimensional and tonally pleasing overheads. At least how I'd want to hear that kit EQ'd. Would be nice if you made available for download the complete play throughs of each mic pack in stereo 24bit wave format so we could all A/B without commentary and hear every aspect of the kit. Thanks for going to the effort though. I was surprised how anaemic the Shure SM57 pack sounded. Even on snare only it wasn't my fav by a long shot. It might've been nice to include the complete Shure drum pack as a separate option so it's more on a level pegging with the others.
I'm 45 seconds in and I'm already hooked.
Thank you!! Hope you enjoyed the rest haha
@@DimitriFantini I did!
Very nice shootout! As I'm in the market for a set of drummics, this was very helpful and even confirmed my preference for the sE pack. Was going to do a shootout myself, but I kinda thinking of not needing that anymore ;-)
Great video! Thanks for helping me decide.
My budget is going with Audix.
good choice! at the studio I run we currently use the Audix tom mics, they are doing the job well!
This was super helpful and so well produced! It really help me decide which mic set was the best just listening and not taking decisions by price or other factors!
thank you. we need more of these, for all gear.
hl2 sounds super nice
Absolutely loved pack D. Knew pack C were the 57s as soon as I heard the snare and the kick
Excellent video! I loved this.
I'm excited to see the Audix pack ranks so highly. What were the overheads for the Audix pack? The DP5A doesn't come with overheads as far as I can tell....
I’m going to assume they were the ADX51’s. I own a pair and I’d be happy to tell you about them to the best of my ability.
You earned a new sub from the quality of this video. I agree with other commenters, would love to see you revisit this recording and pick your favourite mics for snare, kick, Toms, overheads, etc and make a mixed mic pack recording.
I'm just glad the best mics were only twice as much as the SM57s, rather than 10 times. Some of those prices were eye-wateringly high.
I was a Beta 52 guy for a long time. I heard a demo of the sE V Kick and got it immediately. It's a dope mic and makes me happy that the best pack here includes it.
Kick In-AKG D12 (old), Shure 52
Kick Out-FET47
Snare Bottom- Senn 441, KM84
Snare Top-Senn 431, Beyer 201, KM 105, KM 84, KMS 105
Toms-421, SM7, c414 b-uls
OH-C414 b-uls, Oktava 012, Coles 4038 C414 anniversary
Kit-RCA PB90, Coles 4038
Room-anything
Thats a good and classic Combination. I prefer condensers too, especially the KM84. My favorite for the snare and the Overheads. MD 421 on the toms and also on the Bassdrum. Kickout a TLM170. And never ever a SM57, in my humble opnion the worst microphone...
@@markmoog2369 yeah i hate that thing for most applications. But i have three where i like it-guitar amp, room mics and if i don't have anything else-rack tom
Love how this video cut out all the fat. Just a fair comparison and great sound.
If you bring up the snare and such I think A was actually really great. Loved the Kick
..when recording my first home studio project, ..a while back.. I was a little overwhelmed with choices/opinions/stigma, etc, ;) for some close mics for rack and floor toms. I ended up randomly finding an ancient pair of RadioShack (of all things.. lol) .. AA-battery powered, small diaphragm condenser mics at a yard sale and just said Wtf, "Just Try," (Miraculously, they still worked). ($5 for both ) so why not) - and doing what you did here is how I ended up with shock and awe when I heard the kit in the control room. Set up Cad, Shure and These things to A-B-C them in real time. I didn't mark them and wanted to know which Sounded best and most importantly, appropriate for this track. Somehow, these funny magic marker sized dictation mics captured this beautifully deep, visceral sound (which i was near speechless about) and was almost exactly what I was hoping for for one particularly dark and introspective track I was trying to craft. I wanted the quality of the lows for the floor tom especially to have its own signature if possible, and not a 'cookie cutter' Drums in a box' type sound that you hear everywhere. Especially now when when drums are 99.99% computer generated. .(..and sadly now vocals as well. -_- ugh, ..i digress...) - At the time, the rack and floor toms were a set of Remo (12" & 14" respectively and the tuning lugs you could just pull away from the shell ( not needing to remove the tension rod completely - and change the heads that way. Haven't seen them anywhere since., had no idea what they were called, and ultimately traded them for a set of mid 60's Slingerland White Marine Pearl 12" +16" to match my kick drum. ( a 1929 26" Ludwig Pioneer )... But the Remo's were sturdy and cheap, used mainly for doing a very hectic touring schedule. But somehow, this floor tom was just a completely unassuming monster... So really, you are SO correct when you mention early on, the purpose was to test for sonic goodness 'Without Bias'. You never know what actually Trying Things can bring about if you're open enough to even try and do so. Cheers! & Kudos!
Thanks for the cool vid!
