Earthworks DM6 - the best new kick mic?

[@howardtay7351]

Thank you❤❤❤. This is the most natural kick mic I've heard. It's almost mix-ready!!!

[@alyxgonzales]

your shoot out videos are among the best I've seen on KZbin, I really appreciate that you actually play a groove instead of just hitting the drums on it's own like most other shoot out videos out there, really gives a much more accurate representation of what it will be like recording with the mics also, what a fantastic microphone, will definitely be picking one up!

[@nathanaeldavenport2251]

Honestly, this video sold me more on the D6 for a more "isolated," closed drum sound. The DM6 would work better for a more "open" and honest representation of a drum kit. Its off-axis response would work really well for that.

[@tomnaumann2104]

Really nice work on this comparison. Super awesome that you included the mics on floor tom also.

[@bobdrums]

Thanks for tuning in again Tom, and for the kind words!

[@TylerFoleyAudio]

One thing I can say after this shootout is that I feel the DM6 sounds the most like a finished kick on a record than any other mic on this shootout. I would have been very happy receiving that kick if I were mixing this. All it would need is a bit of a low pass and maybe some light compression. Done! Enjoyed your vid Bob

[@steverok67]

Here, It was the best or among the best in each application. For recording, I typically use a dynamic kick mic in the port hole or deeper inside the drum, and an outer mic, either a sub-kick or an LDC. Would love a single-mic solution. I'm curious if the DM6 could satisfy that wish. Somehow doubtful, but would love to give one a try sometime. Thanks for the great video.

[@bassface84]

Now Earthworks has a LEGIT kick-mic. NICE!

[@jacqueskorb879]

Tx. Nice mic. It does pickup a lot of the snare and other parts of the kit compared to the d112 and the d6.

[@peakAV]

Just off of these samples the DM6 seems boosted in the high mids and highs. The typical complaint of the Audix D6 is that it's already "over-EQed" which is ok for a quick mix but there is a loss of natural mids which may be desirable in recording. The DM6 sounds more like a Senn E901, bright & clicky, but in a traditional housing vs the flat boundary style.

[@GlitchComputer]

Not really a fan of the grill design. Looks like it was just modified to fit on the original body. Sounds good tho 🤷‍♂️

[@tomnaumann2104]

Yeah, it would look better if it was all black or all silver. I think the two-tone thing makes it look like the grill was an afterthought. Sounds great, though.

[@elliotcurrie7143]

As if they had extra baskets from the sr40v and needed to use them up.

[@GlitchComputer]

@@tomnaumann2104 ​​⁠exactly! It just shows that it wasn’t really an initial design choice. If you look at their Icon usb mic or SV33, all of them from the grill to the body looks intentional. Hopefully they at least make the grill match the body somehow.

[@amplifiedwax]

Thank you for confirming what I have found with my SR20LS on kick......It is the most gawd awful kick sound I have ever recorded. We sent it back three times after sending EW audio examples and them thinking it was broken as well. This video sounds exactly like mine. Not hating, just happy its not just me. The DM6 sounds amazing. Will be picking that up. Wish I could have waited and bought a drum pack with this for kick instead of the SR20LS. Will take suggestions stated in other comments to try on floor tom.

[@bobdrums]

Yeah I wouldn't be surprised to see a new mic pack from them replacing the current DM7. Sorry to hear about your SR20LS, always nice to know it's not just me also though!

[@elliotcurrie7143]

M88 still killer. D6 Definitely rejects the best, or just has a aggressive onboard LPF, or something to that effect. DM20 sounds great on floor Tom!

[@jamescassidy4045]

Was te Fet47 blended in on the first few examples?

[@bobdrums]

I was going to do that but in order to keep it simple it's just the kick mics solo'd with no other mics. Thanks for watching

[@jamescassidy4045]

Can I ask you guys a question. You know how that SR20LS has that weird sound going on for the Kick In examples. Like, I dunno how to describe the sound, but instead of being punchy, and solid like the other ones, it's just got this weird thing going on, almost like a flappy, boingy kinda thing going on. Any idea what's could be causing that sound? I just had a session, and both my in and out mics sounded like that, and it's been driving me nuts, because usually I mic a kick, and it just sounds like most of the other examples. I may not always love all the kick sounds Ive ever gotten, but they dont usually have that weird sound.

[@KireTheCat]

its the capsule being pushed too far most likely. too much air pressure on the capsule making it pop and clip

[@jamescassidy4045]

@@KireTheCat Yah, I hear ya. I think in this example you may not be wrong, and it's def possible it could just be overloading the capsule, but at the same time this mic (SR20) can take like 145 Max SPL. It just seems odd to me it would be, but it def could be. The reason I kinda asked was because I just did a session where I had a D112 inside, and a Fet 47 outside about 3-4" off, and both mics had a very weird, and similar sound to this. It's almost like a flappy/papery sound, and in my session both the mics had it, and 100% weren't even close to overloading, and wasn't the Pre's because it didn't matter if I gained them down a bunch or not. So, in my situation, I think it was def from the tuning, and the drum itself, but it just happens to be a similar sound. Also, Ive heard it in other peoples examples before, but in this video, theres no reason it should be the drum if all the other mics sounded fine, unless something changed for that mic hah, so just kinda being a nerd, and trying to figure out what that weird sound can be from. Another thing is, in my session I was talking about, at the very start, I thought I was actually distorting my Fet 47, but realized when I changed preamps that the preamp I was using was literally distorting, because it just couldn't handle the low end, and or signal, because it's older, and likely needs new Caps etc. Its a Focusrite Platinum Pre. When I changed pre's, it was fine, but then they still just has a weird sound very similar to the SR20 in this one. It's funny too, because even in this video, I hear something in the tuning (that sort of flappy sound) that was bugging me in my session, but just not quite as much, and certain mic's bring it out a bit more, so it could just be the way certain mics pick up a certain drum, and the SR20 just exaggerates it, but I dunno hah. Just thinking out loud. I do think your probably right though about the capsule on the SR20, and even if not clipping its just hitting it weird. With mine that day, it wasn't quite that extreme, but somewhere in the middle. Also, I think because in this video, it's the inside mics that all seem to have a bit of that flappiness to some degree, but as you hear the outside mics don't, I think on my session both heads must have been tuned to low is what I keep thinking, because the inside, and the outside mics, both sounded super flappy.

[@eyemusic2615]

Where SE V Kick???????

[@bobdrums]

Neither of us had that one but it would have been great to hear it too!