Electro-Voice N/D868

I have used the EV N/D 868 mainly live. I will say that it lives up to its reputation.

It is specifically EQ'd for kick drum. Works great with bass instruments and low horns as well.

Used for club dates, other live gigs, and a few outdoor medium sized festival shows

This mic's high points are:

Its contoured EQ for kick drum (virtually no need for additional EQ'ing, you can set EQ flat on the board, and mic sounds great)

Solid low end with balanced mids, no peakiness or weird stuff

Best all around mic in its price class in my opinion (over Shure Beta 52, AKG D112, a few Audix kick mics, and some other various brand mics (including Sennheiser and Audio-Technica) that I've tried)

It is not an especially bright sounding mic, nor does it have a dull response on the top end---nice tight bass / good mids / slight presence roll-off on the high end--a good balance to my ears anyway

Experiment with mic placement--I've found that this sounds best inside the kick, usually about halfway inside the shell, if possible

Sounds good outside the kick as well, but the low end attack / thump factor really opens up if you place this inside the kick drum shell

25+ years live sound, broadcast, and recording. Currently involved in live sound for club-level bands.

I usually bring in my own mics and FOH rack for house sound systems, since:
a) The house mics are usually beaten to a pulp and smell like stale beer/puke
b) The FOH rack is non-existant.

Dynamic Cardiod
Optimized for kick drum.

Was using a Shure PG-52. Major disappointment. It's a cheap mic and sounds like it.

Previously used AKG-D112 on kick. For C&W bands, not too bad. Not enough presence for rock.

Also considered Audix D-6. Great bottom end, but almost too much mid cut.

The EV N/D868, from what I understand, is a direct decendant of the RE-20. I installed dozens of those in radio stations around the country, and knew they sounded good.

Brought out the 868 for a club date with a blues/classic rock band. Drummer had an OK sounding kit. Previously, it had taken about 40 minutes of jacking around with the PG-52 to get any kind of decent sound out of it, but there was never any real bottom to it. Also, the peak at 80Hz would give us all kinds of trouble in some rooms.

With the 868, the kick was done in about 2 minutes. On the board, we rolled 80Hz just a hair and it would hit you in the chest. The entire kit was done in 10 minutes and everyone was happy.