This video helps SO much when choosing mics. Great comparison and the structure of the video was great. I’m guessing the DP5A Audix is actually the DP7 since it got the overheads as well and not just kick, snare and toms. Great video!
I’ve had Audix for live for years. Recently added a Beyer snare top and KD boundary mic to the mix, and I’m using KM184s for the overheads and a Elam tube mic clone for the room. Pure bliss for studio but Audix is a live workhorse.
nicely done. thanks!
They all sounded great, I loved the 57,s for a tight sound
This deserves WAAAY more views. Thanks for this!
Glad you liked it!
The Diver Down VanHalen kit sound was the sm 57 giveaway for me too
The phill collins miss-hap' did happen for sure. It was a misshap for that project alone. The 80's drum sound existed long before that. Great video , very interesting!!
Haven't ended the video yet, but IMO the C and the E are the best sounding ones. I am not sound tech guy so I don't have a proper back-up for my preferences, it's just that they sound better in my ears :)
Awesome quality in your videos Dimitri, would love to keep seeing these!
I'm glad you commented this before having the mics revealed! Go by your ears!
Great video thanks. Definitely gonna check out that Phil video!
We want everything from you guys 🎉
I had been holding out on audix because I wanna buy a new mic pack but honestly I think I may just do it, that’s sounded amazing
Intetesting. On my smartphone also C and G sounded the best!
I switched all of my mics over to sE for drum recording over the last couple years. They gave me the best sound I've ever gotten on the close mics. Really undervalued as a company as a whole.
Thank you. 😁👍
thank you for doing this. as a hobbyist i was partial to A C and E -- after seeing all the prices, production, hearing the mixing etc. i lol'd because honestly - i'm super happy with my existing Shure setup at home and what I paid for it. so this was a great confirmation that it's not all about the price. that being said G also sounded the "Best" in my opinion and maybe will take a look at those sE Vpacks down the line.... but for now, content. thanks again
This was amazing! Thank you.
mic pack c sounds like the drum sound on mellon collie and the infinite sadness. I am a massive fan of that dry and punchy drum sound.
Great video! What about a part II? There are more drum mics out there!
The sE pack sounds as good as the Neumann for 1/7th of the price, while the Audix sound almost as good for 1/10th of the price. Spending more seems almost absurd, specially considering that any differences can probably be compensated by either changing the mic positions and/or a little EQ. Any differences probably become negligible in the context of a mix. Audix wins this one hands down!
Would love to see something featuring the new Lauten drum mics
I have heard great things
A great musician in a well engineered session can really display small differences in gear, this is an eye (ears?) opening comparison, amazingly done. I had those Audix mics on drums in many records I did and they are pretty amazing. And I'm not surprised sE took it, amazing mics, specially sE8. What people should pay attention here isn't really which mic is better or whatever, but how a well chosen, well tuned and well played instrument sounds great regardless.
This is amazing
Thank you very much!
Man I was surprised about the sE mic pack! I've been using Earthworks for a while and was lowkey rooting for them for them to be high rated haha. Super cool comparison either way, and hope you're well dude!
essentially all of these setups i feel make more sense in the live world than they do in the studio, like in a studio setting limiting yourself to a set pack of mics can sometimes just degrade the quality of your recording
they deffo do the job tho
Fantastic video! Like others have said I would also be interested to hear your favourite mixed microphone list.
All totally usable
Wow the Audix stood out as one of the best and most affordable. And here I thought they were only known for their kick drum mics. This was really helpful. Thanks for putting it together. And great drumming too.
Glad it helped!!
Fantastic video! Thank you for the content. Amazing playing, thank you for giving us an example in a mix with other instruments, thank you for the back to back solo'd drums example, and thank you for the wonderful playing!
edit: any chance at a round 2 of this style video, but this time with some of the mic packs that didn't make it to this video? The AKG, AudioTechnica, Behringer, Lewitt and Shure (PGA line since there doesn't appear to be a kit with B52/sm57/sm81?) mic kit packs - might be a couple brands I'm missing, but I'd love to see that and am interested to see if the more budget conscious microphones hold up!
Cool video, and important information for drummers. Well done. Talk about the most expensive instrument in a band. Just as soon as you think you have your perfect drums and cymbals setup. Now you need microphones and a mixer. Don't forget an interface into your DAW. And then another cowbell or 2. Then gig bags and cases to protect your drums and cymbals etc. And boy look at that new Pearl rack mount system. lol Gear for drummers, it just never ends. But there are certainly worse ways for one to spend their money! lol
Well said!! Its expensive and exhausting being a drummer 😂
Immediately thought C was the SM57 because that's what I liked most, so of course the least appropriate mic for the job would be my #1.
man c sounded absolutely perfect to me, i thought it was just a random focal bias but i kept listening to all of them over and over and c just HITS, so glad the sm57 resonates with me in a blind test, best mic.
