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Recording Equipment

This article, Microphone Basics - Part 1, discusses some common microphone designs, their characteristics, and some advantages and disadvantages of each. Recording engineers can gain a significant improvement in their results, through a solid understanding of the principles surrounding microphone selection criteria, and microphone placement, relative to a sound source, when they possess a firm knowledge of the design of each type of mic, and intended applications for them.

Microphone Basics - Part 1

We have a huge array of cool electronic tools available, with which to attack any practical audio problem with gusto, and a selection of theoretical mathematical tools which can help us to calculate and perform the coolest tricks with all these electronic toys we love so much. Unfortunately, most home recordists, and some working professional engineers, don’t know half of what they could, regarding the most arcane applications of their gear (or even the more common ones), and this means that their recordings are only about half as professional as they could be, plus, these folks aren’t getting the mileage out of their investments in equipment, like they otherwise might. Two of the novice's most overlooked points in recording, are microphone selection and placement, which are, simply, the two most important factors in the results obtained in any kind of microphone-based recording, outside of the actual sound and skill of the performance itself.

Microphones can have several different, but identifiable characteristics, such as their directionality of pickup, for example, and also, any given mic will fall into one of a few possible groups, based on the individual mic's principle of operation. Let’s have a look at some common microphone types, and at some of the more interesting and useful applications of these microphone types, by way of examining their various available polar patterns, and some of the techniques which, when combined with a knowledge of these patterns, can significantly aid in the making of a recording, especially if the microphones are used in pairs.

First off, let's talk about microphone types. The most common type, by far, is what is known as a dynamic microphone. Dynamic mics are totally passive devices, meaning that they use no outside power to operate, but simply use an electromechanical transducer known as the capsule to generate a tiny electrical current from the sound waves moving the capsule membrane. Dynamic mics tend to be rather more resiliant in the face of very loud sources, and are, as you might guess from this, generally a great deal less sensitive than their most common design counterpart, the condenser microphone. Condenser mics are often sub-grouped by the size of their capsule, or diaphragm, as either SDC, or small-diaphragm condenser, or LDC, meaning large-diaphragm condenser microphones. All condenser mics require a power source to operate, i.e., battery power in the mic, or DC phantom power appled to the mic through the mic cable. The only exception to this is a variant on the condenser theme, called an ECM, or Electret Condenser Microphone, whose permanently-polarised capsule works much as a condenser's does, but itself requires no outside power source, though condenser mics all use internal electronics to collect and output the capsule's signal. Condenser mics offer generally better frequency response and sonic detail than their dynamic counterparts, but correspondingly, they are more subject to acoustic leakage, in many situations, and also, they are much easier to overload with a loud sound source.

The ribbon mic is yet another fairly common microphone design, very old in its origins, and a uniquely mellow and warm sounding transducer. In spite of their terrific sound, ribbon mics have two major shortcomings to watch for – first, they are usually very low-output, and somewhat noisier than most condensers, making them less than ideal for quiet sources, and secondly, they are extremely delicate, being subject to permanent damage from audio overload, mechanical shock and even phantom power being applied to a ribbon mic which is not specifically designed to use it.

Other unusual mics include PZMs and piezo transducers. PZMs use the pressure zone, right next to a reflective surface, such as a wall, to increase their sensitivity, and piezos use direct contact with a surface, such as a guitar top, to capture the sound energy passing through it.

A microphones’ polar pattern is the pattern of relative pick-up level for sounds coming to the mic from different positions around it. In other words, it determines whether a mic will pick up sounds only from one direction, which is usually in front of the mic, or maybe from two opposite directions, or, perhaps, even, from any direction. The most common polar patterns are cardioid, or heart-shaped, meaning that the pickup is strong in front of the mic, but is considerably reduced at the rear of the mic, omnidirectional, or just, omni, meaning that sound will be picked up coming from any direction, and a third, and rather interesting polar pattern, bipolar, or bidirectional, which we will cover momentarily.

Go to Part 2 of this article.

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Gefell Large Diaphragm Condenser Mics

Gefell UMT70S

UMT70S Multi-pattern FET

Large diaphragm studio condenser. Features original M7 capsule, 3 selectable patterns, -10dB pad and bass roll-off switch. Transformerless output stage. Phantom powered, comes with deluxe wood case. Satin nickel finish.

Contact Rock Shop Pro Audio for information and pricing on the UMT70S and Gefell products.

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Recording equipment, recording consoles, mixing consoles, acoustics and systems design from...

Audient, D&R, ATC, Magix, Eventide, Gefell, Earthworks, Bryston, JBL, Lexicon and more