Sennheiser E604

The Sennheiser E604 is a dynamic drum / percussion mic that has a built-in mic mount. This is an excellent mic for toms and snare drums. It has a slightly different tone than that of a Shure SM57 but it sounds just as good and is better at rejecting off axis sounds. Off Axis means sounds that come from say another drum or cymbals etc... This is usually what you don't want to record. The E604 can handle an extremely loud signal which is what you’ll get when you position the mic an inch or so off of a snare drum head.

It has great frequency response (Better than the SM57) 40Hz to 18 kHz so it can be used with excellent results on floor toms and other low frequency instruments. It can also be used for brass, woodwinds and other instruments. You can remove the 'Drum Clip' from the mic and screw the bottom of the mic onto a mic stand or mic stand adapter. This way you can use the mic for about anything.

The polar pattern of the mic is cardioid which as was mentioned rejects sounds coming into the mic element from behind and from the sides. This makes the mic great for live and studio recordings. On toms you will want to make sure that your crash and ride cymbals are being directly reflected back up into the e604's mic element. This is easy enough to take care by changing the angle of the mic element (it's attached to a tom drum). Just move it up and/or down and listen for any significant change in the amount of cymbals you’re getting. The sound from the cymbals is bounced off the drumhead and into the mic. The mic element is rather lightweight leaning a more transparent high end and very fast transient response.

The mic itself is housed in reinforced fiberglass shell. I've hit these mics pretty hard (by accident) and haven't had a problem at all. I'm not saying they are indestructible but they can put up with a lot of abuse.

Features

• Cardioid Polar Pattern for Excellent Isolation
• 160dB SPL handling (Don't Put Your Ear Here)
• Use on Drums in the same places as SM57
• Great Frequency Response: 40Hz to 18kHz
• Removable Drum Clip for use on Conventional Mic Stand
• Rapid Transient Response
• Reinforced Glass Fiber Body