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User:11090/Microphone Technique (view source)
Revision as of 21:36, 25 March 2020
, 21:36, 25 March 2020no edit summary
* Less sensitive to physical handling
* Less sensitive to physical handling
====Disadvantages=====
====Disadvantages====
* Non-uniform frequency response
* Non-uniform frequency response
* Struggles with far away sounds
* Struggles with far away sounds
===Condenser Microphones===
===Condenser Microphones===
Condenser microphones work through two thin metallic plates with a potential difference between them forming a capacitor, one of these plates acts as a diaphragm to vibrate in sympathy with sound waves like the human ear drum. As the diaphragm vibrates it changes the distance between itself and the other plate, thus creating a current which is a representation of the original sound.
====Advantages====
====Advantages====
* Generally more accurate representation of original sound
* Cover larger frequency range
* Can pick up sounds from further away, including groups of people
====Disadvantages====
====Disadvantages====
* Picks up large amounts of background noise, even noise that you can't hear, such as low frequency rumblings through walls.
* Receptive to handling noise, if you grab or knock your microphone while using it, it will be very loud and noticeable.
* Require phantom power in order to operate, the microphone can be damaged if this is not done properly.
===Ribbon Microphones===
===Ribbon Microphones===
Ribbon Microphones were some of the earliest microphones used in a broadcasting context. They are quite rare to see these days outside of specialist music studios and orchestral concert recordings, but they are still produced, and can be found in a number of applications if you're into this sort of stuff.
====Advantages====
====Advantages====
* They can produce a very nice coloured sound, reminiscent of the golden days of radio... if you're into that...
* They have a figure 8 pickup pattern with excellent noise rejection to the sides, this means they make a very good stereo microphone when used in pairs. This is useful to know exactly non of the time to you, but is very important for things like concert orchestra recordings.
====Disadvantages====
====Disadvantages====
* They break *very* easily, like you don't even need to drop them, just give them a hard knock.
* They're usually very expensive, and if they're not, they're usually very crap.
==Pickup Patterns==
==Pickup Patterns==
Microphones are in general directional. This is important to bear in mind while using them. You will always want the zone of the microphone that picks up the most noise directed towards the source of the sound that you want to record, (in this case, your voice). This is very important to bear in mind when you are doing your shows, you don't need to rigidly sit in the exact same spot but if your microphone is designed to only pick up things directly in front of it it is very easy to slowly drift out of this cone without noticing, especially when you are in the middle of a long link. One good tactic to deal with directional microphones in a home environment is either to keep a chair in a fixed position that you have already checked for good pickup, or if you are especially excitable, to keep your no-dominant hand on a desk in front of the microphone throughout the broadcast. If you practice doing this for a while you will get used to constraining your movement to within a certain cone where the microphone is at the right angle and distance to yourself.
<gallery widths="100px" heights="100px">
<gallery widths="100px" heights="100px">
Image:Polar pattern omnidirectional.svg|<center>Omnidirectional</center>
Image:Polar pattern omnidirectional.svg|<center>Omnidirectional</center>