About 10 years ago, I started exploring Earthworks’ complete microphone product line in greater detail. The live sound industry has long relied on the company’s excellent precision measurement mics, but I was only marginally acquainted with its widely acclaimed series of small diaphragm omnidirectional studio mics. And I was completely uninformed about Earthworks’ products designed the live sound market. At that time, there was an increasing word-of-mouth buzz within the live sound community regarding a new family of Earthworks products suited for live sound applications. I was especially interested in the new drum mics that received great user reviews. This marked the beginning of a relationship with Earthworks that has remained beneficial and strong for the past decade.
Love at First Listen
After initially expressing interest in the drum mic system, Earthworks’ Kim Hilton directed me to Michael Hurwitz, who was then doing artist relations and outside sales for the company. We discussed the new live sound mic line and he provided a full complement of the drum mics for evaluation with my current clients. It was love at first listen! This was the beginning of a long and fruitful association with the Earthworks family. Since that first contact, Kim Hilton has assumed the company’s artist relations duties and we have worked together closely for many years.
Since that initial positive exposure to the people from Earthworks and their outstanding products, I have specified the Earthworks Drum Periscope and SR Series mics for nearly all drum and percussion inputs on a majority of projects where I mixed FOH sound. I have also spec’d the remarkably natural-sounding Earthworks PM40 piano miking system whenever an acoustic piano is on the input list. The mics have been so successful in their various applications that several of the musicians with whom I have worked on tour have become Earthworks endorsing artists.
In the winter of 2010, we began rehearsals for the Carole King/James Taylor Troubadour Reunion Tour. Early on in the setup process, Earthworks had sent me a pair of the then-new SR40 cardioid mics to evaluate. These new pencil mics excelled as drum overheads, and on every percussion input that benefitted from the very precise and detailed broadband reproduction. We also discovered that the SR40 was also incredibly good sounding on an acoustic guitar. I selfishly held onto that pair of SR40s and parked them conspicuously above the drum kit — Overhead Stage Right and Overhead Stage Left — replacing the older model Earthworks SR30s.
A couple weeks later, I received a call from Earthworks inquiring if I felt that the SR40 had possibilities as a vocal mic. I was aware that an add-on vocal mic modification is available in the catalog for the SR20 microphone. That screw-on solution is what immediately came to mind. However, I was quickly assured that Earthworks did not want to offer another external adapter for an existing product. Their intent was to create a uniquely designed handheld vocal mic using the SR40 engine as its base. I had some concerns about the ability of a small 1/4-inch diaphragm mic to handle sound sources at very close proximity, especially vocal plosives. We had positioned the SR40s that we were using at least one foot away from any instrument. Still, I happily and confidently joined the process of testing and evaluation.
During the winter and spring of 2010, Earthworks and I exchanged several UPS deliveries as each new version of the vocal mic traversed the country. Every latest generation sounded better and better as the Earthworks team sculpted the response characteristics, adjusted the pattern control, maximized SPL handling ability and reduced handling noise. It was definitely not pretty to look at, at that point, but it sure sounded good. I was eager to try the new mic out in the real world. I must confess that in my consultation notes, I had definitely tried to steer the team doing the frequency tuning toward achieving the best and most faithful reproduction of my employer’s vocal sound.
When Troubadour Reunion played the Hollywood Bowl in April 2010, monitor engineer Rolland Ryan and I decided to give it a try before sound check at James Taylor’s vocal mic position. The modified SR40 performed beyond our expectations, and various incarnations continued to appear on Mr. Taylor’s mic stand for testing throughout that legendary tour. Toward the end of the tour, the SR40V concept prototype became the actual show microphone. The initial production prototype of the SR40V in its current physical form appeared early in 2011. At that point, the microphone finally looked as good as it sounded.
SR40V is housed in a sturdy black, attractive and completely roadworthy body. The robust internal shock mount reduces handling noise to a minimum. The blast filter and mesh windscreen assembly is extremely effective in reducing plosives. The SR40V remained the vocal mic of choice on James Taylor tours for the next five years. The two SR40V units that I always keep at the ready when we are off the road remain two of the best-sounding handheld vocal mics I have ever used.
