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
Can you please provide the mics pulled together for the Neumann Custom pack? I think most of us are assuming the hi-hat mic in particular was a KM 184, but many would love to know for sure. Really great comparisons all around!
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...
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.
And „nice Kit“ actually means decent cymbals, heads and shells with good tuning! A 600 dollar maple kit with a 600 dollar cymbal selection can sound like this already. Better drums make tuning easier of course.
Absolutely. And EQ is the best thing you have as a recording engineer. If you know how to use it, you can bring back the missing body to the SM57s to a large extend - if that's what you want to do.
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.
Agreed! I played along blind and wrote down notes... My favorite overheads were the SE....which is what I bought after comparing a ton of sound tests! But honestly the Audix is a close second, especially for the value. You could buy both of those kits for about a grand less than the earthworks...
@@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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Well done. Shorter back-to-back comparisons tend to be easiest to hear the differences (like what's at 09:44). I went to that section, played it a four or five times, and jotted quick notes while listening. I found I liked A as being fairly pleasing, but still punchy and bright enough. A - good balance and as noted above B - sounded bright and thin C - sounded pretty bad to me - hollow with a farting out kick that sounded like it was mic'd with a 57 D - good, but kind of between A and B, and the brightness of the snare almost made it sound thin E - had a worse kick and brighter overall sound than D F - I felt like was a mellower version of A and D G - had a good kick and overall sound, but the snare was maybe my least favorite, and, as the voice of the kit, that's critical
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.
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 ;-)
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 good video. Could you do a comparison of microphones using Glyn Johns method? There aren't really any videos where microphones are extensively compared of using this method and how mixing can further improve the sound.
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!
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 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 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.
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.
Great video lads!! Thank you ever so much :) And to my most pleasant surprise, I actually quite like the clarity and definition of D - The Audix! How about that! lol. Greetings and Happy New Year from Melbourne Australia
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.
I suspect had you added the Shure Beta98AMPS to this video, they would have scored very well. I was SHOCKED by how well they record toms. They're HOT (when I tapped one to see if remembered to turn phantom) it thumped the monitors. But hardly ANY bleed. Absolutely amazing. I was going back and forth between those and the Earthworks. I watched a YT video that compared them with my eyes closed, took notes, and rewatched. Surprisingly the 98s were the winner, so I bought a 3 pack. Also, if you haven't already, please check out the Miktek PM11. I have a T200, which has a different transformer, but otherwise the same mic, but discontinued. This thing replaced my Beta52A. And don't get me started on my Lauten Snare Mic. It'll be the new industry standard when people start getting hip to them. All that said, I love the format of this video. You took away all bias and simply listened to mics for the best results.
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....
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!
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!
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 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!!
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
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.
Love this video. Well done! My 2 cents: For live playing, I use 2 sE7’s for overheads, an SM57 for my snare, an Audix D6 for my kick, and Sennheiser e904’s for my 2 toms. My *only small gripe* with this video is that your voices are too loud.. I had to keep turning it up to hear the drums, and turn it way down when you were speaking. Your opinions and input were great, and I even guessed correctly on which mics were all SM57’s (😊😂), and I even agreed with what you chose as the best ones overall… I just wish - ah nevermind I’m being way too picky. Well done guys. Who am I to judge? 😊
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.
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!
I also thought C was SM57. I’m happy that Audix set scored well as this is also my go to pack. When the PA speakers are well tuned to the room, it’s almost EQ free. But then, D6 is great for the room where the sub isn’t quite adjusted to the room too well and don’t have time to tweak. I rarely come across with feedback issues. ADX51 is just really good on cymbals and picking up natural attack from the rest of the kit. Se mics…. Something to look up to.
..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!
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.
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.
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
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
I still like the kick drum from the Sennheiser set the best, it kind of got lost because it was the first one, but I think if you compare that it’s up there with the best of them. This was a great idea, if you can, it would be fantastic to do a shootout concentrating on just kick, then snare, then hi hats, then toms, then overhead. Subscribed 😊
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.
