I've used KSM32 on toms for 6 years now. While 414's still are my preferred mics for it, the KSM32's are ridiculously natural/full sounding, deep and round bass, smooth highs, and it takes EQ amazingly. BTW, I liked the 181C in this test. Thank you very much for sharing. [EDIT: I work 99,9% with jazz and acoustic/instrumental music, so the way condensers sound, more 'soft' (or less punchier) is not an issue].
Wow. The CAD M179 really surprised me. Such a natural sound even with the hard strokes, the tonality of the drum is really present, and clarity/transparency are there. I'm amazed to read that this even does a figure 8 polarity, and at a pretty reasonable price. And the Sennheiser 421! So much character of the tom is transported. Love that you elaborate at the end. I wonder if your bleed observations for the M179 are with the cardioid or figure 8?
Man that CAD sounded awesome! Thunderous lows came out. The SM181 had an incredible PUNCH to it. I thought the 441 did the best when it came to "which mic picks up the most of the drum's total sound" department and might be a sleeper as a snare top mic. I have a preferred tom mic which not only has a great sound but also has INCREDIBLE off axis rejection and to top it off, is _dirt, cheap,_ when compared to other mics. For that reason I'll decline to share it because I've literally seen one or two comments on the internet make a piece of gear increase in price by 20-40% in a fort night. One tip I will give, for anyone who likes the sound of the Sennheiser 421 but doesn't like their combination of relatively high price and tendency to break easily check out Sennheiser's e604 drum mics. To me they sound _VERY_ close to the 421 when on toms and you can get three of them for the price of one 421. As for the SM57... I'll just leave that in the drawer.
If you ask me, I need to hear some cymbal crashes in there to know how each mic handles that as well. Otherwise, it’s a toss up between about four of them and with the CAD doing surprisingly well, though I would suspect it would sound harsh with the cymbals. Fun stuff. 🙂 thanks for doing this. If you ever get the urge again, you should add a c414 clone of some sort, like a cm414. 👊😎
On some of my other videos I included cymbal crashes for that exact reason! Also, I used to use AKG 414s on Toms for years, but a) they got hit once or twice and that was too much for me and b) I actually preferred the CADs and Beta 181s! I actually ended up selling those 414s.
The 421 just has that tom sound I would be going for, but the beta181 captures the low end nicely, with a weird but noticeable attack. The 181 attack sounds a little laser-like by itself but in a mix I could see it sounding great. I'd have to experiment.
Yeah, after checking a lot of mics i ended up with the Beyerdynamic TG D57/58 on toms, just over € 100,- each and very pleasing condensers! And good clamping system:). I also got sm57's and md421's and for the punchy character i use the Sennheisers... Telefunken m80's starts at 50hz so not suitable for floortom. I'd consider maybe a Audix D6 on floortom...
Finally, a fair test utilising proximity effect. Could you do another video including the SHURE Beta 52A, Beta 98, and AKG D112? Would be such a great help to see both in a fair and unbiased climate?
Thanks again, Kendall. Great mic shootout! For me, the CAD M179 was the winner. And that's a good thing, because I just ordered four CAD mics for my toms. Over the decades, I've tried many different mic models on my toms, from 57/421 dynamics, to Beyer Opus mini condensers, and most recently Beyer dynamic models (TG35D). The Beyer condensers had a great open sound, but terrible bleed rejection. The newer dynamics are very good sound and rejection but, of course, more 'focused' sound. I'm buying the CAD condensers to get back to a more open sound with more character. And there are so many great drum gating plug ins now (Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate, AixDSP Multiband Gate) that I don't worry as much about dealing with bleed in a mix.
I have to say, every single microphone sounds like a tom, for me the most important aspect of a "tom mic" is the off-axis rejection and coloration, which almost never appears on mic test videos...
Holy crap that Shure KSM 32 is expensive Edit: actually most of these are like 500$ USD a pop with the exception of a few... I think I’ll stick to my Sennheiser e604 for racks and my AKG’s D112 for my 16” and 18” floor toms lol... may not be top of the line but it’s a home studio. Maybe one day when the videos and music pays for itself lol
Never heard it! The Beta 181s are pretty new to me, I’ve only been using them about 9 months and I really dig em. They can take INSANE amounts of level, like 150dB SPL or something. Crazy. Shure does it again. Haha
The Recording Lounge www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/pg-alta/pga181-side-address-cardioid-condenser-microphone This is the one, not as good as the beta I'm sure but more within my budget!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Telefunken M80 is bae
bae?
@@johnchase8510 before anyone else
Bæ is also Danish for poop but he definitely means the M80 is great. Lol
1:19 - Shure SM57
1:42 - CAD M179
2:06 - Telefunken M80
2:29 - Shure KSM32
2:52 - Shure Beta 181C
3:16 - Shure SM7B
3:40 - Sennheiser 441
4:03 - Sennheiser 421
Thanks for the shootout Kendall!
Thanks James, this is helpful!
They are all good! Good old SM57 always works well on almost anything!
@@joelonsdale in my experience with roughly half of them, so far I agree
Moral of the story, have a well-tuned tom. Great vid.
I was really surprised how cool the SM7 sounded
For me the cad sounds the best! The tone, the dynamic and the attack... Thanks for the shootout Kendall
I really like the CADs too!
