Earthworks DK50 Drumkit series, DK50R Drumkit series User Manual

Congratulations on your purchase of the Earthworks DK50/R Premium DrumKit™
System. You will be thrilled with the results you will be able to obtain using the
elements of this premium system in miking drum sets. If you have any questions, you
may contact us using the contact information on the back page of this manual.
Happy Drumming!

Items Enclosed with your New Earthworks DrumKit™ System:

DK50/R (Recording version)
2 - QTC50 Omni Condenser Microphones
1 - SR30 Cardioid Condenser Microphone
3 - LevelPads

TM

1 - KickPad

®

1 - Stainless Steel Windscreen for SR30
3 - Foam Windscreens
3 - Microphone Clips
1 - User’s Manual with DrumKitTM Brochure and Demo CD
1 - Zero/Halliburton DrumKitTM case

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Please Read This:

Use of the LevelPad™ - The QTC50 overhead microphones have a high output
level, which may overload the preamp of most mixers or consoles. To avoid over­load, please use one of the enclosed LevelPadsTM in the microphone cable feeding
each QTC50. Select either the -15dB or -30dB of attenuation for optimum results.
The third enclosed LevelPadTM can be used with the SR30 in any situation where
it’s output is too high for your mixer or console preamps. Using the LevelPadTM in
conjunction with the KickPad® with the SR30 on kick drum should not be neces­sary in most applications.

Avoid Use of Omni Mics on Kick Drum - The SR30 cardioid microphone is
designed to be used for the kick drum. DO NOT use the omni QTC50s for close
miking a kick drum. The QTC50 has extended low frequency response that goes
down to 3Hz and in certain conditions may cause overload or distortion when using
the KickPad®. There is a lot of energy (power) at subsonic frequencies. The SR30
cardioid microphone has a low frequency response down to 30Hz which will not pick
up subsonic information. We therefore recommend the use of cardioid mics on kick
drum when using the KickPad®. This not only applies to Earthworks microphones,
but applies to microphones made by other manufacturers as well. Use only cardioid

microphones for close miking kick drums when using the KickPad®.

WARRANTY
All Earthworks products carry a fifteen-year limited warranty (parts and labor). If
you have any problems with your Earthworks products, please contact our warranty/
repair department by email at: [e-mail] or by telephone at
[phone], Ext. 19.

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FIFTEEN-YEAR WARRANTY

Miking Drums

There are many ways to mic drums and it seems that most every recording or live
sound engineer has their own way of miking drums. Our objective is not to indicate
which drum miking approach is better, but to look at advantages and disadvantages
of each. Every engineer or producer uses their own methods to obtain the results
they desire and that is what matters. Let us look at some of the common practices
in miking drums.

Multi-microphone Method

The objective here is to place a separate microphone on either most or all the ele­ments of a drum set. Typically, separate mics are used on snare, toms, sock cymbal
and kick drum with one or two overhead microphones. The overhead mics pick up
the overall sound of the drums including cymbals, which are not miked separately.
With this method, the mixing engineer can control the level, and signal processing
(limiting, EQ, etc.) for each element of the drum set. This provides a great deal of
control over the entire drum set and allows bringing out certain patterns on sock
cymbal, snare, etc. Multi-miked drums may be desirable when you are recording in
a large room with high ambient sound. Close miking will reduce the amount of
unwanted room sound.

The disadvantages in this approach are interactive phasing problems often result­ing in cancellations of certain frequencies, especially when using multiple cardioid
microphones. Multi-miked drums typically have a more present and detailed sound
due to the closeness of the microphones to each element of the drum set. In con­trast, this approach looses the “air” and “openness” that one would hear in a natural
setting. As one engineer put it, “close miking drums makes the drum set sound like
a bunch of pieces instead of a drum set.”

Minimum-microphone Method

There are two old sayings: (1) more is better and (2) less is better. Each is true in
its own right, but which is right for you? In the earlier days of recording, fewer
microphones were used. When a drum set was miked, it would usually be done with
one overhead microphone and sometimes another microphone on the kick drum.
When stereo came along, a second overhead microphone was added to achieve a
stereo effect. Miking drums in this manner provides a more natural sounding set
of drums with more “air” and “openness” in the sound. It also greatly reduces the
potential for any phasing problems resulting in frequency cancellations inherent in
multi-miked drums. This approach also works best in a good-sounding room with­out overabundant ambients, reverb or reflections. This method is ideal for use in a
studio drum booth or drum room that has been specifically designed for recording
drums. Today, more and more engineers are moving toward using fewer microphones
on drums. This is especially applicable as newer technologies in microphones can
provide startling results with fewer microphones. Earthworks incorporates these new
advanced technologies in their High Definition MicrophonesTM.

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Version 2, July 7, 2011