In the C vs G test, G was louder. That makes it not fair in my opinion. I will listen again to see if it just seems louder. I don't wish to take the time to set up a meter to verify it is in fact louder. Edit, G is in fact louder, clouding any differences. I very much appreciate this content.
Great video. I would hope there were going to be some cheap options like the superlux or so in there. I also liked G better and the C was pretty obvious when played back to back
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.
Hello! Really great video and really surprised about the Earthworks. Not at all about SE though, they are such good bank for the buck. Two notes though: I know a lot of studio people do this out of habit but if you ever do a video like this again, please consider doing it from an audience's perspective rather than a drummer's. It feels really jarring to have the audio flipped from the visuals. Second: I don't think blurring out the titles and the mics is a good idea. I could tell which were the Audix and 57s packs and it kind of defeats the purpose of the video as a result. Otherwise amazing work and great video all round. Might go buy myself an arena pack now! Thank you!
Of these I liked the SM57s best. I thought some of the others had excessive bass. The 57s were nice and tight without being “electronic-y”. I wish you had tested the AKG Session 1 pack, which is what I have.
Oooh, awesome that D was the Audix. I have the D4, & D2. And love them on toms. Guess I need to get a D6, and maybe another D4/D2 to round out the pack. I have always liked the SE Electronic V7X on snare too, much more so than the SM57, and I liked it better than the Audix i5 too. Though I prefer the m201 to all three (57, V7, i5).
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.
All these mic packs sounded amazing because your playing Dimitri is amazing my friend. I tuned into because I was interested in the the title but just got inspired by your chops and pocket and groove. It proves the old adage it's not the arrow it's the Indian (if that's not too politically incorrect to say these days?? apologies in advance for any offence)
I love the idea of a proper ABX test (I'm a nerd about stats and study rigor) but it was really out of the scope of this video! To do it properly, I'd need to be more careful about never moving the drums between mic kits, and always playing things IDENTICALLY between takes without variation. Maybe another time!
@@DimitriFantiniThere's other (more casual) blind test types on FunkyABX but I get what you mean. Oh and as a drummer, loved your fast beat in the vidéo ;)
SE Electronics has some amazing and affordable mics, I have worked recently with a few of them in the live environment and let me tell you something. You NEED to try the SE BL8 with the Audix D6, they were meant for each other.
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
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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!
Can you please provide the mics pulled together for the Neumann Custom pack? I think most of us are assuming the hi-hat mic in particular was a KM 184, but many would love to know for sure. Really great comparisons all around!
Came for the mics, stayed for the drummer. Sick playing.
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...
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.
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.
And „nice Kit“ actually means decent cymbals, heads and shells with good tuning! A 600 dollar maple kit with a 600 dollar cymbal selection can sound like this already. Better drums make tuning easier of course.
Absolutely. And EQ is the best thing you have as a recording engineer. If you know how to use it, you can bring back the missing body to the SM57s to a large extend - if that's what you want to do.
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.
Agreed! I played along blind and wrote down notes... My favorite overheads were the SE....which is what I bought after comparing a ton of sound tests! But honestly the Audix is a close second, especially for the value. You could buy both of those kits for about a grand less than the earthworks...
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.
@@peanutcsgoRHCP's drums on their Freaky Styley album sound great to me. Two SM57s as overheads.
Wow the quality of production and reviewing is great
Thanks really glad you enjoyed it!! 👊
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!
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!
I have the Audix D series. Love them! Just a warmer overall sound to me. SM57 on snare bottom.
That’s a good combo!!
Mindblowing production, playing, everything. WELL done. Subbed.
That really means a lot, thank you!
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!
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.
That was the sweetest mic kit blind test I’ve seen yet! Kudos to you guys! And thanks!! 👍🏻👍🏻
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!!! 🥰
Thank you for taking the time and great work. This is real world experience
Well done. Shorter back-to-back comparisons tend to be easiest to hear the differences (like what's at 09:44). I went to that section, played it a four or five times, and jotted quick notes while listening.
