Earthworks have been one of the leading microphone brands for a good while now. Over the past decade or so, many drummers have switched to their products and never looked back. Because of this, you can see Earthworks microphones being used in all kinds of drum recordings and live gigs.
One of the most popular options for toms is the Earthworks DM20 microphone. These mics reproduce excellent tom sounds, and they’re often used for snare drums as well.
In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the DM20 mic and explore everything it has to offer.
The DM20 is a favorite of many thanks to its key features. One of the defining aspects of it is the gooseneck. It has a stable gooseneck mount that allows you to position the mic in any possible way near the surface of any drum.
You get a cardioid polar pattern with the DM20. The mic has a fast impulse response, further adding to the clean sounds that it produces.
The frequency response is between 50Hz and 20kHz, which is a fairly good range for a drum mic.
Not much can match the quality of an Earthworks microphone. Out of all the available mics on the market, the DM20 mics are considered top-of-the-range. Because of this, you get a microphone that produces some of the best sound quality you can get.
The hardware quality is excellent as well, ensuring that the mic is durable and unmovable when attached to a drum.
The overall tone quality that you get is deep and rich. It’s perfect for drummers who love resonant tom sounds. If you want a tight vintage tom sound, it may be a bit more difficult to achieve that with the DM20.
The most impressive construction aspect of the DM20 is the gooseneck. Goosenecks are often a hit-or-miss design feature. They add plenty of movement, but it often comes with a loss of stability.
Somehow, Earthworks has provided a gooseneck mount that feels unbreakable. You can place the mic in any possible position and it won’t feel like it can move at all.
The mic is also quite durable, so it can survive a few stray stick hits. We wouldn’t suggest testing that too far, though.
One of the things we love most about the DM20 mic is that it reproduces the exact sound that comes from your drums. That can be both a good and bad thing. Sometimes, mics will make your drums sound better, allowing you to achieve pro sounds with a cheap kit.
The DM20 will make your drums sound exactly as they are. So, make sure to tune your drums as best you can when using the Earthworks DM20s. If you have a kit that you love the sound of, these mics are the perfect option.
You may get a bit of shock when you see the price of a single Earthworks DM20 microphone. Unfortunately, Earthworks mics don’t come cheap. However, they’re some of the most professional mics out there, and the quality you get from them will be easily noticed.
If you have a small budget, you could find some better deals on drum mics. If budget isn’t a problem, then we suggest you get a set of these for your kit. You can pair them with the Earthworks SR25 overhead mics to get the ultimate drum sound.
Earthworks are some of the best microphones that you can get on the audio market. The brand is known for making luxury microphones that are mostly used in professional settings.
If you’re a beginner drummer who wants a few mics to make drum videos, you should consider getting mics from a cheaper brand. Since Earthworks mics are expensive, you may not realize the value they bring just yet, and cheaper mics would be more suitable.
All Earthworks microphones are made in Milford, New Hampshire, which is in the United States. Being a purely US brand explains why the mics are expensive. Most musical instrument companies that run from the US are more expensive than companies run from other countries.
A good example of this in the drumming world would be the DW brand. Both DW drums and Earthworks microphones are made in the US, and both are expensive.
The industry-standard snare drum microphone is the Shure SM57. It’s one of the most-recorded drum microphones, and it’s a known and trusted option to use. If you’re ever unsure of what to use on your snare, you could always choose that.
However, the Earthworks DM20 mic is a higher-quality option than the SM57. So, we’d suggest using one of those on your snare drum if you’re able to.
The Earthworks DM20 mics are incredibly ideal for recording drums in the studio. As they produce such natural sounds from the drums, they’re great for drummers who want the true sound of their kit to come through in the mix.
They’re not the best mics to use if you’re going for a vintage sound, though. This is especially true when using them on toms. They produce a more resonant sound.
The Earthworks mics are just as good for live gigs as they are for recording settings. If you use these on your toms and snare at a live gig, you’re guaranteed to get an amazing tone coming through.
Overall, the Earthworks DM20 is an amazing microphone to get if you can afford it. It works best as a tom mic, so you’d need to get a few of them for all your toms.
If the price tag is too high, there are some other more affordable options out there. Don’t let high price tags stop you from getting drum mics!
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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