The Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone can simply be described as "the ultimate kick drum mic". The Audio Technica AE2500 consists of two microphones that can be combined or used independently that sit comfortably within one microphone housing. There is a dynamic capsule and a cardoid condenser, one being designed to perfectly capture the attack of the beater (dynamic) whilst the other picks up all of the wonderful tonalities that exist post beater within the kick drum shell (condenser). It has been a well known production trick for a while to use both a dynamic and condenser microphone to get amazing kick drum tone however, until now, nobody was clever enough to think about housing both in one microphone. All hail the Audio Technica R&D Department and their ground-breaking transducer achievement! They have managed to minimize drum micing set-up times by putting two microphones (and two cables) into one sexy and very versatile package. From a scientific perspective a lot of thought has gone into the design of the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone with two layers of resistive, multiple density mesh over the dynamic element that exercises precise timing at which the off-axis signals arrive at the diaphragm helping to create a perfect phase relationship, something practically unachievable with two separate microphones!
What makes the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone most special of all is that this unique design gives Producers perfect control pre and post recording by allowing them to control how much depth and how much attack is available at all times allowing for the perfect kick drum sound, which, in the heavier music I usually produce is a VERY important, if not THE MOST important aspect of the song. During my in the field testing I (as usual) decided to test this on other instruments and it works great on bass cabs, floor toms, double bass and even (at a push) lead vocals making the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone a perfect and very robust microphone choice for all serious producers. In fact I would even go as far as to say that purchasing this microphone will instantly make you a better Producer.
Design and Build
The build quality of the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone is top notch, I imagine this microphone will stand up to a lot of "beatings" for many a year to come. So what's in the box?
Figure 1 & 2: The Dynamic and Condenser Capsules; the 5 pin XLR cable
Included with the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone is a nice, fairly heavily padded microphone case that is bound to keep your new favourite microphone safe at all times, a very special 5-pin XLR connector which at the end of a 16.5 foot cable, splits off into two standard XLR connectors at the other end for plugging into your pre-amps and an AT8471 isolation clamp that, although not the best looking isolation clamp I have seen does the job well. In a small bout of design genius Audio Technica have marked up and colour coded which XLR connection is dynamic and which is for the condenser so that even the dumbest audio engineer knows which one to give phantom power to and which one not to. On-board electronics include a switchable -10dB pad and a -12dB/octave, 80Hz high-pass filter (NOTE: these electronics only apply to the condenser).
Although this isn't really documented, it is my opinion that both the condenser and dynamic capsules appear to have been "tuned" for it's purpose. By this I mean the diaphragms seem to have been designed to tune out certain frequencies more than any other mic I have thus far experienced. When tested, it was found that for example there was significantly less hi-end bleed (snare and hi-hats) whilst at the same time the specific frequencies used for the punch and click of a kick drum are blatantly present. This was also found to be the case when recording lead vocals - they sounded not quite right without some specific EQ'ing to bring it "back on track" meaning that even the condenser has been "tuned" for it's purpose. The Audio Technica engineering team have carefully designed and developed an amazing product that is specifically "tuned" to it's uses from an equalization perspective, taking even the most finite details and equalization frequencies into consideration. All of this combined into one excellent package makes this microphone stand out a mile from the competition. It also means that you could even consider this a "plug and play" microphone that can just be turned on to acheive excellent kick drum and bass tone.
SPECIFICATIONS:- ELEMENTS: Condenser, dynamic
- POLAR PATTERN: Cardioid
- FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20-17,000 Hz (condenser) 30-10,000 Hz (dynamic)
- LOW FREQUENCY ROLL-OFF: 80 Hz, 12 dB/octave (condenser)
- OPEN CIRCUIT SENSITIVITY: -51 dB (2.8 mV) re 1V at 1 Pa (condenser)
- -54 dB (1.9 mV) re 1V at 1 Pa (dynamic)
- IMPEDANCE 100 ohms (condenser) 600 ohms (dynamic)
- MAXIMUM INPUT SOUND LEVEL: 148 dB SPL, 1 kHz at 1% T.H.D. (condenser);
- 158 dB SPL, with 10 dB pad (nominal)
- DYNAMIC RANGE: (typical) 124 dB, 1 kHz at Max SPL (condenser)
- SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO: 70 dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa (condenser)
- PHANTOM POWER REQUIREMENTS: 11-52V DC, 3 mA typical (condenser)
- SWITCHES: (Condenser Only) High-pass filter; 10 dB pad (nominal)
- WEIGHT: 13.8 oz (390 g)
- DIMENSIONS: 6.50" (165.0 mm) long, 2.17" (55.0 mm) maximum diameter
- OUTPUT CONNECTOR: Integral 5-pin XLRM-type CABLE 16.5' (5 m) dual shielded, 8-conductor cable, 5-pin XLRF-type connector at microphone, two 3-pin XLRM-type output connectors
- ACCESSORIES FURNISHED: AT8471 isolation clamp for 5/8"-27 threaded stands; 5/8"-27 to 3/8"-16 threaded adapter; soft protective pouch
- AUDIO-TECHNICA CASE STYLE: R8
In Session
Since receiving the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone I have experimented with it recording different instruments in varying sessions of varying genres. The two instances that, going forward this microphone will ALWAYS be used for in my sessions are the obvious - kick drum and bass cabinets. This microphone is so well designed for bass purposes in fact that I would be confident that I could take it to any local gig and I would finally hear the kick drum presence and power that always seems to be missing from these in-experienced, local sound engineers. You can literally plug this in, leaving it unprocessed completely and you acheive an excellent sound. If Audio Technica were to make one of those "dummies" range of books for this microphone it would be entitled "Kick Drum and Bass Sounds for Dummies" which would simply have "Plug in the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone and give phantom power to the Condenser" written within it! Whether you want a clicky, a thuddy or a full kick drum tone, the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone does the job and you can freely change this in the mixing process making it completely robust at all times.
