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Floor Tom - Audix F2 & F6

By Joseph "Stix" Davis - 2/22/19

How does the Audix F2 and Audix F6 compare when used on a 16" floor tom? I've reviewed these microphones separately already, so if you'd like more detailed information about each microphone, please check out their respective reviews.

Audix F2 Tom Drum Microphone

Audix F6 Kick Drum Microphone

 

Drum / Head / Tuning

Before getting into the sound test, I want to share the drum, heads, and tuning that I'm using.

 

Drums: Pearl Vision VX - 16" x 16"

Batter Head: Aquarian Response 2 Coated

Resonant Head: Classic Clear

 

Tuning (Values Are Approximate)

 

16"

 

Key

Batter: 1.5 Turns

Resonant 2 Turns

 

DrumDial

Batter: 72

Resonant: 75

 

Tune-Bot Studio

Batter: 117 Hz

Resonant: 156 Hz

 

Sound Test

For this demonstration, I have the microphone about 2" above the head of the drum, right inside of the rim, and pointed towards the center. This focuses on the fundamental note of the drum, and less on the overtones. I'm testing without any muffling.

 

Overheads

F2

F6

F2 / Overheads

F6 / Overheads

 

Five different sounds total. I start off with just the overhead microphones (Audix F9) capturing the toms. I use that as a reference, to give you an idea of what everything sounds like in person. Then the F2 by itself, the F6 by itself, the F2 plus the overheads, and finally, the F6 plus the overheads.

Final Thoughts

 

The Audix F2 focuses on the mid-range. The Audix F6 focuses on the low-end. When used on my 16" floor tom, the sound captured from the F6 was overall thicker and had more thud than the F2. However, I did have to turn the trim/gain up on my mixer quite a bit before I could hear what the F6 was picking up.

 

Both of the microphones sound great to my ears. For me, I'll be sticking with the F2 on my floor tom since that is what I have for the rest of my toms.

 

But which is better?

 

You be the judge.