@colehetzel5003 hey that’s really cool!
@@colehetzel5003 I liked it cause it was the only kick sound that would get through in a metal mix without much work on it. Should have a sub mic on it as well though.
Plus it had the most mids, and whenever the mids aren't pronounced enough, the high end can quickly start sounding out of place.
@@Mezurashii5 Yeah, to me the 57 captures the soul of drums, it is kick snare toms hats cymbals, it's not breath or twinkle or rumble or splash. it is 30 fps. it's punchy and slappy and clicky and pingy and choppy, and just a tad boxy. i would not mic a kit with ONLY sm57s but if i had to mic a kit with only one mic model, it's sm57 all day.
definitely sounded the best to my ears as well
It would be interesting to hear how e.g. the SM57 kit would sound with a little bit of EQ, esp. adding some bottom to the kick...
Nice work 👍🏼
Gmod / Source SFX are a nice touch!
Oh good ear!!!!
Liked better the Audix pack than the Neumann, cool shootout!
Love this! More blind tests please...
The most shocking microphones I’ve ever used were Beringer 3-piece vocal set. They look like black SM 58s, and sounded better than anything I ever heard. They were noiseless, sensitive as a condenser, punchy and worked equally well on Octobons, rack toms and 18” floor tom. All three came together in a case and only cost $30! Ultravoice 1800.
Proof spending more does not always improve things.
I am curious why no AKG or Beyer dynamics were tested?
Y'all should have tested the Beyer mics! They would have been right up there. Super happy to hear about SE. I love their vocal mics....
I'll go with Steve Albini's take that if an SM57 were a mic, it'd be a Beyer M201 ;)
I somehow managed to pick out the signature midrange '57 honk on my phone speakers!
Mic pack C, just by the kick drum sound, I’m thinking is 57’s. It cuts through and sits in the mix great although it doesn’t have much below 90hz. I may be wrong though. Gotta watch the rest of the video.
The Audix is a great deal for the price and results.
for sure
Audix and Heil (not reviewed) are the best...both in sound and value. Cheers from Australia!
Unbelievable content. New sub here!
Glad to have you!!!
I'm going to go C on the SM57s. It has a tighter sound with less sizzly high end. A bit of a honk in the upper mids.
The earthworks reveal made me so happy 😂 I think drummers would do the same thing with DW in a blind listening
I love D and E, especially E's Hi hat sound
@DimitriFantini
Late to the party, but THANKS Heaps for this Blind comparison. Removing Sighted Expectation/Confirmation Bias is a must in order to make a decision purely on the SOUND, so a massive 👍👍for that!
My personal impressions and preferences were pretty much in line with you guys for the most part. However, I really did like the Kick on "F" the Earthworks. I think Bob may have mentioned this, too, and it was my initial impression before he said that, so I was like, "YESSSS!" when he said that, LOL. 😊
At least one thing to point out, though: Put this kit in a different area in the live room, or in another room altogether, and your impressions and ratings of these drum microphone kits could easily be VASTLY different, at least in terms of their Spectral Balance or overall timbre. However, the overall level of Detail and Dynamics should remain more consistent.
As an example, I just recently recorded a series of "SOUNDSTAGE POSITION TEST TRACKS" to be used by home or car audio HiFi enthusiasts and "audiophiles" when either setting-up or evaluating their loudspeaker systems.
The majority of these tracks used a variety of percussion instruments, including one of my favorite Snare Drums...a 5.5″ x 14″ Dixon Artisan Equator with a hybrid Oak with Steel Band shell...
I used a near-coincident A/B+X/Y "N.O.S." stereo microphone configuration ("Nederlandse Omroep Stichting", which is a variation of ORTF) with a pair of Lewitt LCT-340 SDC mics (which happen to be extremely versatile).
The track was set up to capture the Snare Drum in 7 Equally-Spaced Positions across the soundstage, from Far Left to Far Right:
Far Left / Left / Left Center / Center / Right Center / Right / Far Right
The sound of the snare at each position was very Similar in Timbre & Amplitude as expected, EXCEPT when I placed & struck the snare in the "Right" position! In just that one position, the Timbre & Amplitude of the snare changed SIGNIFICANTLY, to the point that you'd think it was now a 8" x14" Snare that was tuned much lower! My standard 5.5" x 14" snare suddenly became "fat & massive", but just in that one position!
The immediately adjacent "Right Center" and "Far Right" position snare hits returned to their more uniform or "normal" timbre & amplitude.
For reference, each of these 7 Positions were only space 28" apart, but a constructive interference mode in the room caused a massive anomaly in just that one particular position. Unfortunately, this forced me to have to shift and re-set the entire setup until I could mitigate this anomaly, as it was then more obvious that it affected the other instruments while being played at this position/location as well.
