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Applied Microphone Technology Drum Mic’s

By Rick Van Horn

How can something you can barely see sound this good?

One of the great joys of doing reviews for MD is that from time to time I get to “debut” a new or little-known product that I think has tremendous potential.  Such is the case with Applied Microphone Technology’s new drum mic’s.  AMT is a small outfit that has chosen to put their limited financial resources into product development rather than advertising-so you may not have heard much about them.  But just because the company is small doesn’t mean they can’t make a great product.

AMT’s microphone designer is Marty Paglione.  He’s a creative guy who’s tremendously knowledgeable about microphone technology.  Better yet, he’s a working drummer with twenty-five years of playing experience.  So he has specifically designed his microphones to suit the needs of real-world drummers playing in every conceivable situation-from clubs and casual gigs to studios or concert stages.

 AMT’s current line consists of two models: the A-95 snare and tom mic’ and the M-40 bass drum mic’.  Each model is designed to be as compact as unobtrusive as possible while offering the most “transparent” reproduction of sound possible.   (“Transparent,” for those who aren’t into audio technology jargon, simply means that the sound is reproduced exactly as it is, with no additional high- or low-end emphasis or other sound coloration added by the microphone itself.)

Descriptions

The AMT A-95s are made of anodized aluminum, and they feature a built-in shock mount.  As small and light as they are (they weigh only 1.6 ounces, including their cable), they’re actually pretty rugged.  They attach to virtually any drum rim by means of a spring clip that’s fast and easy to use but still secure under normal playing.  The result of this is that in the event you hit them with a stick, they’re more liable to simply be knocked out of the way than damaged.  But that event is extremely unlikely given their incredibly diminutive size.  When I played the kit I hardly noticed that the mic’s were there; when I viewed it from the audience area I could barely even see them.  This compact size also makes mic’ placement easy, even on complicated setups where mic’ stands, booms, and even clamp- on attachments are difficult to use.

The M-40 bass0drum mic’ is actually a two-part system.  The mic’ unit is a 2” long by 3/8” diameter tube set on a 2’ X a1/2” base plate.   The plate is there just to give the mic’ a place to sit securely when placed inside a bass drum.  A small cable connects the mic’ to a 1” X 1” X 3” active-electronics box from which the performance of the microphone can be tailored.  (More on this later.)  Only the mic’ goes in the bass drum; the box would be placed on the floor.  Once again, the mic’ is so small as to be virtually invisible, yet durable enough to withstand the rigors of repeated use.

In terms of mic’ placement, the obvious method is simply to put it on a muffling pillow inside the drumshell.  In fact, the mic’s tiny size provides the option to permanently affix it inside the drum.  For those who play with no hole in their front head, Marty Paglione has designed a mount that clamps to the front bass-drum hoop and puts the mic’ conveniently in front of the drum.

The Test Format

I conducted this review under slightly different circumstances than others I’ve done in the past.  Marty set up a test situation with as set of AMT mic’s placed on a high-quality drum kit in the Cabaret Room at Seasons Resort and Conference Center at Great Gorge, in McAfee, New Jersey.  On the same kit Marty also placed a selection of the major microphone models commonly used for drum mincing.

The purpose of listening to other microphones along with the AMT mic’s was not the judge one against the other, A/B fashion.   Marty simply wanted me to have a point of reference for state-of-the-art microphone performance.

I played the drums myself to get a solid idea of their sound from behind the kit.  Then I went out into the house and listened to the drums played by another drummer (the talented Mr. Terry Bissette) in order to hear their sound from that position.  This all took place before any mic’s were turned on.  Then, with the able assistance of Season’s house sound engineer Dave Tassey and sound consultant Roget Page, I was given free rein to work with the various microphones comparing features like sensitivity, headroom, gain before feedback, frequency range, responsiveness to EQ adjustments, and overall clarity.   By going through this listening process I established my own parameters of outstanding drum-mic’ performance.  Only then did I have the AMT mic’s turned on.

Some drummers-and many sound engineers- are wary of using condenser mic’s on drums.  This is primarily due to their sensitivity (or “gain structure”), which can make them difficult to control.  They often have to be attenuated (“padded”) to a large degree before they can work effectively, and this can create problems with balancing the overall mix on the sound board.  But Marty has taken this into account, and has specifically tailored the gain structure of the AMT mic’s to be only 3 dB more sensitive than a Shure SM57 dynamic mic’.  In this way the mic’s still offer some of the sensitivity advantage provided by a condenser, but they also are as easy to control as a dynamic.  Sound engineer Dave Tassey underscored the effectiveness of this feature, saying, “The fact that the AMT’s were condensers scared me at first.  But the only one I padded for use in our showroom was the kick-drum mic’ – and that only slightly.  They’re super controllable..”

