Earthworks

The EarthWorks KickPad KP1 is an XLR kick drum unit that is for all microphones. It cost less than 99 dollars which is way under priced to me. The KickPad KP1 will allow you to turn almost any microphone into a kick drum microphone. I say almost any microphone because just trying to turn a cheap microphone into a kick drum microphone might work but the quality will not change too much. UTILIZATION The KickPad KP1 is simple to set up or use, all you have to do is just plug it in. The great thing about having the KickPad KP1 is you could be in situation where you don’t have enough kick drum microphones available, well all you have to do is pull this baby out and hook it up with a microphone and that is it; you will have a kick drum mic. SOUND QUALITY The KickPad KP1 works with almost all dynamic, ribbon, and condenser microphones but depending on how good the microphone is will still dictate how good the kick will sound. OVERALL OPINION When it comes to kick drum sounds it will always depend on the microphone and the microphone placement in correlation to the surrounding environment. So even the KickPad KP1 might not give you the perfect sound right out of the gate and you might have to do some experimenting with placement but it will not hurt to have this at all. Using the KickPad KP1 will give you ( with proper placement) a great thick kick drum sound with enough punch to slice right through your mix and if you are playing live with it, it could be just what you need to bring that kick out in front of all of the other sounds that may be going on. For the price that this cost it is a must have, I have seen similar devices cost almost double.

The Earthworks QTC1 (aka QTC 40) is a small diaphragm condenser microphone that is designed for use in the recording studio. It is a high definition microphone and it picks up frequencies between 4 Hz and 40 KHz, which is a huge difference when compared to normal microphones. The mic has an omnidirectional polar pick up pattern and comes in a case along with a sturdy clip to fit the size of the mic. OVERALL OPINION I first used the Earthworks QTC1 about a year ago and was immediately impressed with the wealth of detail that was present in the sound. While this microphone will pick up frequencies outside of the range of human hearing, the fact that it picks up these frequencies will give your sound more clarity and detail because even the frequencies outside this range affect the frequencies that can be heard by humans. Although I don't think having a high definition microphone like this is necessary to get a detailed sound, this microphone definitely has a unique sound because of this HD quality. This is definitely an interesting concept made by Earthworks and is really the reason that they have made a name for themselves. The QTC1 is overall a great microphone for a variety of applications and is perfect for any situation that you would be looking for clarity and extreme detail like acoustic piano and guitar and other acoustic stringed instruments like violin, cello, and mandolin as well as for vocals, although they are probably best suited for female vocals. The price of the Earthworks QTC1 is expensive and is really designed for professional studio owners and engineers who are looking for great quality regardless of what they have to pay for it. All in all, the Earthworks QTC1 is a really interesting microphone and is one that really sounds great!

The EarthWorks SR40V is a handheld hypercardioid condenser microphone that comes with a heavy price tag for it to be a hand held microphone. But when it comes to doing live performances you need to have a microphone that can handle your environment and still project your voice cleanly. The SR40V is one of the best microphones for that job; I always recommend this microphone to live musicians. This is the ultimate microphone that every musician needs to have in his or her rig. OVERALL OPINION It has a hypercardioid polar pattern and a frequency response of 30 Hz to 40 kHz. It feels very good in your hands and it is light. It is designed for long use, with the sleek all black design it fits right into any live set up that you can possibly due. I have used a lot of different live microphones, some good and some bad. But the SR40V is one of the best ones that I have every used. The price tag had me scared from the start, I was worried about my bands budget and didn’t know if we should really spend 1000 dollars on this live microphone but we were in need of a live lead microphone. So we decided to just go ahead and get it and man I am glad we did. I have not owned a better sounding live microphone in all of my years making music. So the value for the price is spot on, it could even cost more and I would still go out and purchase it. We do plan on purchasing more of these microphones within the next year or so because we want to replace all of our live microphones with the SR40V. Knowing what I know now, we should have got this microphone when it first came out, even if it broke our budget.

The Earthworks Z30X is a small diaphragm condenser microphone that is to be used for studio applications only. I'm not sure that they make this microphone any longer, but they do have a few newer microphones which are pretty similar. The Z30X in particular has a cardioid pick up pattern and frequency response ranging from 30 Hz to 30 kHz, and I believe that this was one of the first microphones to extend to 30 kHz. OVERALL OPINION The Earthworks Z30X's are overall very impressive microphones. They have a pristine sound to them that isn't often found in your typical small diaphragm condenser microphones. I don't own an Earthworks Z30X myself, but I've used a set of them recently in a studio where I did a week long session. It's a studio that I don't normally work at, although I'd also used these microphones before in another studio. The application that I've used them for primarily is for capturing an acoustic piano. I used a set of these and placed them on opposite ends of the inside of a grand piano, and the result was truly stellar. You could hear all of the details of the piano as well as the other feel of the player. The only downfall of using a small diaphragm condenser on a grand piano in general is that since the capsules are pretty small you can either direct them to one place specifically, or bring them back a bit and give them some space, which is what I did. I've also used the Z30X's as drum overheads, but I think I like the latter application of the piano better in general. Don't get me wrong, they do pick up a great deal of clarity in most situations, but for whatever reason I wasn't the biggest fan of them on drum overheads. However, for other acoustic instrument applications they are terrific. The Earthworks Z30X's would make a great a great addition to any studio!

