damon s.
i have fought for some time to get a kick sound that i like in my home studio and this mic solved the problem at once. the resolution and low end are remarkable and i have so many choices in shaping the EQ. i am such a fan!
Aaron R.
This is exactly what I was wanting to hear when I turned up my kick out fader: big and full, but controlled at the same time. Very pleased with this purchase.
CHRIS K.
Kick microphones I use: AKG D12E, Audix D6 and of course the 47 KD. I have a comment and not a critique. Not being a heavy hitter I am surprised how hot the mic is. I turn the preamp of my Clarett Octopre to zero and depending on the song the input ranges from -12db to -6db.
May I use an inline pad?
P. S. I also own a match pair K47.
Kenneth B.
I can honestly say that this is THE BEST condenser mic for capturing bass drum tone in front of the reso head that I have ever tried- and I’ve tried a lot of mics! Do not hesitate to buy this mic- it’s fantastic! I bet it would be good in front of a bass cab as well-
Cody M.
Absolutely amazing mic Full and rich while also punchy and present.
Only used it a few times so far, but I've gotten superb results on kick reso head and djembe along with a snappier response than expected on hand percussion like cowbell and tambourine—all without smearing the transients.
Very happy with this addition to the mic locker.
Ken M.
Love, love, love! I've only worked on 2 projects so far with this mic. I've always loved the old D12 and E models. This mic blows them away. Makes my little 18" come alive. Huge but manageable lows naturally without EQ. As you can see full front head no muffling just good tuning. No need for a second mic from my perspective. I'm getting plenty of attack. I could only imagine what it would do for a 24". Got a pair of Delphos ii on the way for OH to replace the current AKGs. What a company! I grew up around a Radio/Tv studio (1970's), dad was an engineer, so I really dig what Matt is doing. The tech is old/new but the sounds are timeless. I'm inspired to dust off my soldering skills and build a killer snare mic to round out my RPA collection.
Rob D.
I've used the Mini K47 KD on a few sessions now and it absolutely rules as a kick out mic. It really grabs the low end resonance of the kick drum - surely it would be fine on it's own as a kick mic but when paired with another mic inside the drum (I've been using a Beta 52), it's magic. An earlier review mentioned that you really miss it when it's gone, and that's spot on. The Beta 52 sounds great on it's own, but when I blend in the KD the kick just sounds fantastic. I look forward to trying this out on other sources - I'm sure it'd do wonders on a floor tom or a bass cab. Roswell strikes again!
John M.
the promo for this mic includes the following quote:
When you turn it off, you just get sad. - Charlie Waymire on the Mini K47 KD.
I heartilly endorse that sentiment.
my kd47 took it maiden voyage at a live gig; mixing a regional high school jazz festival. i used the kd on front of closed bass drums, along with an XY mic over the kits.
it was just stunning in use, first on a pro drummer’s kit, then on a middle schooler’s set and finally on a high schooler’s rig.
in days past, i would have started with an A—— D- for this application i hoped for a “nicer” version of that functionality. i expected the mic to sound “good”. it sounded amazing!
i add to charlie’s sentiment: ON = happy, OFF = sad. it was really that simple.
Daniel C.
I have a collection of nice mics, but was using an AKG p220 on kick drum as I didn't want to expose my nicer vocal condensers to that much impact. I decided to try the K47kd to see if it would actually sound much better, and it did! I sold the p220. Now I haven't actually recorded any bass cab with it yet, but by the sound I get from the kick I'm sure this will be my go to bass cab mic too. However, what doesn't seem to get advertised is that this mic sounds good on loud electric guitar cab as well! No pads required and any extra low end this mic might pick up can just be rolled off. So this is a great all around rock n roll mic!
Todd B.
Me, I’m a drummer and an engineer. I’ve been following Matt’s work since he started Recording Hacks, and am so grateful for his contributions to the recording community. For the past 8 years, my kick drum mic chain has been either a D112 or Heil PR40 in, with a microphone parts mini-mod’d MXL 910 (2013 kit) on the outside thru a UAD Neve Unison pre. I finally decided to mix things up and bought a K47. Wow, what a difference! The bass frequencies immediately became tighter and easier to mix. I’ve only had a chance to use this mic with two different drummers, but had great results both times. It literally changed the character of the drum set I’ve recorded so many times (it’s a DW Collector’s). I wish I had bought one years ago. Can’t wait to try it on bass cab next.
Robert G.
The Mini K-47KD beat every other outside kick mic in the studio and it had very little cymbal bleed.
Michael S.
Though I plan to use this to record I recently used it for a live show. I wasn't getting the punch
from a non ported kick drum using my Beta 52. I heard this and the Mic-Parts snare mic on
your website and thought I'd try them. I bought the KD and built the snare mic kit and I wasn't
disappointed. The KD had a full sound and the punch I was looking for. It sat well in the mix.
The snare mic also sounded great and I look forward to using both in a studio situation. I was
originally looking at the Mini 47 after hearing my friends Mini 87. Maybe a future purchase?
Sacha M
I just did a recording session where my friend Micah brought his Mini K47 KD to Crossroads studio in Vancouver, and I was really blown away with how good it sounded as the only mic on his bass drum. I got curious and on my last drum session I borrowed a friend’s vintage U47fet and set the K47 KD next to it and ran them through the same signal chains. The verdict is in the mix you can’t really tell them apart and when solo’d they’re pretty darn close, with the neumann having just a db or so bump around 2-3khz and maybe a db more at 50hz. It feels so incredible that $350 can get me a mic that can go head-to-head with a classic mic that costs 10x as much!
Jeff T.
Such detail and clarity. Sorry for the poor shot.. I spun the mic around to catch the logo. The bass is an early 60's Kay model 5935 that I got out from under the Rolling Stones (do you know Pierre?). The strat was formerly owned by Mr. David Flett (Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and a short stint in Thin Lizzy). Thanks so much for doing what you do! I am coming back for more.
Erik T.
Just an incredible microphone for kick drum. I play an 18" kick with a closed head, and have had a real hard time capturing the natural sound of it with many other microphones intended for kick drums.
Right out of the gate completely dry, I was in smitten.
What I dig especially about the Mini K47 KD, is that it although it captures that fatty low end and attack amazingly, it also picks up the front head sound very naturally. I have the front head very loose, and it's sound is tantamount to the vibe I'm going for. I have never been able to pick this up prior without having to throw an additional LDC a few feet out from the front of the kick just to get some of that to mix into the kick sound.
This is a desert island kick drum microphone for me.
David S.
Wow! Mini K47KD is the absolute best Kick mic I’ve heard yet! This gives the true picture of what a kick should sound like with little to no eq! With slight positioning adjustments you should easily be able to find “your sound”. Build quality is absolutely stellar and the sound quality to match! Thank you so much to Matt McGlynn and the Roswell Audio Team for the incredible work your doing! And for putting out great quality mic’s at prices average people like myself can afford! This will be a proud gem in my mic locker for many years to come!!
Carl S.
3rd Roswell mic and I love it!
Tony S.
Thanks to Matt and his team for another great microphone. I already had a pair of Delphos II mics that I use all the time on different sources. I wanted to try out the MiniK47 KD next and it has been wonderful. As an outside kick mic, it has a lot of tone and punch, especially depending on placement. If only using one kick mic, I would suggest this as a great choice. I want to try it on my next bass amp session too!
We developed a new circuit for the KD, to accommodate two characteristics not typically demanded of large-diaphragm condensers: the ability to withstand high-SPL sources without clipping downstream devices (e.g., the preamp), and to capture subsonic bass frequencies.
