There was a thread about kick drum mics a few months ago where Andy, among others, mentioned the Audix D-6 as being a nice mic.
So... I got one. And I totally agree.
I have a fair amount of experience with various kick mics -- Beta52 (drummer owns it), D112 (other guitarist used to own it), RE-20 (own it), and a little bit with the EV ND868 (borrowed it), and I've always had at least a little trouble getting a solid kick tone that doesn't have that "beach ball bouncing on a concrete floor" quality to it.
Now, getting rid of the beachball has mostly to do with tuning, muffling, and placement but some mics are just inherently more susceptible to it than others. I've found that the D112 and Beta52 in particular are very, very picky about all of those factors (and just tend to sound like shit on kick drums to me).
I was demoing some new stuff at rehearsal last night and I got a good, solid, beachball free kick tone in about five seconds with the D-6. It almost didn't matter at all where I placed it or angled it. I ended up halfway inside the kick a few inches to the left of the beater, and that was it. The kick had no blanket, pillow, or anything in it, and we just got back from a show in Vegas where it was like 200 degrees inside the van during the day and about 190 at night, so I know that thing wasn't tuned for shit. Didn't matter. Almost no bleed from other parts of the kit, either.
In closing, I think the RE-20 is probably capable of delivering a better tone (more "natural" or "musical") overall, but you have to work for it. Also, if you play or record music where subtle details of the kick tone are going to get buried anyway, fuck it. Use the D-6. It seems to be more naturally suited to get you a tone that will punch through the mix. I would say the ND868 is comparable to the D-6, but I think the D-6 gets you closer right out of the box.
And if you demo practice a lot, your drummer will love you. Because they're all gay, really.
So... I got one. And I totally agree.
I have a fair amount of experience with various kick mics -- Beta52 (drummer owns it), D112 (other guitarist used to own it), RE-20 (own it), and a little bit with the EV ND868 (borrowed it), and I've always had at least a little trouble getting a solid kick tone that doesn't have that "beach ball bouncing on a concrete floor" quality to it.
Now, getting rid of the beachball has mostly to do with tuning, muffling, and placement but some mics are just inherently more susceptible to it than others. I've found that the D112 and Beta52 in particular are very, very picky about all of those factors (and just tend to sound like shit on kick drums to me).
I was demoing some new stuff at rehearsal last night and I got a good, solid, beachball free kick tone in about five seconds with the D-6. It almost didn't matter at all where I placed it or angled it. I ended up halfway inside the kick a few inches to the left of the beater, and that was it. The kick had no blanket, pillow, or anything in it, and we just got back from a show in Vegas where it was like 200 degrees inside the van during the day and about 190 at night, so I know that thing wasn't tuned for shit. Didn't matter. Almost no bleed from other parts of the kit, either.
In closing, I think the RE-20 is probably capable of delivering a better tone (more "natural" or "musical") overall, but you have to work for it. Also, if you play or record music where subtle details of the kick tone are going to get buried anyway, fuck it. Use the D-6. It seems to be more naturally suited to get you a tone that will punch through the mix. I would say the ND868 is comparable to the D-6, but I think the D-6 gets you closer right out of the box.
And if you demo practice a lot, your drummer will love you. Because they're all gay, really.
