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Old 12-11-2008, 08:06 PM   #68
yep
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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There are a lot of different, interacting factors that go into the "sound" of a microphone. Perhaps more to the point, it is more common for the "sound" of a mic to change with the particulars of its application than not. In other words, how you use and where you place a mic is just as big a component of the "sound" as the mic itself.

In no particular order, some things that make one mic sound different than another in a given application are:

- Directional response-- an SM57 has a very tight cardioid pattern that is excellent at recording the stuff you point it at and rejecting everything else. This gives it a very close, focused, tight sound that happens to complement other features of the mic. It also makes it very difficult to use for vocal recordings, because every movement of the singer's head alters the sound. It furthermore lends the mic a potentially unnatural "closed-in" or "recorded" sound, which could be good or bad. A U87, on the other hand, has a very broad, big, forgiving pickup pattern, which is reflected in the sound. The U87 gives full-bodied, open, natural-sounding recordings of pretty much whatever is within its intuitive pickup radius. This makes it a very easy-to use mic for vocal recordings, but also a potentially problematic one to use for, say, close-miking a drum kit. It also makes the mic susceptible to the sound of the room. Which could be a problem in subpar recording environments. The U87 will give a full, lush, natural recording of a boxy, cheap-sounding bedroom studio if that's where you put it. Could be good or bad.

-Proximity effect. All directional mics change in dynamic and frequency response as you move closer to or further from the source. Speaking broadly, the closer to the source you get, the more the low end fills out and builds up. This can work for you or against you, and different mics can have different kinds and degrees of proximity effect. A mic with a big proximity effect can give a singer with a weak voice a big, movie-announcer, "voice of God" sound, but it could make a rich, gravelly baritone sound like the mic is in his stomach. It could make an airy alto diva sound like a throaty roadhouse karaoke girl. It can give power and throaty "chest" to screaming rock vocals, but it can also exaggerate pitchiness or vague tonality in untrained singers. With instruments, the same kinds of problems and benefits can pose similar conundrums. Moving the mic further away or closer to the source changes the proximity effect, but it also changes other aspects of the sound in ways that are inter-connected with the mic's polarity and sensitivity. Any of which may be good or bad.

- Sensitivity and dynamics response. This is intrinsically related to both of the above effects. The afore-mentioned U87 is a wonderfully sensitive mic, that picks up and highlights shimmering harmonics and "air" that can sound realer than real. They can also turn into gritty, brittle hash in the extreme highs when recorded through cheap preamps or processed with digital eq. The afore-mentioned SM57 is, on the other hand, a rugged, working-class mic, designed for military applications to deliver clear, intelligible speech. No shimmer or fainting beauties here, just articulate, punchy upper mids that cut right through noise and dense mixes. Either one could be better or worse, depending on what you're after. Sensitivity and dynamics response work differently when recording sources of differing volume. Some mics (like the SM57) tend to "flatten and fatten" when pushed hard, giving a kind of mechanical compression that can sound artificial and "recorded," although potentially in a good way, especially for stuff like explosive snare, lead guitars, or screaming indie-rock vocals. Other mics overload in rich, firey ways or simply crap out when pushed too hard. This last is particularly common among ribbon mics and cheap Chinese-capsule condensers, which sometimes sound great right up to the point where they sound outright bad. Once again, careful listening is the key.
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