Audio-Technica MB DK4

Recording music for a few years but only recently switched to an acoustic set over Vdrums. Using Presonus Firestudio and AT MB DK4 for drums. Cubase4 DAW. Gretsch kit with a Tama metalworks snare.

Salesperson explained he had tried 3 sets for his personal use. He returned the first 2 and kept this set. (was the cheapest of the 3 mic kits so I tend to believe the story)

I can't tell you I have experience with high end drum mics but I am happy with what I have experienced so far. Sounds seem to be quite natural sounding. Plastic clamps are difficult to attach to tom isolation mounts so I ended up rigging something else. Mics themselves are very sturdy. A few accidental strikes were no problem. Built in adjustable part of the clamp is metal too and they will easily thread onto a mic boom if you desire to not mount them directly on the drum. Cardioid pattern works pretty well, and it wasn't difficult to filter out cymbal bleed. Having a harder time gating with these mics then my HH and overhead condensers but that's most likely user error. ; )

I've been operating a computer-based home studio setup for about 5 years now. I run all of my main drum and guitar mics through the classic Presonus BlueTube dual mic preamps, and I patch those into my computer through two M-Audio Delta 1010LT PCI cards.

For the longest time, I figured SM57s to be the standard all-purpose microphone, so I used them on my four toms of sizes 12", 13", 16", and 18".

I use physically-matching Mapex Mars Pro (maple) shells (my 18" tom is a different finish). I have Evans EC2 heads on my four high toms, Evans Coated G2 on my 18" tom and snare, and an Evans EQ3 batter head on my bass drum.

The SM57s give neither the low-end punch nor the clarity that this so-called "starter" mic kit gives. In my most recent recording, I actually added a matching 14" tom, so I used the three tom mics on my 12", 13", and 14" toms. For my 16", I used a Shure Beta57, and I used the bass drum mic from this mic kit on my 18".

18" toms are kind of notoriously difficult to record because of their lack of clarity and punchyness, but I've read about other peoples' experiences using bass drum mics with a fair amount of success. A Beta52 runs about $200 new, and D112 runs about $130 new. I can't see how they'd possibly be worth that much more money.

I was originally going to go with the Audix D-2 and D-4 mics for my toms (D-2s for the three higher toms, D-4s for the two floor toms), with the plan to eventually replace those with Sennheiser MD421s. I think I might just stick with these Audio-Technica mics for now, though, since they're pretty rockin'.

I've been writing and playing for about 15 years, and have been recording for about 6 years. For a sample of some of my latest recordings, head to http://www.myspace.com/superimpoze . The tracks Let it Go, Could There be More, Inspiration, and Found Out were recorded before I got these mics, all new tracks as of 28th aug 2007 (scroll down a bit) were recorded using these mics.

I record straight to computer, using an ST Audio C-Port and an ART DPSII preamp. I team these mics up with an sm57, JTS nx2, and 2 condenser overheads.

Having played around with a variety of drum mics I was sick of mic bleed from mics claiming to be "drum mics", badly made mics that you know if you hit accidentally it will shatter, and was somewhat over using cheaper condensers on drums (let's face it, we can't all afford shure beta98's!) and needed a good dynamic alternative for recording and live that was also real "bang for buck". The mbdk4 pack fit the bill perfectly.

Build: While the clips that come with the mics aren't great (plastic, that I know is just gonna break one day when I'm not being extra careful), the mics themselves are heavy and solid and well built. They are easy to get in the right positions and plugs stay in snug.

Sound: I'm using the 3 mb5k's on my 8, 10 and 12 toms, and the mb6k on my 14 tom. the mb5k's give the best off axis rejection, while the mb6k is a bit rounder in sound (since they package it as a "kick" mic it's a bit more useful for the bigger drums). Overall, they sound great, picking up all the tone and attack of the heads, rejecting off axis signals, and giving me plenty to work with in the desk.

Price: well, can't beat it. Got it on ebay from musicians advocate, shipped to Aus it worked out miles cheaper than anything else on the market, and blows anything in its price range and even higher totally out of the water.

Top marks AT, combined with the recent purchase of ATH-M40 headphones, and my older purchase of an AT condenser headset mic, audio technica gear can't be beat for best bang for buck on the market.