If your mixer has phantom power running, this mic will run the filters with the flimsy plastic switches. !! Gain hungry and static noise sound when you push the gain.

I did a shootout between this, Telefunken M82, Shure SM57, Shure Beta 52A, Sennheiser MD421-II, Sennheiser e901 and e902, and an Electrovoice RE20. The AKG is my favorite, but is also the most expensive. In the flat mode, it sounds nearly identical to the EV RE20. It might have a touch more attack but it's very very subtle. Sounds equally great at a the front head port opening as well as inside pointing at the bearing edge, 4" from the batter, and 4" from the edge of the shell. However, with most purpose-built bass drum mics, they usually make everything my drum sound like Metallica - especially the e902 and Beta 52A. Boosted lows, scooped mids, and plastic-y attack. That's fine if you need a live kick sound for hard rock music (which I love) and limited soundcheck time. But, those pre-EQ'd kick drum sounds are so DONE. The D12 VR actually sounds like your kick drum without sounding half-baked and flat like an SM57 or a MD-421 II. The phantom powered EQ choices are tastefully implemented and work well to produce an out-of-the-box sound that a lot of engineers and drummers will probably like. But, I prefer the flat setting because of its honest representation of the drum. It allows the personality of the kick to be captured and with a talented engineer at the board, can shape the drum's tone with EQ to suit whatever music is created. Finally there's a kick drum mic that ditches the cliche Metallica tone. I love you Lars, I just don't need your bass drum tone for everything.

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This is by far the best mic for a kick drum (in its class). I've tried everything out there and to be honest, this is the capture I had been looking for. And with its three filters, it's like having four mics instead of one. At last!

This is an amazing mic. The EQ on this is fantastic and can really shape your bass drum into a tight punchy thud that cuts in the mix with minimal additional eq and compression. It is by far the best bass drum mic I have owned. It gets 4.5 stars and not 5 simply because it is a bit costly in my option. Other than that, this mic is my go to bass drum mic.