The same effects are found in the majority of professional "live rooms", and of course, are often taken advantage of when tracking drums. So again, just sayin' that your mic preferences COULD potentially be completely different based on the position of the kit in the room, or when placed in another room.
I'm using quite a few ribbon mics now on my drums and the room, as well as my saxophones. Favorites are the Mesanovic model 2, Samar VL-38A, AEA R88, and KU4, the latter of which I don't own, yet. But when I compared and made my "Go-To" Drum Mic Pack purchase decision, I settled on the original Lewitt DTP BEAT KIT PRO 7 set.
This kit included a pair of the LCT-340 SDC mics for the overheads which included both Omni & Cardioid capsules. The Lewitt LCT-340 are now discontinued and the updated 2nd Gen DTP Beat Kit Pro 7 set comes with the newer LCT-140 AIR mics which are still nice but are less expensive and don't have the interchangeable Omni/Cardioid capsule option, and they have a bit more self-noise, but higher Dynamic Range.
One of my favorite mics in this kit is the Bass Drum DTP 640 REX mic which has both Dynamic & Condenser capsules that are aligned in the common mic housing/body. There are also multiple settings on the mic for each capsule. It pretty much has never failed to give me both the Attack & Body of the kick, regardless of the tuning or muffling.
Needless to say, I would have loved if this Lewitt drum mic pack was included in this comparison. But there are obviously a few others that didn't make it into your comparison as well. Having said that, I'm surprised you tackled as many as you did...HUGE undertaking!
One last recommendation:
For Drum O/H's (or nearly ANY Percussion or Acoustic String instrument for that matter), I highly recommend the Audio-Technica AT5045. For drums & percussion, these are ideal due to their 149dB SPL capability + 141dB Dynamic Range. FANTASTIC on Upright Double Bass, or ANY strings!
Other than the AEA KU4, I haven't heard any other mics that capture as much LIFELIKE Depth, Detail, Dynamics, Harmonics, and Ambiance of the instrument and room. Sure, sometimes that is NOT what you want, but if you're looking for REALISM, these are incredible...but unfortunately not cheap.
Thanks again for all the time and effort put into this comparison, as well as the great production quality! ...One of the best I've seen to date. 👍
Cheers
thanks for your insights, super helpful to have you here!
Amazonf work on the video. Every recording was neautifully done. I knew the VPack Arena would take it if it was in the collection. Killer mic pack. I have the Audix DP7 and going back I would have bought the SE pack if I knew about it first. As of now I am gradually picking up parts of the pack. Love the V Kick. It has replaced the Audix D6. Such an amazing kick mic... Especially with the variable settings. Its a swiss army knife of kick mics with everything you need in one mic.
Good clip guys. 😉
i still have my audix pack. love it.
however I want Lauten to drop a drum mic pack
Once again with mics, price does not always equate to sound. Zero correlation in this comparison. I use the audix mic pack in my studio, paired with a matched pair of Coles 4038s. About 10 feet back as overheads to get a natural room reverb. It’s a professional enough sound.
Because I’ve always been a struggling musician/producer, I never had the chance to own expensive (better??) gear. So, with what I could afford and experience I made great productions with cheapo mics and middle of the road mixers (mackie 32-8).
The mic pack that I used for years was the Samson. I known I know..😂😂..I made them work anyway
For cost/performance ratio Audix drum packs always seem to come out on top. I’d have these over anything Shure make any day. It’s unfortunate that Audix mics are prone to damage when placed near the port of a kick drum, best to either place the mic fully inside or a good distance away to save the diaphragm being ripped to shreds from the air pressure. Particularly on the D6.
I have the Audix D series. Love them! Just a warmer overall sound to me. SM57 on snare bottom.
That’s a good combo!!
Even listening on my phone (yeah I know) I could pick the 57s. I could also pick the audix because I could see the text through the blurring 😂
Very cool blind test! I loved the Audix sound! Quick question though: as the the Audix DP5A doesn't come with overhead condensers, what did you use for the overhead mics? Was it just the other (2) D2's since you only had one tom?
Good question. The DPA pack was not the DPA5A like I listed in the video, that’s a mistake on my part. That pack is the DP7 like you’ll find in the description!
Is there a video only with the drum recordings without you guys talking over it?
I would love to listen to the recordings little bit longer
Thx for the video i love such content
D & G my fav while listening in Sony headphones
This was very well done, although I honestly can't tell the difference between any of these - they all sound fine. That may be youtube's fault for compressing things quite a lot by the time it gets here, and my USB headphones are probably deeply mediocre. This will be a useful video for years to come. Interesting to see that price does not correlate significantly with performance here, beyond 'don't buy the cheapest ones'. To be fair I guess there are a boatload of much cheaper stuff than Shure SM57s which you just ignored.