Sennheiser E604

I've seen hundreds of specs from live bands and the standard mic request for toms and snare bottom is a 604, with good reasons. They are great for live sound, and only a few tom designs will not fit well with the clip.

Practically speaking they are light, small, adjustable and built to survive many years of contempt. We have 7 in one of the venues I frequent, they are 9 years old and still look and sound fine, despite being: hit thousands of times, thrown, crushed and flooded.

The sound is what you want in a live situation: you can get a nice deep tom sound with clarity (even if it can be a little too bright for some situations). The dynamic range and sensitivity are well matched to the job, loud tom hits won't overload and softer drummers can be boosted without undue noise.

I have tried recording toms with it and while it was ok, the clip colours the low mid to bass frequencies via mechanical transmission and without heavy EQ its a little underwhelming. I personally would rather have MD421s or even just overheads compared to the 604s.

I have purchased these microphones before, having watched many in depth reviews on Youtube. The sound quality from these mics is second to none and very professional. They are small, compact and brilliant! The reason I chose these mics besides the sound quality is that they are small and fit on the toms perfectly, they attach to the hoop with an included clamp that fits tightly to the mic making a secure attachment to the drum. From such a trusted brand like Sennheiser I expected nothing less than perfect quality and that is what I have received.
I would strongly recommend these microphones to anyone looking to get a punchy booming sound from their drums! Thanks Thomann!

Having both read various reviews of different mic options in the Eur100 budget mark and taken guidance from experienced live tour engineers, I opted for three of these mics for 2 rack and a floor tom.

The combination of a solid, predictable sound from a very modestly sized mic together with a simple, robust clip on attachment makes for a winning combination at the price.

The build quality is impressive too - although only a dozen or so shows old, a couple of them are bearing tiny stick marks from wayward drummers (!) but their performance is unaffected.

I've no previous experiences with alternative options to offer by way of comparison but as a newcomer I'd highly recommend these mics as a great starting point for live drum sounds!

The sennheiser E604 is the classic tom tom microphone.
The sound of the 604 is clear, crisp and big, probably due to the proximity effect of the dynamic capsule.
The best thing about the e604 is however the clip! It's well-design and robust making it super easy to place it on the majority of toms with a metallic hoop.
Also, since its made of very robust plastic it can take a it, which is probably to happen since their proximity to a drummers sticks.
There are mics that sound better but for just for the practicality and lifespan of the 604 it totally deserves a place in any tech/drummer mic bag.