Lewitt DTP Beat Kit Pro 7 Drum Microphone Kit

TWO STARS

First, Vintage King is the best! Jeff stood behind me when I had problems (and Lewitt & their distributors would not help), and VK accepted the returns of the mics for full refund without question. I will not hesitate to buy again from VK, and heartily recommend them. In terms of Lewitt mics:
I REALLY wanted to like these microphones; the 340TT tom mics were recommended by a couple of sources that I trust. I purchased the Lewitt Beat Kit Pro 7 plus 3 additional DTP 340 TT mics and had them shipped to me in Canada. They look good, have some interesting design features, and seem to be well made. The 340 TTs sound great on toms, the LCT 340 condensers sound very good, and the 440 Rex and 440DM sound good (but no better than several alternatives, including my Audix D-6 and Shure SM57). However, these mics are truly not road-ready .For the rigours of touring work, this kit is a veritable litany of design and QC problems:
1. 2 of the 3 clips for the tom mics were stripped on arrival. Lewitt sent new ones, but they did not arrive in time for my concerts. I had to 'pirate' two from my percussion mics, and use other mics on the percussion.
2. The rim clamps are poorly designed. I own 3 high-end drum sets (including a brand new Sonor Pro-Lite kit) and my drummer (who has toured the world with several big name acts) owns more than a dozen vintage and modern kits. 3 of us — me, him, and an experienced FOH engineer — tried to find a way to use the clamps and clips and could not get them to stay out of the way enough on mounted or floor toms. When I tried to lock them into the tightest position they actually distorted the shells de-tuned the drums. We had to use Sennheisers on the first night, and stands with the 340s on the remaining nights, which defeats the purpose of having rim clamps.
3. Same applies to the kick mic, in that its mount is poorly designed; when we mounted it using a K&M kick drum rim clamp the XLR contacts were inaccessible. The contacts and mount should be reversed and spread as far apart as possible; that would balance the mount better and make the contacts accessible for stands or rim clamps.
4. The case arrangement is thoughtless, lowest-common-denominator design; I assumed that a mic company purporting to design mics for touring pros would understand how they and their engineers use those mics for live concert work. Each mic should be able to be cased with it’s clip (and if applicable, its clamp) attached; having to take them apart after each gig and re-build them on each setup is, quite simply, a spectacular waste of time.
5. Lewitt probably saved $2 - $5 on the kick drum breakout cable by using Faux-trik connectors and inexpensive cable for their kick mic. From a studio owner’s standpoint (who has spent literally tens of thousands of dollars on pro cables using Mogami & Canare & Monster & Neutrik etc. because I have done double-blind listening tests and can hear the difference), I think that speaks volumes — if Lewitt does not think their $1,400US set of mics justifies spending a few dollars on brand-name professional connectors or cable, that tells me a lot about what they apparently think about the relative quality of their product.

I ended up losing $200 for lost brokerage, duty and return shipping, but I felt that strongly about my experience with Lewitt that it was well worth incurring that loss so I could move on to something better.

For the record, I purchased from Jeff and VK an sE V-Pack Arena 7-mic kit , and I LOVE it. Intelligent design and implementation that is truly road-ready (and has none of the problems identified above).

I looked around at several brands of drum mics before I decided on the Lewitt Beat Kit Pro 7. I was impressed by the reviews I read and by the samples I heard. I pulled the trigger on a kit and have not regretted it one bit. First off the quality is tier one. The overall kit balance if perfect, and I’m sure this will be the last set of drum mics I ever buy.
If you swing the price, give your drums a treat.....you won’t regret it.