I found I liked A as being fairly pleasing, but still punchy and bright enough.
A - good balance and as noted above
B - sounded bright and thin
C - sounded pretty bad to me - hollow with a farting out kick that sounded like it was mic'd with a 57
D - good, but kind of between A and B, and the brightness of the snare almost made it sound thin
E - had a worse kick and brighter overall sound than D
F - I felt like was a mellower version of A and D
G - had a good kick and overall sound, but the snare was maybe my least favorite, and, as the voice of the kit, that's critical
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.
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 ;-)
That was unbelievable thanks a lot for taking time and producing this video
Great shootout! Thanks for doing this :)
You’re welcome! 👊
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 good video. Could you do a comparison of microphones using Glyn Johns method? There aren't really any videos where microphones are extensively compared of using this method and how mixing can further improve the sound.
I can’t believe you have such few subscribers, such a great video! Thanks so much for the quality content
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!
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 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
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?
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.
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.
looooved mic pack G. absolutely fantastic sound. D was great too.
I wish u added Beyerdynamic TG Drum-Set Pro L MKII. Interesting choise in my opinion
Great video lads!! Thank you ever so much :) And to my most pleasant surprise, I actually quite like the clarity and definition of D - The Audix! How about that! lol. Greetings and Happy New Year from Melbourne Australia
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.
I suspect had you added the Shure Beta98AMPS to this video, they would have scored very well. I was SHOCKED by how well they record toms. They're HOT (when I tapped one to see if remembered to turn phantom) it thumped the monitors. But hardly ANY bleed. Absolutely amazing. I was going back and forth between those and the Earthworks. I watched a YT video that compared them with my eyes closed, took notes, and rewatched. Surprisingly the 98s were the winner, so I bought a 3 pack. Also, if you haven't already, please check out the Miktek PM11. I have a T200, which has a different transformer, but otherwise the same mic, but discontinued. This thing replaced my Beta52A. And don't get me started on my Lauten Snare Mic. It'll be the new industry standard when people start getting hip to them.
All that said, I love the format of this video. You took away all bias and simply listened to mics for the best results.
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.
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!
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!
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!
thank you. we need more of these, for all gear.
This deserves WAAAY more views. Thanks for this!
Glad you liked it!
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 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!!
Audix owner here... And I agree, SE took the biscuit. Amazing pack. Great video BTW. One of the best comparison vids out there for these packs.
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
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.
So glad I bought the se mics!
nicely done. thanks!
I'm 45 seconds in and I'm already hooked.
Thank you!! Hope you enjoyed the rest haha
@@DimitriFantini I did!
Love this video. Well done!
My 2 cents: For live playing, I use 2 sE7’s for overheads, an SM57 for my snare, an Audix D6 for my kick, and Sennheiser e904’s for my 2 toms.
My *only small gripe* with this video is that your voices are too loud.. I had to keep turning it up to hear the drums, and turn it way down when you were speaking.
Your opinions and input were great, and I even guessed correctly on which mics were all SM57’s (😊😂), and I even agreed with what you chose as the best ones overall… I just wish - ah nevermind I’m being way too picky. Well done guys. Who am I to judge? 😊
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
They all sounded great, I loved the 57,s for a tight sound
The Diver Down VanHalen kit sound was the sm 57 giveaway for me 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!
I also thought C was SM57. I’m happy that Audix set scored well as this is also my go to pack. When the PA speakers are well tuned to the room, it’s almost EQ free. But then, D6 is great for the room where the sub isn’t quite adjusted to the room too well and don’t have time to tweak. I rarely come across with feedback issues. ADX51 is just really good on cymbals and picking up natural attack from the rest of the kit. Se mics…. Something to look up to.
..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!
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!!
Great video thanks. Definitely gonna check out that Phil video!
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
Great video! What about a part II? There are more drum mics out there!
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.
This was amazing! Thank you.
