THE SETUP
What Lewitt has presented is a set of seven microphones to take care of most of a drum kit. You get a specific microphone for the snare, which is able to handle high sound pressure levels. There are also three very compact microphones for the toms: these all have microphone clips and four drum mounts are also supplied, so you don’t need a lot of stands getting in the way around your drum hardware. Two pencil style condenser microphones are also included, both with two pairs of interchangable capsules and finally, a kick drum microphone rounds out the seven – but this is no ordinary kick drum microphone.
THE FULL SOUND
Lewitt have really gone for detail in the microphones they have included in this kit. It is all about the sound and how it is captured, hence the specific microphones for the task and the interchangeable capsules for the overhead microphones. But it is the kick drum microphone that really takes the cake here. The DTP640 REX microphone differs slightly from the others in that it has a 5-pin DIN output and comes with an included Y-cable designed for this. The two XLR ends of the Y-cable take the two separate signals generated by the microphone, because it is in fact two microphones in one housing. You get a thumping dynamic microphone capsule that really delivers the punch and force of the kick as well as an electret condenser that adds clarity and definition to the snap and extended low frequency response that this microphone is capable of capturing. The result, once fed through two channels of a mixer and balanced to suit the drum, is really something special. I have never heard any kick microphone like this before. All in all, this is a really solid selection of microphones, designed to handle the task at hand. That said, you could easily use it for a range of other applications including pianos, brass, percussion and even guitars if you want to experiment in the studio. A big round of applause should go to Lewitt for this package, it is a real winner.
