RECORDING May 2024 - 48

REVIEW
Earthworks DM6
A surprising percussively tailored
kick drum mic from the
kings of clarity
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.
W
hile Earthworks is no stranger to drum recording, as we saw
when David Blascoe revisited the percussively focused DK7
Drum Mic Kit in our February 2024 issue, if I am honest, I had
never previously put the words kick drum mic and Earthworks together in
the same sentence...until now. Introducing the Earthworks DM6.
Sound and Use
Breaks with Tradition
Earthworks conjures up thoughts of
boutique-level, ultra-thin stainless steel
mics that capture a source with crystalline
precision without adding their own sound.
However, in the past few years,
Earthworks has started offering mics that
are more tailored, as seen with the
vocal-focused ETHOS, ICON and ICON
PRO podcast and broadcasting microphones,
and the SR314 and SR117
handheld vocal mics. Many of these (except
for the SR314) fall at or well below
the $400 price point.
The other thing that each of these
mics has in common, most notably the
ETHOS and ICON models, is that they
boast an entirely new look. They have
larger stainless steel bodies fixed upon
Triad-Orbit-designed ball and socket
mounts and large windscreens.
Get Seismic
All of the above segues perfectly into
the new Earthworks DM6. It looks like
the offspring of the ETHOS with a smaller
4.97 " x 1.93 " stainless steel body
married to the matte black " handheld "
windscreen of the SR117.
It uses the Triad-Orbit-designed M2-R
Ball Mount, which is perfect for positioning
the mic in and around a kick drum. It also
comes with a large nylon storage pouch.
Behind its windscreen, you will find one
of the company's 10mm mic capsules with
48 RECORDING May 2024
a tight supercardioid pattern. Between the
mic and windscreen is the same secondary
inner mesh screen as found in the
SR117. Like all Earthworks mics, the 1.25
lbs body is impeccably built with a beautiful
fit and finish.
Lines and Curves
If I were to describe the sonic signature
and frequency plots of most Earthworks
fare, it would be with words like flat and
neutral. As such, the new DM6 is the single
most tailored microphone the company
has ever designed. The DM6 has a bold
8-9dB peak in the bass range that starts
at 20 Hz and rolls slowly down to zero at
about 110 Hz. From there, it dips just as significantly
to -8dB centered at about 250 Hz
(approximately where I typically carve out
frequencies on a kick drum or floor toms).
Then, the mic starts to ramp up its energy
again, moving slowly and widely to about
+5dB from 1 kHz to 10 kHz. It spikes up
quickly, around 11 kHz before rolling off.
Earthworks notes that those readings
are representative of the mic just inside the
sound hole. Not to get ahead of myself, but
out of the three typical kick drum positions,
the DM6 sounds the best in that position.
While not as sensitive as many modern
condenser mics, the DM6 is made to
handle extremely loud sources like a kick
drum. On spoken word, it leaves a bit to
be desired, which is fine as the company
has multiple other offerings for that task.
I tried the DM6 on a well-dampened
modern 22 " Pearl in the sound hole (as
recommended) and on a 1966 20 "
Slingerland Kick, both fully open and
tightly muffled. On the Slingerland, I tried
the DM6 in the sound hole, on the beater
head and outside the kick, both on its
own and alongside an Audix D6, a Shure
BETA 52 and a FET47-style condenser.
Let me start by saying that in the past,
I often found the Earthworks SR20LS (the
company's other, more neutral kick mic)
to be a bit uninspiring on a kick drum. It
just captured a bit too much sound and required
too much post-EQ for my taste. As
such, I was a tad " intrepid " when going
into this review. Those feelings were quickly
dispersed as I was met with a kick drum
sound that-starting with the Pearl kick in
a live setting-had no problem kicking the
system subwoofers into action.
The 200-400 Hz dip does well to
disperse the low mud in the kick, and the
high tailoring helped to add just enough
beater definition. Essentially, I was able
to compress (a bit of DBX-style tickling)
and further EQ the mic similar to many
of my favorite dynamic kick mics. The
Frequency Response: ... 20 Hz-20 kHz
1kHz Sensitivity: -60 dBV/Pa (1mV/Pa)
Minimum Load Impedance: .....1kΩ
Self-Noise: ................... 20dB SPL-A
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