Drumrock

During NAMM 2008, as we were winding down our coverage of the show and basically walking the floor just sight-seeing - I stumbled across a booth for a kick drum mounting system that I thought was a really cool concept. I stopped by and chatted with someone who I absolutely to this day do not recall - but walked away saying to myself "What a cool device!"

Later in the year I was browsing around and found the site and submitted a request for info and the possibility of getting a Shu to review. The very next day I received an email from Jeff from Kelly Shu saying that they would be glad to send us one to review! So without further muss and fuss, we review the Kelly Shu Composite.

From the Kelly Shu Website:

"Better Than A Boom Stand"

Stage vibrations and low-end transfer can rob your amplified kick drum sound of its full potential. A shock-mounted kick drum microphone platform is logical defense against these unwanted mechanical interferences.

The Kelly SHU™ is an integrated shock mount and microphone isolation system adaptable to any standard kick drum microphone and any size or depth of kick drum. The system requires 0% of your valuable stage or riser space and eliminates the need of an additional microphone stand for the kick drum mic. NO DRILLING is required for installation.

The Kelly Shu is literally what it's name implies - a horseshoe shaped kick microphone mount as seen here:\

The review unit, which is also a new model for Kelly Shu, is a composite mount. Included in the package are (from the Kelly Shu website):

The Kelly SHU Composite SHU Mounting Unit.

10 Installation Adjustment Holes w/ Grommets.

16 Support Cord Hooks.

2.75 ft of Solid Rubber Support Cord.

8 Interior Installation Loops.

Universal Microphone Post w/ Standard Threads.

Oversized Jam Nut.

Complete Installation Instructions.

30-day Money Back Guarantee.

90-Day Warranty

Here is a shot of the key components: 

The instructions included with the kit are fairly straight forward, clear, and once you get it down it's not hard to remember.

I pulled the resonant head off my kick and dove right in - initially installing all the installation hoops closer to the resonant head of the kick. As you can see here, installing the loops is extremely simple. Remove one screw from a lug, poke it thru the holes in the installation loop, and screw it back into the lug.

There are 8 included with the kit which makes positioning of the Shu extremely flexible.

Once the installation hoops were in place it was time to put together some lengths of support cord. In general here, the drummer or tech will tailor this to how you want to mount the Shu in your kick and how much tension you want on the mount.

Since I have a 22" kick and the mounting for my purposes is fairly straight forward (mic close to the batter to capture the attack better) I cut 8 even lengths from the support cord. These were actually too long and I ended up taking off another half an inch in order to achieve the level of tension I wanted. Word of caution here - it is better to cut your lengths too long and trim back than cut too short and have to get more support cord. (Which you can get, more on that in a bit.)

Assembling the cords is also simple, sliding the cord into the hook and then sliding a collar down firmly over the assembly results in a tight fit and secure cord:

The instructions recommend testing each one to ensure it's secure - and so do I. I had one that wasn't completely locked and was glad I checked them all once done. Each end will look like this once assembled:

Once the support cords are assembled it's just a matter of mounting it inside your kick and getting the positioning where you want it. If you need to move the installation hooks to other lug positions to accommodate tilt or placement it's as easy as unscrewing the lug screw and moving the installation loop to another lug.

Once mounted inside your kick drum you'll end up with something along these lines:

In the photo above you'll note that I only used 6 support cords and the mount is closer to my resonant head. I did this more for photo purposes. Mounting my D550 this way would result in the butt end of the microphone pressing against the resonant head (unless I flipped the Shu around!). This isn't ideal and as I said I wanted to capture more attack with this microphone so I moved the installation mounts forward and installed the Shu closer to the batter head.

Mounting my D550 was a bit of challenge. This particular microphone has the XLR jack close to the mount. The Kelly Shu comes with an oversized jam nut which resulted in my not being able to wire the microphone with the jam nut installed:

I ended up removing the jam nut and installing the mic inside the kick without it. This makes it a little more difficult to get the microphone secure however but it isn't insurmountable.

I can't fault the Shu's design for this as you simply can't account for every microphone design when engineering a mount like this. (Although they do have a special section on their site for the Shure Beta52. Click  to read it) The only thing I would like to see is maybe a non-oversized nut included in the package or as an optional part for purchase.

The Shu can also be mounted externally around your port hole. Instructions are included for doing just that. Given the length cord in the package I opted to cut it for internal mounting as I have a more traditional stand for mic'ing at the port on my resonant head.

A lot of what I do is record - and I've never really been happy with the sound I've been getting out of my kick. A lot of it I blame squarely on the D550 as it was a very cheap mic I bought for a backup. Currently it's my only kick mic so I have to work with what I've got. First I set up traditional kick mic mounting using mini boom:

This is a sound clip, traditional mic stand, no EQ, just a straight track:

KICK - STAND MIC (CLICK FOR AUDIO)

If you listen you'll note that in order for me to turn that into an acceptable kick sound for anyone, I would have to apply a fair amount of EQ and tweaking to the clip to get it there. Granted the above clip is picking up more of the resonant tones and less of the attack but I prefer more attack.

Contrast that with this raw clip of the D550 mounted on the Shu. There's about 4-5" between the mic and the batter head:

KICK - KELLY SHU (CLICK FOR AUDIO)

To my ears this is a *much* more acceptable clip to work with and more approximates the sound I would want out of my kick live.

Overall I am extremely impressed and happy with the Kelly Shu. It is an innovative and inexpensive way to internally mount a mic in your kick and not have to spend a ton of time setting it up or drilling through your shell. Mounting of the Shu is extremely flexible and I'm sure I'll be experimenting with different positions as time goes on to tweak the sound I'm getting. My only "fault" with the unit was the oversized jam nut and that would really only impact mics that have the XLR jack very close to the mic threads. Again, I can't fault the design of the Shu but having the option to use a more standard size nut here would be useful.

Having the Shu inside my kick offers more flexibility in recording now as I can not only track that mic but set up a second mic in at the port and capture that audio as well.

Using the Shu in a live environment has many pluses that you can see without even having to actually use it live. You no longer have to deal with a stand first and foremost that eats up stage real estate.

Discussing the mount with some other drummers I know that was usually the first thing they thought of when they saw the Shu - no more band members tripping over their stand and knocking the mic out of whack. It also allows for much faster setup and teardown as there's no need to remove the mic from your kick - simply disconnect the cable and you're done. All of these benefits and more are listed out at the Kelly Shu website.

The Kelly Shu Composite sells for $51.95 direct from Kelly Shu. There is one discrepency between the included documentation and the website. The website states that the Composite package comes with a 90 day limited warranty, the instructions say 1 year.  After clarification from Kelly Shu the warranty is indeed 1 year and they're going to change their website to reflect the correct warranty.

The Kelly Shu also comes in an anodized aluminum Pro model that includes the aluminum mount, more hooks and installation loops, a longer support cord and per the website has a lifetime warranty. The Pro version sells for $99.95 direct from Kelly Shu.

You can also purchase extra support cord ($3.60/foot), hooks ($.65/ea), and installation loops ($.55/ea) directly from Kelly Shu. (All prices are subject to change without notice). They do not sell complete support systems separately. 

 Rating