Senheiser Md-421 or Shure Beta 52 for kick drum mic?

[H-man]

Hey guys- so I'm looking for a good kick drum mic, and I'm looking at either the Sennheiser MD-421 of Shure Beta 52 w/ three SM-57's (mic pacakage). Any feedback would be great. Anyone getting good results using 57's on the toms? If so, I might have to go with the Shure mic package. Thanks for all the feedback and happy recording. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Lethargy]

I currently use the Beta 52 on kick drum, and I love the way it sounds. It's got a nice tight sound to it, works great for the style of music I usually record (Metal, punk, rock, etc.) I also use sm57's on toms most of the time, but they have kind of a unique sound to them, and I don't think they'd work for every type of music. They tend to have a really tight, scoped out in the midrange sound, which for me works for most of the bands I record because of the style of music they play. But if you're not recording hard rock/metal type stuff, you might want to steer clear of them, it's pretty hard to get a nice warm, open sounds from them, but then again, that's not what they're made for. So all in all, I'd say I'd be very happy with that mic combination for the most part, dependent on what type of music you're recording. That's my two cents, hope it helps.

Mike

[Toney Robinson]

I've never used the beta 52, but I have been using 421's for nearly 20 years and they are a studio standard (one of several) for kick drums. I just looked at the response curve for the beta 52 and it looks like it would sound really good on kick, especially if you like to hear the "slap" sound emphasized. I have to use eq with the 421 to get that. I can tell you that the 421 will serve as a more general purpose mic. They are used extensively for vocals especially voice overs, and all kinds of percussion too. The beta 52 will not work with much else besides kick and maybe electric bass amps.

[Morningstar]

If the Shure is a package (i believe you said so) and you don't currently own any 57's I believe by law you are required to purchase that...If you already have a 57 or two you can't go wrong with a 421, these are the two most commonly used mics in my studio
(The Birdhouse, Phx AZ)
I've also used the CAD drum pak with good results recently

RM