If you’ve been watching drummers on social media for a while, you may have noticed some of the top guys using fancy silver microphones around their kits. These mics are from a company called Earthworks.
Earthworks make some of the best microphones on the planet at the moment, and the SR25 is undoubtedly one of those. In this review, we’re going to break down everything that makes this mic so good and help you decide if it’s the next mic you should add to your locker.
The mic is a small-diaphragm cardioid condenser and it has a cardioid polar pattern. This basically means it can pick up a large range of sounds around it, making it an ideal mic to use as an overhead drum mic.
It has a thin and sleek body with an unassuming small head. Although it’s thin and small, it’s very powerful. So, it’s a bit like the sports car of overhead microphones.
Its response is flat and it can handle fairly high sound pressure levels. It has an incredibly clean sound, and it makes it quite easy to get the exact sounds that you’re looking for.
Earthworks exclusively sell high-quality microphones. That’s the reason you can’t buy a mic from the brand that is less than $300. So, you can expect excellent quality from the SR25.
The best thing about the mic is that the flat frequency response allows you to get the exact sound that you hear in the room. Not all mics can do that as easily as this one can.
The flat response also makes it relatively easy to mix your drums. You can hear every detail of the kit and adjust your settings accordingly.
The slender body of the mic is one of our favorite things about it. It’s amazing how Earthworks has managed to fit so much quality into such a small body. The body gets even narrower towards the head, and the thin pickup area is the classic characteristic of the SR25.
If you pick this mic up, you’ll feel that it has a good amount of weight to it, and you’ll realize how it’s built to last. If you accidentally hit it with a stick, no damage will be done as the shell of the mic is incredibly solid. Just don’t test that too much, though!
The biggest thing that separates the SR25 from many other mics is the amount of detail that it captures. Even if you run a 2 mic setup with the SR25 as the overhead and another mic as the kick mic, you’ll easily hear all the subtle things played around the kit. Those ghost notes will be clearly heard.
The mic has an excellent transient response and a very full frequency range. All these factors give you an excellent drum sound, whether you’re playing live or recording in the studio. The top-quality performance is one of the many reasons this mic is more expensive than others.
Earthworks microphones have a reputation for being expensive, and the SR25 is no different with its price tag being north of $600. That’s a hefty amount of money to pay for one microphone.
If you want a classic dual setup with overheads, you’d need to buy two of these mics, making the purchase over $1200.
The relieving factor is that these mics are more than good enough to prevent you from needing close mics on all the drums.
So, the price-to-value ratio is relatively decent, but the SR25 is undoubtedly an expensive luxury mic. It will be too expensive for many drummers’ budgets.
Including a couple of Earthworks DM20 will leave you with a great mic kit.
The Earthworks SR25 thrives in studio environments. It’s the perfect option as an overhead microphone thanks to the fact that it captures such immaculate detail. It also works excellently as a hi-hat microphone.
When recording drums in the studio, you want to have the best tools to use that make mixing and EQing easy, and the Earthworks SR25 is one of those tools.
However, it’s also ideal to have a fully mic’d kit in the studio that includes two overheads and close mics on all the drums. If you want to go all out with Earthworks mics, you’ll be spending a small fortune! But it will be well worth it after you hear how high-quality your recordings will be.
Earthworks sell a full mic pack called the DK7 Drum Kit System which we reviewed here. It’s also quite expensive, so be prepared for that. You get two SR25 mics in it, though!
The SR25 works relatively well for live gigging as well. However, many nuances of your drum sound go missed when playing live gigs. It’s the nature of the environment. So, it may be more preferable to use a cheaper mic for live gigging in case it gets damaged.
The SR25 is such an expensive mic that it might be better utilized as a high-quality studio mic. This is only true for amateur gigs, though. If you’re playing drums in arenas or for high-profile corporate gigs, you should use the best mics possible, and the SR25 could be one of those.
Microphones take a while to get a grip on. If you’re not experienced with mixing and EQing drum sounds, you may not hear the difference between the Earthworks SR25 and a cheaper mic. If that’s the case, we’d suggest you don’t spend so much money on one overhead microphone.
However, if you’re an experienced studio drummer, this is undoubtedly a mic that you should add to your collection. It oozes quality in everything that it does. The high price tag will pay itself back over all the years of use that you will get out of the mic.
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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