The Earthworks SR69 is a small diaphragm condenser microphone that I've recently used in the recording studio. The mic has a cardioid polar pick up pattern and is actually supposed to pick up frequencies higher than 20 Hz. The SR69 is also the same exact microphone as the Earthworks SR20, although I'm not sure why there were two different models of the same microphone. I would only recommend using this microphone in the studio rather than for live sound purposes. OVERALL OPINION While I'm not sure that the Earthworks SR69 is in the 'high definition' category of microphone that Earthworks has to offer, but it's still a great microphone regardless of what it's labeled. I've used the SR69 only for one application thus far, which is for recording the hi hat on a full drum kit. I placed it about two or three inches away from the hat, facing it away from the snare and the rest of the kit as much as possible. The result was a crisp and clear hi hat sound that cut through the mix very well. I've yet to have the chance to use it for any other purpose as I don't own it and used in a studio that I've done some freelance work at rather than the one that I work at consistently. I'm hoping that I'll be back in the room soon as I'd love to try the SR69 on acoustic guitar and other acoustic instruments to get a better feel of what it's range is as a condenser microphone. It's hard for me to say what kind of context I'd recommend having the microphone in, but for the price it's definitely a nice option to have around and is affordable for larger home studio owners and is of a good enough quality to be seen in pro studios. The SR69/SR20 is definitely a microphone you'll want to check out if you're interested in Earthworks mics or small diaphragm mics in general.

The Earthworks SR78 is a high definition condenser microphone. It will pick up frequencies between 30 Hz and 30 KHz, which goes a lot higher than most condenser microphones out there, which usually go to 20 KHz at the most. The mic has a hyper cardioid polar pick up pattern, so it is suited best for being pointed directly at your source. This really makes the SR78 perfect for getting an up close signal without getting other unwanted room sounds in the mix. The mic is definitely best suited for use in the recording studio, but I can see it being used for live recording as well without a doubt. OVERALL OPINION Earthworks is really one of the only companies out there today putting out high definition microphones, and while these upper frequencies that the Earthworks SR78 picks up are out of human hearing, these frequencies affect the frequencies that we can hear. The bottom line is that the SR78 has a great sound, regardless of it is a high def mic or not. It is great for recording applications of all types, but is best for recording acoustic instruments in my opinion. I absolutely loved the sound that I got from it when I recorded acoustic guitar with it, as it was the perfect amount of clarity, fullness, and silky smooth high end response. I also tried it out to record some mandolin parts, and found the same type of results. These are the only applications I've had a chance to use the SR78 thus far, but I'm very eager to use a pair of these as drum overheads, as I really think this type of sound would be perfect for this type of recording. While the SR78 isn't the cheapest microphone out there, it definitely isn't the most expensive, and is actually a pretty good deal in my opinion. Most people looking at the Earthworks SR78 will be professionals, but I can see this being used a go to mic for recording acoustic signals in a home studio as well. Highly recommended for professional studio owners and engineers looking for a great small diaphragm condenser.

The Earthworks TC30 is a uniquely designed condenser microphone that has an omni polar pick up pattern. This is not only a unique microphone in terms of look and shape, but unique in that it will pick up signals up to 30 KHz and as low as 9 Hz. Most microphones will pick up sound between 20 Hz and 20 KHz because that is the range of human hearing, but the Earthworks TC30 is kind of a high definition microphones because of the wide range of frequencies that it picks up. The slender look of the Earthworks TC 30 is extremely unique and it makes it possible to really 'zoom in' on the sweet spots of certain instruments. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Earthworks TC30 condenser mic and I have found it to be a great all purpose mic. This microphone is great for applications of all kinds, but I mostly use it to recording acoustic guitar, acoustic piano, and other acoustic stringed instruments like violin, mandolin, banjo, and cello. I find that since the frequency response on this microphone is so wide, it really picks up all the subtle sounds from these instruments. Everything comes in crisp and clean, and they also are great for picking up drum overheads. The price of these microphones isn't cheap, but if you are a professional looking for an all around great condenser microphone like this, it is probably worth the price. Earthworks has a unique line of microphones, and the Earthworks TC30 is one of their most popular models. I find myself using these microphones a good deal when I want to pick up the most subtle sounds in acoustic instruments. While the price may make it a bit hard for the home studio owner to get, for professionals the Earthworks TC30 is truly a great all purpose condenser mic.