Recording - February 2013 - 55

In the mic’s neutral position the sound is huge, and in a large subwoofer-equipped church sanctuary the low end from the DTP 640 REX rivaled my usual combination of Yamaha SubKick and Audix D6. While the SubKick gives bass that’s felt more than heard, the DTP was overall rounder and larger sounding, enough so that a few folks after service asked what was different about the kick drum this week? And that they liked it! I also made an initial mistake with the DTP; in our system I need to have the polarity flipped on the SubKick channel for it to sound right, and when I first hooked up the Lewitt, I forgot to flip it back and spent about 15 minutes trying to fruitlessly eq and tweak the mic’s two capsules, thinking they sounded anemic and awful when combined. The moral of the story is simple: this isn’t top vs. bottom snare here—never flip the polarities of this mic’s two channels with respect to each other! In the studio I put the mic through its paces against a number of well-known modern mics, in various kick-drum situations as well as on a bass guitar amp cabinet. Overall I was a bit surprised when listening to the dynamic mic by itself in its flat state, as it really did not sound like any of the other current mics on the market such as the Audix D6, Shure Beta 52A, AKG

straight-up heavy modern rock sound I deadened the kick and used the middle Dynamic EFR (+//=) setting, this time with the dynamic 6 dB below the condenser. Placing the mic in the sound hole of the drum was unfortunately problematic with a heavy-footed player, as I found that the condenser could sound a bit splatty and subject to extreme bursts of air focused through the hole when the drummer really laid into the head. However, just like using a Beta52A in this position, with the Lewitt the sound is similarly huge and powerful. Here I preferred the flat =//= and the middle +//= settings, this time with the condensor dialed down anywhere from –3 dB to completely out (which is a good way of saying the dynamic element alone sounds great here!). [Lewitt reports that it is aware of the air-blast issue and is looking into possible solutions.—Ed.] I should also mention that this mic takes eq quite well. Beyond basic comparative tests, when used in actual live and studio sessions, I equalized it just

D112, or Audio-Technica ATM25LE. It’s actually much fuller and, dare I say, more vintage sounding—because unlike most of the above models it has no midrange scooping, nor is it as highly hyped in highs or lows as most kick-centric models. As for the condenser capsule by itself, it is about as exciting as throwing a Shure SM81 on a kick drum, meaning it’s just as lifeless. However, blending the two mics together is where the magic starts. In simple terms, the dynamic is your boom and the condenser captures a clean kick hit in a way a dynamic won’t. Inside the kick, right up on the head by the beater, the flat response was interesting and sounded like a big, thumpy vintage ’60s kick with no front head... which was interesting as I had the front head on and the drum pretty tightly muffled. It was a thick and rubbery, almost AKG-ish sound. To get a more modern take in this mic position I found the Dual EFR setting worked best with the dynamic mic down 12 to 14 dB below the condenser. Moving to the outside of the kick, FFR was very loose and vintage sounding, especially with all of the muffling removed. Here I found bringing the dynamic down about 3 dB added just the right amount of modern high end back in for a nice bit of attack. For a

like I would any kick drum track: boosting the lows, de-emphasizing the boxy low mids, and adding in some upper mid snap, and it sounded even better and was easily tailored to the mix. Bass Amp Lastly I used the DTP 640 REX on a 15" bass cab on a cover of the Beatles’ classic “Come Together”, and came away with some interesting conclusions. I liked the flat setting with the condenser down 7 dB relative to the dynamic, and I loved the Dual mode, and even though the settings are the reverse of what you would expect, i.e. the dynamic handling the highs and vice versa, it sounded very full, distinct and natural. As for Enhanced Dynamic mode I found the hyped dynamic tone to be too exaggerated in the lows. Conclusions Bottom line, the DTP 640 REX is a fabulous and full-sounding mic capable of many kick drum colors. While it is not as hyped and specific as many of the modern kick mics we are used to, it hints at flavors and combinations that are quiet expressive and unique. This is not a kick drum mic you would get bored with easily, and the best part is that all of this versatility can be had for a mere $299 street price, which is only slightly higher than some of the usual suspects. Price: $299 street More from: Lewitt Audio, www.lewitt-audio.com
RECORDING February 2013

55


http://www.lewitt-audio.com

Recording - February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - February 2013

