Best Drum Mics for Live Sound 2024

Best Drum Mics for Live Sound Reviewed

Putting microphones on drums is already tricky enough, with that you need a mic that will take the loud thumps and strikes that a drum makes without giving too much distortion and feedback. Still, when you are putting drum mic for a live performance, the task of putting mics on your drums becomes a lot harder as you need to deal with other factors like physical vibrations and the mic also must be capable of filtering out crowd noise. So on this article, we’re taking a look out our top picks for the best drum microphones for live sound.

The BETA 52A is known to be one of the standards of bass mics, what makes this microphone great? Let’s take a quick look.

From the box, you’ll get the large BETA 52A mic, Velcro straps to help secure this, and a carrying pouch for easy transport. And we all want our equipment to last don’t we? The BETA 52A does that by using a painted die-cast metal as its enclosure, it also has the hardened steel mesh that will protect the mic from wear and abuse while also making sure that the mesh dampens out any unwanted harsh noises.

This mic is straightforward in terms of setup, the built-in stand adapter on this mic is not only for mounting but you’ll also find the XLR connector beside it, making the installation quick and painless to do.

This mic provides a super-cardioid pickup pattern that’ll help with dampening background noise. As a bass mic, this has a frequency response that is only limited at up to 10KHZ, and the frequency response peaks at around 3KHZ, making this ideal to be used with bass drums and other bass instruments like the bass guitar and probably a floor tom. But upon using this, you’ll have an intoxicating clear and crisp bass sound that’s free from any distortion, crackling, and thudding.

Overall, this is an excellent mic for the bass drums, and I definitely recommend this for anyone who’s performing with live drums, it really heightens the beats significantly. Along with the easy setup, this is indeed one of the best.

The AKG D112 MkII and the Shure BETA 52A. But is the AKG D122 MKII any better or worse than its competitor? Let’s take a quick look.

You’ll get the AKG D112 MkII in a well-padded box along with instructions, and nothing else. You’ll notice right away that the AKG D112 MkII also has the built-in stand adapter. Besides the mounting hole, you’ll also see the XLR input right beside it, which also allows this mic to be easily set up while quickly having clean cable management.

Now, let’s move on to the sound quality of this mic. To start, this is already more versatile than its competitors since this is a bass mic but still retains a 20Hz-17KHz sensitivity, so you can technically use this for other instruments like an acoustic guitar and even get a good sound. Now the mount is also flexible, making this slightly more resistant to physical vibration. 

In terms of background noise mitigation, the cardioid pickup pattern on this mic helps to filter out the background noise while still getting a faint ambient noise, that in return gives out a more live sound feel, compared to a studio sound quality of the Shure BETA 52A.

Overall, this mic can be pretty versatile as you can still use it on snare drums, tom drums, and bass guitar amps. And I think that versatility is then cancelled with the live sound quality that people will like or hate.

To get straightforward, the AKG C451B is an excellent option for overhead drum mics, capturing the sounds of the snare and cymbals. Let’s take a quick look at why it is one of the best.

Upon unboxing you’ll get an included well-padded case, and inside you’ll see the microphone with its stand adapter and windshield attached. Upon installation and setup, you can quickly set up the mic with its stand adapter, but unlike the other mics we have mentioned, this does not have the XLR input built into the stand adapter itself. 

In terms of sound quality, this is more focused on general instruments, and what makes this great is the high level of versatility it offers, with a 20Hz-20KHz response this is sure to work with all your instruments. Together with its capability with high volumes, this makes a great overhead drum mic, or maybe a snare mic. 

Other than that you’ll notice that the AKG C451B is finished in an all-metal enclosure and has a pencil-like appearance making it amazing at fitting through tight spaces especially at a drum kit. On the mic you’ll find 2 switches, one is the 0dB, -10dB, -20dB switch that helps cut the volume if you’re playing loud, and a highpass filter you can set at 75Hz or 150Hz to prevent hum and low-end distortion.

With the versatility this mic brings, I think this mic is more than worthy of being one of the best drum mics ever known.

Summing up

 These are our top picks for the best drum mics for live sound, I hope this list helped you with giving you some idea of the best mics out there, mics are a tricky thing, but the key is to try until you get the perfect mic for you.