Earthworks: the New Science in Microphones
David Blackmer, the brilliant engineer who invented the technologies of dbx, is
also the inventor and founder of Earthworks. In the last few years of his life, David
developed a number of revolutionary technologies that dramatically improve the
quality and performance of microphones. In short, Earthworks High Definition
Microphones™ will pick up sounds and details that other microphones cannot.
These dramatic microphone improvements are in the areas of impulse response,
diaphragm settling time and new polar pattern technologies. Those who have heard
the Earthworks High Definition Microphones™, say that they hear more attack,
more subtle detail and a more pristine quality in the sound than with any other
microphones. The demo CD for the Earthworks DK25 Series DrumKit™ Systems
should capture your interest in this respect. This CD is included with this manual.
We suggest that you take the time to listen to it. While developing our new 25kHz
Series of High Definition Microphones™ for percussion, we went into the studio to
try them out. We only used two mics for overheads and one for kick drum. When
we heard this, it absolutely blew us away. Then we made a comparative record
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ing of the same drum set using seven other mics that are some of the industry
favorites for miking drums. In comparing these two recordings, the difference in
detail and sound quality of the three Earthworks High Definition Microphones™
vs. the seven industry favorites was staggering. The Earthworks High Definition
Microphones™ captured every nuance of sound from each piece of the drum set
with such an exceptional clarity and cohesiveness, that it sounded like a live set
of drums, not a bunch of pieces. This discovery led to the development of the in
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novative Earthworks DrumKitTM System, providing a “dramatic improvement” in
the sound quality of miked drums.
X/Y Stereo Overhead Miking
While in the studio auditioning our new 25kHz High Definition Microphones™, we
recorded in two acoustic environments: a drum room and an open studio (larger
room). When recording drums in the drum room, we mostly used the X/Y approach
to miking which is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Overhead miking with HORIZONTAL X/Y positioning
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In Figure 1 the microphones are positioned about two feet above the drum
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mer’s head. This placement will provide excellent results in a drum room or
an acoustically treated small room. If you do not have a drum booth or are in
a larger room, you can also use another variation of the X/Y pattern by facing
the microphones straight down (see Figure 2). In this case the microphones
should be one or two feet above the drummers head and about one foot in
front of the drummers face, looking down.
Figure 2. Overhead miking with VERTICAL X/Y positioning
Closer Overhead Miking
There is a closer miking approach that we also used in our sessions. This method
would be ideal for those who do not have a drum room or drum booth. Closer
miking will reduce some of the ambient room sound while picking up subtle
details of the drum set. This method is shown in Figures 3 and 4. In Figure 3,
you can see the positioning of the microphones from a front view and Figure
4 shows where the microphones are pointed. This was the miking technique
utilized on tracks 27 and 28 of the Earthworks DK25 Series DrumKit System
Demo CD. All other recordings of the drum set on the DrumKit Demo CD were
done using the horizontal X/Y positioning shown in Figure 1.
