AudioMedia - March 2009 - (Page 70) 03|09 AM stage, the D 40 dynamic he AKG D is a unidirectional dynamic cardioid microphone designed for drums, guitars, and wind instruments. The mic element, which utilises the patented AKG Varimotion Laminate Diaphragm technology as used on the D Vocal Mic, is protected by a shock mount and steel mesh grille to prevent damage to the element itself. According to AKG, it has a relatively flat frequency response down to Hz, where it drops off with a high pass filter. It also has a boost of approximately dB in the - kHz range. Similar in size and shape to the Shure Beta , the D comes with an H drum rim clamp and a zippered nylon pouch. Specially designed for the cardioid gracefully delivers the sound of most live instruments and can take a beating (and KARL BADER will prove it). T guitar cabinet. The first microphone was a Sennheiser (Series One) microphone. The engineer on the show said the D was ‘the perfect complement’ – he ended up using both microphones, adding a high pass on the D channel and a low pass on the channel to create a ‘bi-miked’ situation that he was very happy with. The engineer said that the D had properties that made it great for the guitar, particularly in the high mids, which accentuated the instrument and naturally brought it out in the mix. The next application for the D was as a tom mic. This gig had three toms: the D was used on the first and floor toms, while the second tom was miked using a Sennheiser e cardioid drum microphone. I liked the AKG D40 Instrument Microphone A Clamp O n The Bullet sound of the D on the first tom; it had a nice frequency response with the drum, and its high-mid boost accentuated the character of the tonal qualities of the drum. In comparison, the e offered more low end, a flatter overall response, and sounded slightly smoother throughout the spectrum. On the floor tom I was neither happy nor unhappy with the sound of the D . On one hand, I was pleased with the sound; the mid-high boost accentuated the sound of the stick, rim, and head, but I wish it picked up the sub-low qualities that the drum’s tuning offered. On that note, the D would definitely work well for drum kits where you don’t want a lot of low end from the toms. With this in mind, I wish I had tried the D on snare, as I have a feeling this would have been the perfect place for it. Upon opening the D package, the mic impressed me with its ‘bulletproof’ look. I first thought it might have a weak point at the two screws that hold it onto its mount (and, admittedly, I am a bit wary of the rim clamp concept). I was concerned about whether it would be able to hold the substantial weight of the mic, which is heavy for its size. I did, however, notice a cool feature about the D stand mount; AKG integrated both thread sizes, so there is no need to find an adapter in order to screw the mic onto a rim clamp. THE REVIEWER KARL BADER is a Lead Audio Engineer for Entertainment Sound Production, and can be reached at karlbader@espsound.com. JOECOAMAD1.QXD 04/03/2009 I used the D in a large array of applications. On its first show, it was used as second mic 10:15 AM a Page 1 on a lead electric Testing Times “…I did what any live sound guy with too much curiosity would do: I smacked it with a hammer in a few different ways to simulate just a bit of typical road abuse. In doing so, there were two things I found out: one, that the mic still works like it did out of the box…” CAPTURING LIVE PERFORMANCE SOUND BLACKBOX RECORDER 24 TRACK • 24 BIT • 96kHz BLACKHE RECORBOX DER AT FRANK MUSIKMFURT ESSE: HALL 5 .1 B OOTH A79 SEE T JoeCo Limited, Cambridge UK T +44 (0)1223 911 000 E infoam@joeco.co.uk CAPTURING PERFORMANCE www.CapturingPerformance.com http://www.CapturingPerformance.com http://www.CapturingPerformance.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.