Sennheiser selected 7 Mics as its August Mic of the Month: The Sennheiser e 600 drum set provided a full complement of drum microphones, including a Sennheiser e 602-II for the kick drum, 4 Sennheiser e 604 for toms and snares, and 2 Sennheiser e 614 condensers for use at the hi-hat or as overhead microphones.
The Sennheiser e 600 drum set contains 4 Sennheiser e 604 mics that will easily clip to snares and toms, a Sennheiser e 602-II to provide full-bodied bass drum sound and 2 Sennheiser e 614 condenser microphones for overhead miking.
In acoustic terms, a kick drum or bass drum is an inhospitable environment because very high levels of resonance are generated in the internal space.
“If you simply hold a microphone inside it, it sounds nothing like what you would expect”, said evolution expert Sebastian Schmitz. If miked directly, the high degree of resonance in the internal space would result in an unpleasant sound.
“The trick”, continued Schmitz, “is getting a sound like you would expect: the bass ought to make your stomach flutter – and there should be a fine attack in the upper ranges.”
The e 602-II is geared towards precisely that: Its frequency response curve is tailored such that disruptive resonance interferes with neither the solid nor the fine part of the drum sound. In the bass range, the e 602-II is in fact designed to be more aggressive than the e 902. In studio settings, the 600 series delivers its beloved and typically solid impact. For live stages, the rich foundation in the lower frequencies often has to be cut back a bit in order to avoid uncontrolled bass response.
“But with a recording – with a recording that sounds amazing”, said Schmitz.
The e 614, withstands high sound pressure levels and responds rapidly Cymbals produce extremely dynamic, impulsive sound waves and need lots of character in the high frequencies. The 2 e 614 small-diaphragm condenser microphones are perfect for meeting this challenge. They remain precise even at extreme sound pressure levels. Above all, however, their sound is impressive thanks to the outstanding impulse response. The e 614s follow the challenging dynamics with an extremely rapid transient response.
