The Audix D4 is a dynamic moving coil type mic that is specifically designed for drums. This mic can be considered the model in between the D2 and D6 by Audix. The D6 is a dedicated kick drum and bass amp mic, while the D2 finds more use as a rack tom mic. The D4 is designed to be something in the middle, so that you could use it on your kick drum, or on your toms. My favorite use for it not surprisingly is the floor tom however. You still get the added mid range and presence that the D2's have, and you get part of the low frequency response that makes the D6 great. This way you can capture a really booming floor tom that can still poke through a busy rock mix. It is a cardioid polar pattern which can't be switched. It doesn't need any phantom power since it's a moving coil capsule type. It will connect to your preamp with an XLR cable. It doesn't have an attenuation pad, so make sure you're not overloading the mic. The mic does have an exceptionally high SPL tolerance though, so that will probably not be an issue. There isn't a low roll-off because you will want to keep in all of the lows you record.

OVERALL OPINION

I've had one of these for almost 10 years. These are great for those times when you want a kick drum that is almost more boxy sounding than deep, and for floor toms which should not have as much low content as a kick drum does. You get a very nice "thwack" sound on the drum skins with this mic without having to do too much with EQ. The Audix D line is very cheap compared to other mics, so it's definitely a good value. I'd get it again.