SHURE BETA 52A PROFESSIONAL INSTRUMENT MICROPHONE

SHURE BETA 52A PROFESSIONAL INSTRUMENT MICROPHONE


The Shure Beta 52A is possibly one of the most popular microphones for use in recording the bass drum as well as recording an electric bass guitar cabinet. For a good home recording studio as well as for professional use, the Shure Beta 52A is possibly the best value for the money that one will find for either of these purposes. The Shure Beta 52A retails for $387.50, but it can be had from most musical instrument chain stores or reputable internet dealers for $187.97. Read on and see if this microphone is something that you might be interested in auditioning for your studio.

When it comes to making a decision about what brand of microphone to use for home recording purposes, one often has to make a compromise between sound quality and cost. This is especially true with regard to micing drums. In outfitting a home recording studio, it makes no sense to skimp on microphones, as your recordings will only be as good as your weakest link in the recording chain. A place that some home studio recording enthusiasts try to skimp on is on microphones used for recording drums, especially the bass drum. Often, a person will attempt to use the same type of microphone for recording the bass drum that they would use to record a singer’s voice with. This is a big mistake, as a microphone designed to capture vocals is usually not a good choice for recording musical instruments, especially something with the punch and low end of a kick drum. A poorly recorded bass drum or bass guitar amp cabinet can muddy up a track very easily. Fortunately, the Shure Beta 52A offers a reasonable solution to this problem.

The Shure Beta 52A is a “dynamic” microphone with a “supercardioid” pickup pattern. The term “dynamic” means that it is a microphone that captures a sound source via a moving coil and a diaphragm. A coil of wire is attached to a diaphragm, and sound waves cause the diaphragm to move, which in turn causes an electrical current to be generated. This electrical signal then carries the information regarding the specific vibrations of the sound source that caused the diaphragm to move in the magnetic field of the microphone. The term “supercardioid” means that the Shure Beta 52A has a very tight unidirectional pickup pattern, which means that it is designed to selectively pick up sounds that are coming directly at the front of the microphone, while being much less sensitive to sounds coming at the microphone from the sides or back. This makes the Shure Beta 52A less susceptible to feedback, as well as to picking up unwanted sound sources or background noises.

The Shure Beta 52A is an excellent microphone to use for recording the bass drum, or as it is sometimes called the “kick drum,” and it can also be used to capture the sound of some other instruments that have a very low frequency range, such as a bass guitar, an acoustic bass, or even a tuba for that matter. The frequency response of the Shure Beta 52A is between 20 Hz. to 10,000 Hz., and it is tailored and more sensitive to the low end frequencies. Because of its dynamic design, the Shure Beta 52A is also ideally suited to recording sound sources that also have a high sound pressure level and/or high volume levels, such as might be encounter in close micing of a bass amp speaker cabinet or close micing of the beater of a kick drum. The Shure Beta 52A is specifically designed to reproduce the low end punch of the bass drum, and to do so without clipping or distorting. This makes it an ideal choice for situations where high sound pressure levels (SPL’s) are enountered, such as in close micing of the bass drum, or close micing or a bass amp speaker cabinet, and the Shure Beta 52A is able to withstand sound pressure levels of up to 174dB at 1000Hz. This microphone is able to capture the low end punch of a bass drum and the percussive attack of a slap bass, and it does it without distorting or sounding muddy.

The Shure Beta 52A has a built-in locking stand adaptor which makes attachment to a microphone stand easy. There is a built-in pivoting mechanism which makes it easy to make fine adjustments regarding positioning of the microphone relative to the sound source being recorded. There is an integral XLR connector which makes attaching an audio cable easy. The Shure Beta 52A also has a pneumatic shock mount system that provides extra shock absorption and cushioning, so as to minimize the microphone from picking up extraneous and unwanted vibrations. The Shure Beta 52A is also a very ruggedly built microphone, and it is designed to withstand the rigors of everyday use without failing. The delicate internal workings of the microphone are protected with a silver blue die cast metal outer shell or body, and a steel front grill.

