Face it, we are all looking for a way to sound better.  The Kelly SHU™ is one device that will help you get there.  The Kelly SHU™ is a versatile kick drum microphone mounting system that can be used with virtually any microphone inside or outside of the drum.

WHAT IT DOES

The device was designed to isolate the kick drum mic from unwanted vibration caused by how most other mounting systems connect the mike to either the drum or the floor that the drum sits on.  What they have done is in effect suspended the mic without any hard contact to anything.  Pretty amazing.

CONSTRUCTION

Right out of the box we realized that our test unit was designed to take abuse.  Constructed from strong aluminum, the unit looked as good as it functioned.

HOW IT WORKS

The unit attaches to your drum via high strength rubber chords that you can custom make with the provided kit. Depending on the mount style (inside or outside) you cut the chords to length and attach self crimping plastic hooks on each end.  For an external mount, these hooks will attach to the unit and then to the tuning rods of the kick drum.  For an internal mount, you attach the provided leather loop material to the inside screws of the drum’s lugs.  Then you simply insert the hooks into the loops.  The mounting angles are practically limitless and there is no modification to your drum whatsoever.  Once in place, you can leave the mic and mount in the drum during transport.  A real time saver.

HOW IT FUNCTIONS

I took our test unit to one of my gigs and showed my sound man Mike Semon.  Mike has well over 20 years of live sound engineering experience and a real ear for live drum sounds.  I wanted to get his opinion on any sound nuances produced by the use of this product.  I showed up at the gig and had the unit set up with a frontal mount in less than 15 minutes.  That means I manufactured the chords with the provided kit and everything.  Keep in mind that once this is done you will only have to attach it to the drum the next time.  My thoughts were that I would not choose to pack the drum with the unit attached on a frontal mount but that is not to say it could not be done.  Certainly with an internal mount you would just unplug the mic and go. 

I normally use a May internal mic mount with an AKG D112 on my play out gigs and a small stage boom with the mic about one third of the way into the port hole on my house gig.  It was the house gig where I performed my test.  Right away I was relieved by the fact that there was no boom protruding from the front of my kit getting in the way.  I noticed as I played that the unit moved back and forth as the air rushed over the mic through the port hole.  I was concerned that this may cause an oscillation in the kick sound.  It did not- in fact it actually cut down on the slight woosh sound that you can get at times from the air that escapes from the front of the drum.  Mike told me at the end of the show that the mount gave the drum a more open sound.  We assumed this was because the mic was floating rather than being connected to the drum shell or a boom that is sitting on the stage absorbing all kinds of other vibrations not to mention the ones produced by the kick drum itself.

I dropped by Little Drummer Boy, our local drum shop, and set the SHU up on one of the kits to get some reactions.  Randy Garner, the owner, stated that he saw the Kelly SHU™ in one of the dealer trade magazines and was really impressed with the way it looked in person.  Other patrons of the shop liked the concept and the way the unit looked on the drum.

CONCLUSION

The Kelly SHU™ does everything that is promises.  I feel that this device is a better alternative to an expensive May internal system and does a better job of isolation as well.  The only thing that is missing is a way to deal with the mic cord when utilizing the internal mounting method.  We need a way to keep the cord from lying across the front port hole.

PROS

CONS

 More details can be found at

www.kellyshu.com

------- UPDATE (08-26-07) -------

Jeffery Kelly of Kelly Concepts got back to us with a solution for those who prefer the mic cord to not touch the port hole.

Keeping the mic cord away from the edges of the sound port hole:

We've done this trick... Most everyone has material left over from the system, extra hooks, support cord and interior loops. Build a support cord "bridge", with a hook on each end, about 8 inches long and attach it across the front of the drum. Hook each end to a tuning lug on opposite sides of the drum, choosing any two that will allow the attached cord to intersect the sound port location on the front of the drum. This should form the "bridge" in front of the sound port hole. You'll run your mic cable over the top of that rubber "bridge" and then into the drum to connect to the microphone. Simply run a piece of gaff tape around the mic cable and support cord where they both meet. This trick holds the microphone cable away from the edges of the sound port hole.

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