Yeah and its not expensive as im seeing. Interesting! Greetings from spain :D
I've used KSM32 on toms for 6 years now. While 414's still are my preferred mics for it, the KSM32's are ridiculously natural/full sounding, deep and round bass, smooth highs, and it takes EQ amazingly. BTW, I liked the 181C in this test. Thank you very much for sharing.
[EDIT: I work 99,9% with jazz and acoustic/instrumental music, so the way condensers sound, more 'soft' (or less punchier) is not an issue].
Wow. The CAD M179 really surprised me. Such a natural sound even with the hard strokes, the tonality of the drum is really present, and clarity/transparency are there. I'm amazed to read that this even does a figure 8 polarity, and at a pretty reasonable price.
And the Sennheiser 421! So much character of the tom is transported.
Love that you elaborate at the end. I wonder if your bleed observations for the M179 are with the cardioid or figure 8?
Man that CAD sounded awesome! Thunderous lows came out. The SM181 had an incredible PUNCH to it. I thought the 441 did the best when it came to "which mic picks up the most of the drum's total sound" department and might be a sleeper as a snare top mic. I have a preferred tom mic which not only has a great sound but also has INCREDIBLE off axis rejection and to top it off, is _dirt, cheap,_ when compared to other mics. For that reason I'll decline to share it because I've literally seen one or two comments on the internet make a piece of gear increase in price by 20-40% in a fort night. One tip I will give, for anyone who likes the sound of the Sennheiser 421 but doesn't like their combination of relatively high price and tendency to break easily check out Sennheiser's e604 drum mics. To me they sound _VERY_ close to the 421 when on toms and you can get three of them for the price of one 421. As for the SM57... I'll just leave that in the drawer.
If you ask me, I need to hear some cymbal crashes in there to know how each mic handles that as well. Otherwise, it’s a toss up between about four of them and with the CAD doing surprisingly well, though I would suspect it would sound harsh with the cymbals. Fun stuff. 🙂 thanks for doing this. If you ever get the urge again, you should add a c414 clone of some sort, like a cm414. 👊😎
On some of my other videos I included cymbal crashes for that exact reason! Also, I used to use AKG 414s on Toms for years, but a) they got hit once or twice and that was too much for me and b) I actually preferred the CADs and Beta 181s! I actually ended up selling those 414s.
Condensers the m80 and dynamics the md 421 for me. The AKG d112 is great on floor toms.
Just give me a 57 and let's go!
The 421 just has that tom sound I would be going for, but the beta181 captures the low end nicely, with a weird but noticeable attack. The 181 attack sounds a little laser-like by itself but in a mix I could see it sounding great. I'd have to experiment.
Yeah, after checking a lot of mics i ended up with the Beyerdynamic TG D57/58 on toms, just over € 100,- each and very pleasing condensers! And good clamping system:). I also got sm57's and md421's and for the punchy character i use the Sennheisers... Telefunken m80's starts at 50hz so not suitable for floortom. I'd consider maybe a Audix D6 on floortom...
No question. Telefunken M80 and Sennheiser 441.
really liked the CAD
I liked the 421 and the CAD.
Finally, a fair test utilising proximity effect.
Could you do another video including the SHURE Beta 52A, Beta 98, and AKG D112? Would be such a great help to see both in a fair and unbiased climate?
Thanks again, Kendall. Great mic shootout! For me, the CAD M179 was the winner. And that's a good thing, because I just ordered four CAD mics for my toms. Over the decades, I've tried many different mic models on my toms, from 57/421 dynamics, to Beyer Opus mini condensers, and most recently Beyer dynamic models (TG35D). The Beyer condensers had a great open sound, but terrible bleed rejection. The newer dynamics are very good sound and rejection but, of course, more 'focused' sound. I'm buying the CAD condensers to get back to a more open sound with more character. And there are so many great drum gating plug ins now (Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate, AixDSP Multiband Gate) that I don't worry as much about dealing with bleed in a mix.
I have to say, every single microphone sounds like a tom, for me the most important aspect of a "tom mic" is the off-axis rejection and coloration, which almost never appears on mic test videos...
that's exactly what I was thinking.
Every mic shown is usable and has really minor differences
AWESOME SHOOT! Did you try the Beyer 930 vs the shure 181? I remember your got the Beyer 930 on hi hat. Best!
Telefunken m80 for me
Two years later, changed my mind. SM7B. Best attack, and the tone didn't sound too woofy.
I liked the Shure KSM32 the best, but any of them would work well.
Holy crap that Shure KSM 32 is expensive
Edit: actually most of these are like 500$ USD a pop with the exception of a few... I think I’ll stick to my Sennheiser e604 for racks and my AKG’s D112 for my 16” and 18” floor toms lol... may not be top of the line but it’s a home studio. Maybe one day when the videos and music pays for itself lol
I've got a PGA181 which is the cheaper version of the beta 181 and it's also really good!
Never heard it! The Beta 181s are pretty new to me, I’ve only been using them about 9 months and I really dig em. They can take INSANE amounts of level, like 150dB SPL or something. Crazy. Shure does it again. Haha
The Recording Lounge www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/pg-alta/pga181-side-address-cardioid-condenser-microphone This is the one, not as good as the beta I'm sure but more within my budget!
441 I really like
Sennheiser 441.
Sennheiser 421 and Telefunken