Fantastic video! Like others have said I would also be interested to hear your favourite mixed microphone list.
Hell of a video, great job
Absolutely loved pack D. Knew pack C were the 57s as soon as I heard the snare and the kick
Yep, kick gave it away
We want everything from you guys 🎉
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 😂
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
I still like the kick drum from the Sennheiser set the best, it kind of got lost because it was the first one, but I think if you compare that it’s up there with the best of them.
This was a great idea, if you can, it would be fantastic to do a shootout concentrating on just kick, then snare, then hi hats, then toms, then overhead.
Subscribed 😊
Awesome video! Definitely subscribed!! 😁
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.
AH! I hoped you guys would be using the Lauten Audio Mics! I've heard great things out of those!
In the C vs G test, G was louder. That makes it not fair in my opinion. I will listen again to see if it just seems louder. I don't wish to take the time to set up a meter to verify it is in fact louder. Edit, G is in fact louder, clouding any differences. I very much appreciate this content.
Studio/live my set is mixed and pretty-much this:
D112
57’s on snare (top and bottom)
57’s on toms
Sm81 on high hat
C1000’s L/R
Great video. I would hope there were going to be some cheap options like the superlux or so in there. I also liked G better and the C was pretty obvious when played back to back
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
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.
Great video I know it may sound weird but I wanna know what the backtracks were. Those were fun. I’d like to play those.
I forget the specifics but they are all from Timbo! Link is in the description he just dropped a new pack 👊
Hello! Really great video and really surprised about the Earthworks. Not at all about SE though, they are such good bank for the buck.
Two notes though: I know a lot of studio people do this out of habit but if you ever do a video like this again, please consider doing it from an audience's perspective rather than a drummer's. It feels really jarring to have the audio flipped from the visuals.
Second: I don't think blurring out the titles and the mics is a good idea. I could tell which were the Audix and 57s packs and it kind of defeats the purpose of the video as a result.
Otherwise amazing work and great video all round. Might go buy myself an arena pack now!
Thank you!
Of these I liked the SM57s best. I thought some of the others had excessive bass. The 57s were nice and tight without being “electronic-y”. I wish you had tested the AKG Session 1 pack, which is what I have.
Oooh, awesome that D was the Audix. I have the D4, & D2. And love them on toms. Guess I need to get a D6, and maybe another D4/D2 to round out the pack. I have always liked the SE Electronic V7X on snare too, much more so than the SM57, and I liked it better than the Audix i5 too. Though I prefer the m201 to all three (57, V7, i5).
Would love to see something featuring the new Lauten drum mics
I have heard great things
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...
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.
Would be interested to see how the new Earthworks compare
Thank you. 😁👍
Love this! More blind tests please...
Intetesting. On my smartphone also C and G sounded the best!
hl2 sounds super nice
All these mic packs sounded amazing because your playing Dimitri is amazing my friend. I tuned into because I was interested in the the title but just got inspired by your chops and pocket and groove. It proves the old adage it's not the arrow it's the Indian (if that's not too politically incorrect to say these days?? apologies in advance for any offence)
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.
Amazing work. Is there the files somewhere or would you a make a blind test on FunkyABX? Would love to here each longer.
I love the idea of a proper ABX test (I'm a nerd about stats and study rigor) but it was really out of the scope of this video! To do it properly, I'd need to be more careful about never moving the drums between mic kits, and always playing things IDENTICALLY between takes without variation. Maybe another time!
@@DimitriFantiniThere's other (more casual) blind test types on FunkyABX but I get what you mean.
Oh and as a drummer, loved your fast beat in the vidéo ;)
Oh is FunkyABX a website? I’ll have to check it out
All totally usable
Nice work 👍🏼
SE Electronics has some amazing and affordable mics, I have worked recently with a few of them in the live environment and let me tell you something. You NEED to try the SE BL8 with the Audix D6, they were meant for each other.
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
The earthworks reveal made me so happy 😂 I think drummers would do the same thing with DW in a blind listening
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....