Beyerdynamic is a fantastic audio brand that has some really great microphone options available. We’ve been able to test out quite a few of them, and one of our favorites was the Beyerdynamic M 201.
This small microphone packs a huge punch, and it’s definitely one that many drummers would love to use.
In this review, we’re going to explain what makes it good. We’ll dive into the design, explore the features, and give our overall opinion on whether the value it offers is worth the cost.
The Beyerdynamic M 201 is a dynamic microphone with a hostaphan diaphragm. It’s basically a pencil microphone with a small casing, and it has great transient response.
The frequency response is between 40Hz and 18kHz, so it’s accurate in its pickup performance.
It also has a slight boost of treble frequencies, giving it a unique touch compared to similar microphones.
Finally, it has a hypercardioid pickup pattern, which is what makes it great for drums.
The biggest thing we found with the Beyerdynamic M 201 microphone is that it’s highly accurate in how it picks drums up.
It sounds fantastic on both toms and snare drums, but it also has a slight treble boost that makes snare drum tones slightly richer.
So, we’d mostly recommend using this as a snare drum mic. It’s in a similar vein to a Shure SM57, but the quality is noticeably better. It’s also easier to get a good sound.
The pencil design and small shape make this such an easy microphone to position. It never feels like it’s even there when you’re playing, and it allows you to place it in exact positions to get particular sounds that you’re looking for.
The mic has an onboard hum compensation coil, which makes it quite soft without any unwanted noise.
The frequency response also allows it to pick up sounds quite accurately.
It has a medium weight compared to its size, so it does feel relatively durable as well.
This quickly became one of our favorite microphones when we used it. Again, we figured that it works best as a snare drum mic, bringing out all the best tones from your snare drum.
It makes it very easy to mix and get the specific sounds that you want. The initial sound is accurate to what you hear in the room, but you can add an EQ and alter a few things to change the snare sound completely.
It also works well as a tom mic, especially considering the small size and easy placement. The performance quality just isn’t as impressive as when you place it on a snare drum.
This microphone costs about four times as much as a Shure SM57, so it’s definitely a higher-end option. The quality is noticeably better, but we also know that most drummers would be happy with a standard SM57.
For that reason, we don’t think the price-to-value ratio is outstanding. You definitely get a good quality microphone for the cost, and you should get this if you can afford it. But you could also get a good snare drum sound with a much cheaper mic.
Beyerdynamic continues to impress with their range of high-end microphones, and the M 201 is just one of many that works really well on a drum kit.
Again, we mainly recommend getting this as a snare drum microphone. The treble boost works well with snare drums, and the sound reproduction it offers is accurate to what you hear in the room.
It’s also a really small microphone that is easy to position in any way you want to. That makes it an excellent bottom snare mic as well.
The high price tag is the only con to mention, as some drummers may not want to spend $400 on a single mic. However, it’s worth the cost!
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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