We tip our hi hats to this mic … seriously if you haven’t used this mic on your hi hat we suggest you give it a shot. The AKG C451 B is a small diaphragm condenser made for this purpose. Its frequency range is full spectrum (20 Hz – 20 kHz) but it’s response is tailored for hi hats, drum overheads, audience mics, acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments. It’s not built to handle the SPL’s of snares but because it needs to be pretty close when mic’ing a hi hat a pad switch can make the 451 handle SPL’s up to 155 dB.