The Heil HDK-7 is a collection of seven microphones tailored to meet the task of mic'ing up an entire drum kit. If you are new to Heil microphones then you'll be surprised to find no condenser microphones here. If you are already a fan, then it's nothing to catch you off guard. No doubt you've experienced the full range and detailed sound that Heil mics produce while providing excellent rear rejection. Included in the HDK-7 is the PR 22 (2), PR 28 (2), PR 30B (2) and PR48 (1).
I've used Heil mics on stage and in the studio with great results; when it comes to mic'ing a drum kit, it has always been on an individual element. A PR40 on the kick, or a PR30 on a tom. This is the first time I've used Heil mics exclusively on a drum kit with the HDK-7. After using the HDK-7 for the last two weeks on a vintage Ludwig kit, I've had enough experience to report back on my opinions.
MY FINDINGS …
Starting from the ground up, the Heil PR48 is the company's first mic that is geared toward a particular use; in this case the kick drum. Containing a large double shock-mounted element, Heil boasts that it is impervious to external vibration and noise. Having repositioned the kick drum mic while listening to the source with my IEM's (in-ear monitors), I can attest that there is very little disruption while handling the stand or bumping the mic. The PR8 has the best rear noise rejection of any Heil mic and has very high SPL handling (148 db). The PR48 sounds respectable on the kick drum, although at first listen it doesn't sound as “finished” as other kick drum mics—it doesn't sounds as “finished” as other kick drum mics. It does sound very natural and responds to EQ and compression very well. I have no complaints there.
Next we have the PR22. There are two provided in the kit for mic'ing the snare top and bottom. The large (1.125-inch) diaphragm offers a detailed sound. I once saw Joy Williams of The Civil Wars sing through this mic and it sounded incredible. The PR22 has a very flat frequency curve and, due to the port design and phase plug, the rear rejection is excellent. This mic works very well as a drum mic, though. Hi-hat bleed is always a concern with a snare mic. I can't tell you how many churches I've been into that have a make-shift foam piece placed around the back of the snare mic to try to diminish hi-hat bleed. I've used the same technique in the studio. When you have an eager drummer from the youth group playing on Sunday morning, it's really hard to settle down the cymbals. I've found the PR22 to work great on the snare in this respect. A very natural and focused sound is produced with the PR22.
For the toms, Heil provides two PR28 microphones. These mics have a threaded mic mount built into the body of the mic. So, like the PR48, you can put the PR28 straight onto a mic stand. However, Heil has designed its own drum mount in the HH-1, and two of these are included to allow for easy mounting on drum and percussion instruments. The HH-1 mounts works very well on the toms, giving you enough articulation to get the mic right where you want without being in the way of the drummer. One note of caution here: where as most “clip on” tom mics grab the top and bottom of the drum hoop, the HH-1 grabs the inside and outside of the hoop. The result is that it is possible to mount these in such a way that the clip is actually touching the drum head. This will affect the tuning of the drum and will frustrate your drummers. But it's easy to avoid this. Just be conscious when positioning these mounts.
BOTTOM LINE: SOUND
The sound of these mics on the toms is wonderful—my new favorite, in fact. They are a bit brighter than other tom mics that I've used in the past, but they also have a wonderful low end bump between 100-200 Hz that helped win me over from the other tom mics in my collection when I A/B'd them in my studio. In fact, I was recently talking gear with a recording engineer friend who confessed that the PR28 is his new go-to tom mic for recording applications.
Finally we have the PR30B. Offering a hum-bucking coil in addition to the shock-mounted, large-diagram element, the PR30B is a near-noise-free mic. The PR30B has a front-facing element, although it looks like a large diaphragm condenser microphone. I know this is confusing to some people as I once saw a PR30 on a guitar cabinet in a church, and discovered that the mic was positioned incorrectly with the element facing the ceiling. The engineer obviously thought that the mic had a side-addressed element. Heil has helped us out with a visual cue by making the PR30B all black except the red-colored, front-facing element screen.
Out of all the microphones in the HDK-7 kit, I was most skeptical of using the PR30B on the overheads. It's not that I don't think the PR30 is a great mic. I've used the PR30 to mic acoustic and electric guitars in the studio, on toms in live scenarios, and I've used the PR35 (a variation of the PR30) on lead vocals with excellent results. Nonetheless, I was cautious about using a dynamic mic in an application that typically requires the detail of a condenser mic. I was happy to find that my skepticism was proven wrong. With its extended boost in the 5k region and its smooth transient response, the mic excelled in this application. The kit sounded full and detailed. I could have used only the overheads and kick in the mix and the drums would have been well represented.
I once heard a story about Daniel Lanois, live engineer. He came into the venue to set up for the show and proceeded to mic up every source on stage with the exact same microphone - drums, guitars, bass amp, vocals—all [with] the same microphone. The reason? Consistency. From phase relationship of sources to the tuning of the system—having the same element on every source eliminates anything from sticking out.
Now, we could grab a coffee and debate that point all day long, but I feel like there is a similar effect going on when I mic the drum kit the HDK-7. Because they are similarly designed mics, there is something about the drum sound that is very cohesive. It all seems to work very well together in a unique way. I've been very pleased with the “whole” sound. The drummer who has played with the HDK-7 on his kit has had nothing but good things to say about what he hears in his IEM. Anytime you can make the FOH guy and the drummer happy, you're going to have a good day. The HDK-7 Drum Mic Kit retails for $1,535.
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