I have tried the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone on varying bass amps and cabinets and I must also applaud it's excellence when used for this studio task too. The dual microphone combination is excellent for bass cabinets as it really captures both the depth and punch of the bass providing unrivalled bass tone. I now use the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone almost every time I have to mic up any form of bass equipment and to this day I am yet to be disappointed. The combination of the two mics allows so much flexibility post recording ensuring you get the perfect sound every time.
I decided to test the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone against two other really good dynamic kick drum mics - Shure Beta 52 and
Sennheiser e602 II. Compared to both, the first thing I noticed is how much less snare/hi-hat leakage that existed whilst at the same time offering a much greater output from the dynamic portion of the microphone. The Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone had a better upper-bass response and presence than both the comparison microphones. The Beta 52 does offer more sub-sonic frequencies than the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone although this is where the condenser comes in handy! Plug that in and the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone literally knocks the other microphones out of the mic closet for good! The condenser gives all the sub-sonic frequencies and offers a much deeper, rounder and more full sound. It is at this point that I realize that although you can use just one of the capsules to get different sounds, you should use both at all times for your mix to fully appreciate the complexity, depth and beauty of the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone's sound.
I got so confident with this microphones abilities that I went crazy and decided to try it on the toughest of all - lead vocals! Now, blatantly it was not made for this purpose however, I was eager to see how it would work in this situation. The answer is pretty good however, you do need to EQ certain frequencies (particularly the high end) quite heavily to compensate for the bassy characteristics and tone of the microphone. Although it worked great for me and the song I was making that day, it is probably not a good idea to use this microphone for vocals unless you really know what your doing and can counter balance the sound. But hey, you can't say you've road-tested something until you've also tested it out of it's element.
Conclusion
Every time a band comes through my door, regardless of genre I put my hands on the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone to mic up the kick drum and the bass cabinets. I really and truly don't think that will change for a long time as I am more pleased with this microphone and it's bass instrument recording niche than any microphone I have worked with before. The post recording (mixing) control that the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone offers when both capsules are used, surpasses any other bass microphone I have come across and as long as you always use both the condenser and the dynamic capsules in parallel you will find that you can endlessly control two of the most important facets of any mix (the kick drum and bass) so that they form a distinct juxtaposition that will make your mixes shine.
The sheer design excellence and cleverness brings a new dimension of simplicity into microphones due to it's precise microphone purpose and use. Put simply, if you have any form of bass instrument you want to record there is only one choice - the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone. Your other bass microphones will from the point of purchasing the Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone only have spiders as company in the cold mic closet as they will never again see the light of day! The retail price of this microphone is more than other comparison microphones however, it is worth the extra cash and as with most things in life, you really do get what you pay for, making the extra cost very much worth it.
Pros:- Great unprocessed "plug and play" sound, helping even the newest sound engineers get a great kick drum or bass sound
- A robust microphone that excels at capturing ALL bass instruments, particularly kick drums and bass cabinets
- Complete pre and post recording choice and control. Can be used as dynamic, condenser or at it's best as a combination
- Ingenious 5 pin XLR connection on the microphone that breaks into two standard XLR connections that plug into your mixer or pre-amp
Cons:
- The included cable, although ingenious is completely proprietary to this microphone and if a replacement is ever needed is likely to be costly
- Slightly higher cost than other bass microphones although that is outweighed by it's excellence
Information: 
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Audio Technica AE2500 Dual-element Cardioid Instrument Microphone
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