Microphone Performance

The A-95 snare and tom mic’ was incredibly accurate in terms of how it reproduced the sounds it heard.  In fact, when the mic’ was run at a low gain level I couldn’t even tell it was on, the sound was so much like that of the “live” drum.  When we ran the fader up a bit, the drum sound changed in only one respect:  It got louder.  This was based on a virtually flat EQ setting.  When I deliberately worked with the EQ to change the drum sound, I was able to do that quite effectively.  The drum’s acoustic sound was pretty deep and mellow; I was able to add a little high-end boost to bring out the attack and the crispness.  They beauty of this was that I didn’t lose any of the low end of body of the drum sound in the process.  The A-95’s frequency response allowed me a wide range of adjustment with no sacrifices.

The toms were tuned very deep and round-sounding, with lots of overring.  Given this situation-and the sensitivity of traditional condenser mic’s this was a formula for disaster under normal circumstances.  But the gain structure of the A-95 allowed me to control a lot of the overring just by adjusting the volume level of the mic’.  A little muffling on the drums themselves (although much less than you might expect) brought everything into total controllability.  From there on, I could just enjoy the accurate sound reproduction that the mic’s provided.  And once again, if I wanted to alter the tonality of the drums, I had lots of EQ range in which to do it.  I could maximize the attack, accentuate the depth, or achieve a combination of both with a minimal amount of EQ adjustment.  At all times and under all EQ setting the mic’s projected the drum sound with good definition and clarity-even on busy drum patterns.

The M-40 kick-drum mic’ had lots of headroom for plenty of control range.  I ran it with very little attenuation, and it still allowed for lots of fader boost before distorting (good for those who like a kick drum that rattles the walls).  Yet is also transmitted a full, round, complete bass drum sound at a low volume-which some popular dynamic bass-drum mic’s don’t do.

The bass drum itself was muffled and tuned so as to be pretty flat and dull (a typical studio sound), so I experimented with EQ-ing the M-40 to achieve different tonalities.  It responded beautifully: A small amount of low-end boost gave me a deeper, fatter drum without any accompanying “muddiness.”  I had to add a proportionately greater amount of high-end EQ to get a more pointed attack sound, but the result was more than satisfactory.  I’d say that the M-40 favors the low end, with exceptional clarity in that range.  This isn’t surprising, given it’s intended purpose, but it actually has a pretty impressive overall frequency range.  Accordion to Marty Paglione, the mic’s offer a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20kHz and can withstand sound pressure levels (SPLs) of up to 141dB.

Now, this is where the active electronics I mentioned earlier come in.  The box that the M-40 connects to contains a replaceable computer chip that permits what’s called “wave shaping” with each microphone.  The chip controls the mic’s gain structure, frequency response, and frequency curve.   Through the use of different chips, drummers or engineers can actually have their M-40’s tailored to suit their particular tastes or applications.  For example, an M-40 could be adjusted to suit their familiarization with other mic’s, or it could be “fine-tuned” to suit the acoustics of a given room.  This versatility adds to the M-40’s value.  AMT plans to offer updated chips direct to end users.  The chips will be exchanged at no cost; if the user wishes to acquire additional chips they’ll be priced around $25.  (A sound engineer might want to take advantage of this option, since it would make it possible to have a “selection” of high-quality microphones at $25 a piece.)

Conclusions and Prices

I was really impressed with the performance of the Applied Microphone Technology mic’s.  They provided sound reproduction and adjustment capabilities equal to or better than almost any microphone I’ve ever heard.  They provided convenience and positioning flexibility that exceeds that of almost any mic’ on the market.  They’re designed by a drummer – with features that apply to real-world drumming applications.   Given all of that, I honestly think the AMT microphones represent a major step forward in drum-mic’ technology.

And the best this is, they don’t cost an arm and a leg.  A set of four A-95s, with a carrying case, will have a list price of $790 (which will be discounted to around $600 by most major retailers).  The M-40, owing to it’s greater electronic sophistication, will list for $350.   These aren’t budget prices, but they are certainly competitive with other condenser systems on the market- and with many popular high-end dynamic mic’s, as well.  As I said earlier, there’s a good chance you may not have heard of Applied Microphone Technology, buy you owe it to yourself to check out their exceptional products.  If the mic’s are not in your local drum ship, contact Applied Microphone Technology, P.O. Box 33, Livingston, NJ 07039, tel: (908) 665-2727

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