Recording - February 2013
Fade In.
Contents
Talkback.
Fast Forward.
The Production Of Clare Fischer’s CD ¡Ritmo!
Big Money Drums.
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 14: Sweet Spot Conundrums—Part 1.
Sonodyne SM200Ak Studio Monitors.
AKG D12 VR Reference Kick Drum Microphone.
Shure KSM9HS.
Radial Engineering Firefly Tube DI.
Audio-Technica AT4047MP.
Zoom Q2HD Handy Video Recorder.
iOS Music Tools: Take Control!
Emotiva Pro airmotiv 4 and airmotiv 6 Powered Studio Monitors.
DPA Microphones Reference Standard Mics.
Sony Creative Software Sound Forge Pro Mac.
Lewitt DTP 640 REX Dual-Element Kick Drum Mic.
Readers’ Tapes.
Miking An Orchestra—Rock Band And Symphony.
Stereo From A Mono Mic.
Advertiser Index.
Fade Out.
Recording - February 2013 - Recording - February 2013
Recording - February 2013 - Cover2
Recording - February 2013 - 1
Recording - February 2013 - 2
Recording - February 2013 - 3
Recording - February 2013 - Fade In.
Recording - February 2013 - 5
Recording - February 2013 - Contents
Recording - February 2013 - 7
Recording - February 2013 - Talkback.
Recording - February 2013 - 9
Recording - February 2013 - Fast Forward.
Recording - February 2013 - 11
Recording - February 2013 - 12
Recording - February 2013 - 13
Recording - February 2013 - The Production Of Clare Fischer’s CD ¡Ritmo!
Recording - February 2013 - 15
Recording - February 2013 - 16
Recording - February 2013 - 17
Recording - February 2013 - 18
Recording - February 2013 - 19
Recording - February 2013 - Big Money Drums.
Recording - February 2013 - 21
Recording - February 2013 - 22
Recording - February 2013 - 23
Recording - February 2013 - 24
Recording - February 2013 - 25
Recording - February 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 14: Sweet Spot Conundrums—Part 1.
Recording - February 2013 - 27
Recording - February 2013 - 28
Recording - February 2013 - 29
Recording - February 2013 - Sonodyne SM200Ak Studio Monitors.
Recording - February 2013 - 31
Recording - February 2013 - AKG D12 VR Reference Kick Drum Microphone.
Recording - February 2013 - 33
Recording - February 2013 - 34
Recording - February 2013 - 35
Recording - February 2013 - Shure KSM9HS.
Recording - February 2013 - 37
Recording - February 2013 - Radial Engineering Firefly Tube DI.
Recording - February 2013 - 39
Recording - February 2013 - Audio-Technica AT4047MP.
Recording - February 2013 - 41
Recording - February 2013 - Zoom Q2HD Handy Video Recorder.
Recording - February 2013 - 43
Recording - February 2013 - iOS Music Tools: Take Control!
Recording - February 2013 - 45
Recording - February 2013 - 46
Recording - February 2013 - 47
Recording - February 2013 - Emotiva Pro airmotiv 4 and airmotiv 6 Powered Studio Monitors.
Recording - February 2013 - 49
Recording - February 2013 - DPA Microphones Reference Standard Mics.
Recording - February 2013 - 51
Recording - February 2013 - Sony Creative Software Sound Forge Pro Mac.
Recording - February 2013 - 53
Recording - February 2013 - Lewitt DTP 640 REX Dual-Element Kick Drum Mic.
Recording - February 2013 - 55
Recording - February 2013 - Readers’ Tapes.
Recording - February 2013 - 57
Recording - February 2013 - 58
Recording - February 2013 - 59
Recording - February 2013 - 60
Recording - February 2013 - 61
Recording - February 2013 - Miking An Orchestra—Rock Band And Symphony.
Recording - February 2013 - 63
Recording - February 2013 - 64
Recording - February 2013 - 65
Recording - February 2013 - 66
Recording - February 2013 - 67
Recording - February 2013 - 68
Recording - February 2013 - 69
Recording - February 2013 - Stereo From A Mono Mic.
Recording - February 2013 - 71
Recording - February 2013 - 72
Recording - February 2013 - Advertiser Index.
Recording - February 2013 - 74
Recording - February 2013 - 75
Recording - February 2013 - 76
Recording - February 2013 - 77
Recording - February 2013 - 78
Recording - February 2013 - 79
Recording - February 2013 - Fade Out.
Recording - February 2013 - Cover3
Recording - February 2013 - Cover4
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