Perceptual Evaluation of Varied Kick Drum Microphones, With and Without Post-Processing

Cheshire M. Perceptual Evaluation of Varied Kick Drum Microphones, With and Without Post-Processing. In: Convention Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 10239. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23083

@inproceedings{Cheshire2025_23083,
  author = {Cheshire, Matthew},
  title = {{Perceptual Evaluation of Varied Kick Drum Microphones, With and Without Post-Processing}},
  note = {Paper 10239},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23083}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Perceptual Evaluation of Varied Kick Drum Microphones, With and Without Post-Processing
AU  - Cheshire, Matthew
M1  - Paper 10239
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23083
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Microphone selection plays a crucial role in shaping the timbre of recorded kick drums, yet formal subjective evaluations of common kick drum microphones remain limited. This study investigates listener preference for 11 microphones, both in their unprocessed form and after post-processing by three experienced professional audio engineers. All recordings were made under controlled conditions using consistent mic placement and performance. A subjective listening test with 25 participants evaluated each microphone across four listening tests. Results revealed significant differences between microphones in the unprocessed condition, with preferences converging after processing, indicating a reduction in perceptual variations. While processing significantly altered relative preference of nearly all microphones, ratings of two microphones remained consistent across all conditions. Findings also suggest that while processing can elevate certain microphones perceptual subjectivity, others were found to never be rated significantly different from one another regardless of the engineers processing approach.
ER  -