If you’re looking to upgrade the quality of your drum microphones, look no further than Earthworks Audio. They’re one of the most loved brands by professional drummers, and you’ll see Earthworks mics being used in professional settings all over the world.
For this review, we’re going to focus on the Earthworks DM20 Small-Diaphragm mic. You can buy these one-by-one to slowly upgrade your mic setup, and we’re going to see just how much of a difference that will make.
The Earthworks DM20 is a condenser microphone with a small-diaphragm design.
It has a gooseneck so that you can easily position the mic in multiple ways, and this package comes with a drum rim clip when you buy it. So, this mic is meant to be used on snare drums and toms.
It also comes with a windscreen and bag to keep it in.
In terms of internal features, it has a 50Hz to 20kHZ frequency response, and the max sound pressure level is 150dB.
The quality you get from the DM20 is the main thing that everyone looks forward to when they buy this mic. The best thing about it is that you get an extremely accurate recording that is true to the room that you’re playing in.
The overall tones are very clean and clear with a lot of punch, and you’d be surprised at how powerful this mic is compared to standard dynamic ones.
You can also EQ very well with a few of these.
The construction quality is top-notch. Typically, microphones with goosenecks can be a bit temperamental, but we’ve never heard of anyone having any issues with the gooseneck on a DM20 mic.
The gooseneck design allows you to position the mic in the most flexible ways, making it fantastic for getting that perfect tom or snare sound.
The silver casing also looks sleek and professional, and we love how it contrasts with the rims on a drum kit.
You’ll find that this DM20 has a lot more bleed than dynamic mics that you’d typically use on snares and toms. However, the bleed from the cymbals isn’t very intrusive, and it actually adds an overall wholeness to your drum mix.
You just need to place the mic in a way that stops as much bleed as possible. Positioning is everything and having the mic pick up more cymbal sounds than it should will make it hard to work within a mix.
The price is the biggest drawback of the Earthworks DM20 microphone. It’s about three times more expensive than other industry-standard options for snare drums and toms.
However, you can get a much richer recording with this one, so it’s well worth spending the extra money. You’ll also use it for decades to come, so the investment will pay off quite quickly.
Most Earthworks microphones offer seriously natural sounds, and drummers love to have their kit’s tones accurately reflected in mixes and recordings.
Earthworks mics are also popular due to most famous drumming YouTubers using them on their kits. When people see that they’re using them, they end up wanting them for themselves.
You’d typically use dynamic microphones for snares and toms, as they have higher sound pressure levels and they reject bleed better.
However, you can get some very rich drum recordings when using condensers. They’re good for this purpose, but you need to make sure that they’re positioned in the best way to reject bleed from your cymbals.
Once you buy one Earthworks DM20 mic, you’ll find yourself wanting to buy more to place on the rest of your kit. This microphone is so good at helping you achieve premium drum recordings, and it has one of the most solid gooseneck designs that we’ve seen.
You’ll need to get past the high price tag, though. If you’re not willing to spend so much on a single mic, there are plenty of other good options out there.
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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