Microphone Specifications - Understanding The Technical Terms

In the music industry, audio quality is of primary importance

. If you are trying to get your big break and it just doesn't seem to be happening, it may be the quality of your demo recordings. Using the right equipment can make all the difference so knowing a little about the technical specifications and application of microphones is a logical step for aspiring musicians.

Microphones are usually grouped into three categories: Dynamic, Capacitor and Electret. Each of these microphone types offers unique advantages and drawbacks so choosing the right microphone for your needs is important.

The Dynamic Microphone

This microphone type is the most common. Durable and inexpensive, the dynamic microphone is a common choice for live performances and recordings. Unfortunately, the design of the dynamic microphone results in inhibited frequency response. In live performance and recording applications, this isn't a problem because the volume of the performance and the close proximity of the microphone to the instrument allow enough of the sound frequency to be captured. For recording instruments that produce sounds at higher frequencies, however, the dynamic microphone simply cannot reproduce these sounds faithfully.

The Capacitor Microphone

This microphones were designed to be perfect recording tools from the very beginning so they have seen very few changes over the decades since their invention. They can capture sound frequencies throughout the full range and reproduce the sound with near perfect quality. For vocal recordings, choosing a capacitor microphone with a larger diaphragm size will produce a more powerful vocal recording. The smaller diaphragm sizes produce more accurate recordings making them an excellent choice for recording musical instruments. The downsides: The capacitor microphone requires its own power source and the cost of the equipment is much higher than that of dynamic microphone models.

The Electret Microphone

Offering a compromise between the responsiveness of the capacitor microphone and the budget friendly side of the dynamic microphone, the electret microphone is quickly becoming an industry favorite. With improvements in the design, including the invention of the back electret microphone, the electret microphone is able to produce the nearly the same audio quality as a capacitor microphone for about the same price as a high end dynamic microphone.

The three microphone types are further broken down into two categories according to their recording pattern. These categories are omni directional and unidirectional. The omni directional microphone will result in true sound as it picks up the signal from multiple directions at once. Unfortunately, it may also pick up background noise or create feedback. For this reason, the unidirectional microphone is more commonly used by performers and recording studios. The pickup pattern of the unidirectional microphone is focused in a single direction, thus eliminating unwanted sounds from your recordings.

by: Ty Cohen

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