Enter the SV33
I was naturally intrigued when I read that Earthworks had released a newly designed vocal mic intended for studio use. It was more compelling that the company had started from scratch in creating the new SV33. Making a dramatic break from the earlier 1/4-inch diaphragms, the new SV33 diaphragm measures a robust 14 mm (0.55-inch). That fact alone had me itching to hear what the Earthworks engineers had accomplished. After reading some early reviews, my curiosity got the better of me, and I put in a call to Kim Hilton at Earthworks.
Somehow, I was successful at cajoling Kim into sending me a SV33 to audition. It’s always in the back of my mind to be prepared (just in case) for a James Taylor/One Man Band Tour, version 2. One Man Band is a relatively quiet theater show with only two musicians performing on stage. Quite a bit of the show is dialog and storytelling. Only one monitor wedge can be found on the stage. Additionally, very little sound comes off the back of the Clair Global Cohesion-12 sound system that we employ on tour. The ambient sound field around the musicians is at minimal volume. Therefore, it’s possible that the One Man Band format could provide a live performance application for just this sort of high-end vocal microphone. Although the front address SV33 is larger in comparison to the bodies for most live vocal mics, it is not so large as to rule it out as candidate.
I was also interested to hear the direction the design engineers had taken with the new-from-the-ground-up SV33. I am accustomed to hearing what I believe is an identifiable “Earthworks” characteristic sound that is common to most of their products. I was anticipating the opportunity to compare the SV33 studio vocal microphone to the SR40V live vocal mic. I actually expected to hear more similarities than differences between the two products. Instead, what I heard when I first soloed the SV33 was a complete and extremely pleasant surprise. This mic is big news from New Hampshire. It’s warm — almost luxuriantly so — and beautifully tuned in the vocal range. It’s not often that one loves hearing the sound of one’s own voice through a microphone. On those rare occasions, I always take special note of the particular product being employed.
I set up the SV33 in the living room and fired up the Pro Tools rig on my laptop. I then picked up my acoustic guitar and kicked things off by playing and singing my favorite Don Williams song into the SV33. Then I sang the same song into the SR40V. The comparison yielded results that were exactly opposite to my expectations. The characteristics the two microphones truly shared were the customary Earthworks smoothly extended high frequency response, and the incredible articulation/definition that extended high-end delivers. The differences were of greater significance and become most evident from about 2 kHz on down. In this area, the SV33 sounded unique among from the Earthworks lineup of extremely transparent and open microphones. There is a powerful (but still natural) feeling of overall warmth. The low-mid strength and substance produced by the SV33 clearly demonstrates that this new addition should be welcomed as a divergent species on the Earthworks family tree.
Optimal working distance on the older SR40V extends from about one inch to a maximum around four inches from the mesh basket before the low frequency and overall level noticeably fall off. Optimal working distance has been extended further on the SV33. I found myself maintaining about a three- to four-inch gap between my lips and the microphone’s front grille. At that distance I was greatly impressed by the richness and body that remained in the captured vocal. Maintaining full range reproduction at distances as great as six to eight inches from this front address microphone is quite a feat for any directional microphone.
In a microphone that sounds so balanced from a distance of three to six inches, one might conclude that proximity effect could become a growing problem, as the distance between the sound source and the grille substantially decreases. There is some noticeable low-frequency buildup due to increased proximity. However, it is far less pronounced than I would have speculated, and only becomes minimally problematic at extremely close distances. In addition, I found the internal blast filter to be very effective in removing any extraneous pops and booms. Learning to work this forgiving, welcoming microphone was a very quick study.
The minimization of proximity effect in a cardioid mic can result in sacrificing pattern control in certain frequency areas. This does not seem to be the case with the SV33. I don’t know if I have ever encountered a cardioid microphone for vocals that maintains pattern control so precisely throughout the frequency spectrum. The polar plots Earthworks provides for the SV33 are definitely impressive. After talking all around and up and down the capsule and body, I can testify to the accuracy of the published graphs.
Equally important to me as a live sound specialist was the incredible fidelity I heard in the off-axis sound picked up by the SV33. Live sound mixing is often all about leakage management. The bonus of extremely high quality off-axis information increased my feeling of confidence as I filed away my experiences with the SV33 for use on later projects with singing acoustic guitar players. The engineering staff at Earthworks has created a product of undeniable quality. I expect appreciative listeners will applaud this new studio tool for its many successful and unique design achievements.
For more info, visit earthworksaudio.com.
Safe Travels!
