By David Darlington

Lots of modern microphones claim to be "full range" and "natural sounding" or "uncolored," but the fact is, most microphones have a particular characteristic that they impart to your recording. Actually, engineers often choose certain mics for exactly this reason. One mic may be "warmer' while another is "brighter." It isn't very often that a mic actually transmits exactly what your ears hear in a studio, but when it does, the results are quite startling. This is the experience I had recently when I fired up Earthworks new SR68 microphone. Earthworks has built its reputation on natural-sounding, full-range mics, and now by trimming a few options (like fancy packaging) they have tried to bring reality into the realm of affordability.

The SR68 comes in a plastic tubular case that is rugged enough, but hardly fancy. The body itself is slender with a brushed aluminum finish, and a fixed windscreen covers the tip of the capsule. The windscreen can be removed by unscrewing and removing the upper half of the mic body, exposing the front address capsule itself. The unit is very lightweight, and its shape makes it easy to point into tight spaces, like the ones in pianos or percussion setups.

The capsule is a hypercardioid design, which means it's very sensitive directly in front, but rejects sound from the sides and rear of the mic. Sound coming from behind the mic is almost inaudible. This makes the SR68 equally at home in the studio or on-stage, where it can be helpful in isolating the various instruments. The SR68 is capable of handling very strong input levels (up to 145dB SPL), which makes it applicable for a rock vocalist, as well as loud instruments like horns, electric guitars, or snare and kick drums. The bass response is designed to be flat at about 6", which is the normal proximity for a studio vocalist. If the singer moves in, bass increases to give more punch.

My first test of the SR68 was with a demo vocal that I had scheduled for the afternoon, and I decided to try a "shoot-out" with my usual large-diaphragm vocal mic. I was so surprised by the open-sounding clarity of the SR68 that I thought I must have been adding EQ! I was not.

The mic brought the natural vocal sound extremely close to the listener without making the breath sound raspy or the "s" sounds too hissy. I could hear all the human quality in the voice, which made the lyrics quite easy to understand. The bottom end was warm but not boomy, and extremely clear. It was reality in my face. The song at one point got fairly loud, and the SR68 would shine in a live situation.

Next it was time to try some instruments, and a sox solo was on the agenda. When I heard the SR68 through the monitors, I felt I was in the room with my soloist. I could sense that bright "ringing" of the instrument's bell and the subtle qualities of breath that make the sax so expressive. It was actually easy to add reverb to the solo, since the recorded sound had such great presence. I had the same experience with a grand piano, although it took a moment to find the sweet position for the mic. The full frequency response of the SR68 (50Hz to above 20 kHz) really became evident on an instrument like the piano. I had removed the windscreen for this recording, and the top was open and airy. The midrange was clear and well defined, and again, the bottom was strong without being too rumbly. Loud passages were no problem with just a tiny bit of compression. The SR68 capsule seemed able to handle all dynamic ranges without changing color.

On a different session, I was able to try some percussion instruments, which recorded with the same natural reality as the other instruments. Congas were especially realist and helped "glue" the track together with that natural overtone that other mics either ignore or overemphasize. The SR68 made the congas sound like, well congas. Hand percussion was a bit more difficult due to the capsule's pattern. Bass rolls off quickly after you get a few feet away, so I had to have the player directly in front of the mic. However, once we established the "sweet spot," the SR68 captured all the nuance of each instrument, and made them all very identifiable in the track. I also gave it a shot at the drum overheads, where the sticking on the cymbals translated remarkably well, and I didn't get a lot of boomy ambiance from the more distant kick and snare.

My overall impression confirms that reality is wonderful thing. When you actually hear all the subtleties that make musical instruments and human beings unique, you have the basis of a very will defined and exceptional recording. The SR68 will go a long way toward giving your home recordings the quality and uniqueness we're all striving for, with very low impact on your pocket. Get real. HR