Hey Dax,
Nice to see you on this forum; I'm used to your posts on the Samplitude forum.
Very interesting shootout. As someone mentioned, I would feel more related to the samples if you had placed the mics closer to the beater.
I couldn't figure what you mean by forward and reverse for the D112 (doesn't seem to make much difference - I mean they sound different but both usable).
I have done a similar shootout a couple of years ago for a French magazine, in the context of live applications.
I had the AKG D112 & D550, ATM25 & AE2500, Audix D6 & f12, Beyer M99, Opus 65 & M88, EV ND868, RE20 & RE27, Samson Q Kick, Sennheiser E602, Shure Beta 52, PG52 & Beta 91 and Superlux FK2.
All the usual suspects fared well (D112, ATM25, D6, RE20 & Beta52), but the real surprise came from the Samson Q Kick, which delevers instant gratification at 1/3 of the cost. It seems like the JTS can also deliver the goods at low cost...