Audix FP5 And FP7 New Fusion Drum Mic Packs Review by Mark Parsons
(Modern Drummer excerpt from Review appearing in June issue)
In Use
We started our testing of the new Fusion series with the f6 kick mic. As it shares the same clip design as its older sibling, the D6, it was a simple matter to swap in the f6, since I already had a D6 positioned in my bass drum. Before we did that, we recorded a few bars of kick with the D6 as a reference, and then replaced it with the f6 and did some more tracking. Upon playback, I first heard the familiar full tone of the D6, and in the few seconds of silence between that and the f6, I thought, Okay, here comes the moment of truth. The f6 ended up producing a very cool kick sound. It was still in the “pre-equalized, concert-ready” neighborhood of the D6, but it had its own thing going on. The f6 had a bit more midrange punch, and the fundamental resonance was at a slightly higher frequency. It still had the beef on the bottom and plenty of beater attack on top, but it also had a little in-your-face attitude (in a good way). It was universal enough to work in just about any genre, but I think this mic would excel in more aggressive idioms—hard rock, metal, punk, indie, etc.
For more on the Audix Fusion FP5 and FP7 drum mic pre-packs, check out the full review in the June issue of Modern Drummer when available.