As is the case with most good quality cardioid dynamic microphones, or in this case a supercardioid microphone, the Shure Beta 52A exhibits the so called “proximity effect.” Simply put, the proximity effect happens when a cardioid dynamic or directional microphone is placed close to a sound source. A dynamic microphone like the Shure Beta 52A is sensitive to sound pressure gradients, and it derives its output signal by responding to the differences in sound pressure and vibrations from the object that is producing the sound it is capturing. The closer or more proximal the microphone is to the sound source, the greater will be a boost in bass frequencies. Simply put, the closer the Shure Beta 52A is to the sound source, the warmer and richer the sound will be, and the further away from the sound source it is placed, the thinner and less bassy the sound will be. This is an important consideration when micing a bass drum, a bass guitar cabinet, or any other sound source for that matter.

Just as any person who has ever tried to mic an acoustic instrument knows, whether it be in a live situation or in a recording studio, proper placement of a good microphone can make for a great sound, while improper placement of a great microphone can result in a poor quality sound from even a great sounding instrument and an expensive microphone. This is as true in the studio as it is in live performances. Thus, where you position the Shure Beta 52A in relation to the sound source will determine the type and quality of the capture and reproduction of that sound source.

For example, when recording the bass drum, there are a variety of different microphone positioning techniques that will result in different sounds being captured from the very same source. If you want to have the bass drum sound aggressive, remove the outer drum head, place the Shure Beta 52A inside of the bass drum about 2 to 3 inches from the surface of the primary drum skin, and slightly off to the side of the impact point of the beater. This will result in the capture of a sharp aggressive sound, maximum bass sound, and a sharp attack. For a moderately aggressive sound and a thinner bass sound repeat as above, but place the Shure Beta 52A directly in front of the beater, but this time position it about a foot away from the drum skin. If you are looking for a percussive thud with low resonance, you can position the Shure Beta 52A as just described, but this time place a soft pillow tightly against the skin just below where the beater strikes. Finally, for a resonant, full, and less aggressive sound, do not take the outer skin off the bass drum, and in this case place the Shure Beta 52A about 3 inches away from the center of the outer drum skin, and position it about three inches away from the head. Obviously, there are many other ways to mic a bass drum, but these are four common simple examples.

As I mentioned earlier in the review, the Shure Beta 52A is a microphone that was designed to record low end frequency, high sound pressure level sound sources. As such, the Shure Beta 52A also lends itself to the recording of bass guitar amplifier cabinets as well. Remember to keep in mind that the Shure Beta 52A is sensitive to the proximity effect that I mentioned earlier in this review. Therefore different placements and positioning of the Shure Beta 52A will result in the capturing of different types of sounds from the same bass amp cabinet. The following are a few useful examples of microphone placement. For a soft mellow sound, with less emphasis on the low end frequencies, place the Shure Beta 52A directly in front of the center of the speaker cone about 2 to 3 feet away from the cabinet. For a more full and balanced bass sound with a moderate attack, and a bit more emphasis on the lower frequencies, place the Shure Beta 52A about 6 inches away from the speaker, but this time position it at the edge of the speaker cone and not the center. For a heavy, punchy, full bass sound, with an aggressive attack, position the Shure Beta 52A directly in front of the speaker cone of the bass cabinet, but again point it to the side of the speaker and not at the center, and position it about 1 inch away from the speaker grill cloth. Once again, there are many other possibilities regarding recording a bass guitar, such as going direct, and not using a microphone at all, or blending the sound from a direct source and a miced source. The possibilities are numerous.

In conclusion, is the Shure Beta 52A the best choice for recording a kick drum? The answer is obviously “No.” There are other high end, high priced microphones that are better for this purpose. However, in this price range, I do not know of a better choice. This microphone sounds very good, and I have personal experience with it, and I satisfied with the sound that I have achieved when I have used it for recording. For a person who is looking for a good kick drum microphone for their home studio or for professional purposes, it is hard to beat the Shure Beta 52A with regards to value and sound quality.

Well, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my review, but now if you will excuse me, I must get back to my practicing.