Audix D6

Impressed by the tone from this Mic, can capture a defined click or thud but can also dial it for nice tone/ timbre voicing of the bass drum for when playing Jazz or folk. Dynamic sound from micking floor toms with this as well.

Without a compressor on it, the D6 can hear and define a good amount of the ride cymbal, even if it is unwanted ;) as in to say - it has a surprising high freq definition for a bass mic.

Super strong chassis/ casing. Impressive SPL limit, although subjective when using full un-ported reso heads.. still got squashed when used 'on axis', close up. Curious to try this next under the bass side of a grand piano in a mix.

only disappointment is the supplied clamp, super fine casting yet firmly sprung, making it cumbersome to set up and can't see it surviving me long term even in a home studio, have other generic sprung mic holders that do a better job.

Making no pretences to be an all-rounder, the D6 is clearly aimed at big fat kick drum sounds. It's a large-diaphragm mic with anything but flat response, scooping out the boxier low mids whilst accentuating the deep lows and giving some click near the top. It makes for a supremely efficient live tool given that the natural frequency response represents what many engineers will go for anyway. Couple this with good build quality, great reliability (so far anyway) and a reasonable price tag, it's something I would recommend for any small/mid live venue that takes pride in it's sound whilst also working on tight turnaround times. Travelling engineers will generally approve too.