| There
are many microphones to choose from and a wide range of prices.
While it's true with microphones that price generally reflects
quality, in recent years, many mics have become available
that are both moderately priced and capable performers for
many applications. Many of these modestly priced models copy
the basic structures of microphones costing many times more.
How will you use it?
The most important thing is to choose a microphone
that is appropriate for the use you plan. Is it to be used
onstage for vocals or to mic an instrument? Is to be used
for recording? Or perhaps you want a microphone that can do
both. There are numerous mics that are used for both live
sound and in the studio. The Shure SM57, for example, is both
a stage and studio staple.
You should match the mic to the environment
it is to be used in and the gear it will be used with. It
doesn't make much sense to spend thousands on a Neumann studio
mic if you plan to use it for home recording in a room where
the acoustics are less than perfect. In this case, a less
sensitive and more affordable mic may be a better choice.
On the gear side, even the finest microphone's
performance is to a large extent dependent on the quality
of the mic preamps it is connected to. Unless you have high-quality
mic preamps, the virtues of a high-end mic will be wasted.
Understanding the specs
Understanding the specs and the terminology
will help in selecting a mic that suits your needs. Here are
the primary specs and terms you often see in mic descriptions.
The polar pattern is the shape of a mic's field of sensitivity
or the directions from which it accepts or ignores incoming
sounds. An omnidirectional mic responds to sounds coming from
all directions. A bidirectional mic picks up sounds from east
and west while excluding sounds from north and south. A unidirectional
mic primarily hears sounds from one direction and excludes
sounds from other directions.
Unidirectional mics are most common and come
in three polar patterns: cardioid, supercardioid, and hypercardioid.
All three are patterns that reject rear-axis and off-axis
sounds coming from behind the mic or from the sides.
The cardioid pattern is roughly a heart shape
(hence its name), which makes the mic most sensitive from
straight on and from the sides but rejects sounds from 180
degrees opposite the direction the mic is aimed. The supercardioid
mic accepts a little more sound from a 180-degree direction
but rejects more from each side. The hypercardioid allows
yet more sound from 180 degrees but rejects more of the sound
coming from 90 or 270 degrees.
These polar patterns can be important when
you use the mic in a noisy setting such as a vocal mic used
by a singer in a band context. The cardioid, supercardioid,
and hypercardioid mics will tend to exclude all the sounds
except the voice of the user, thus keeping the sound from
becoming muddied and allowing more gain before feedback.
Some condenser microphones are multi-pattern. Their polar
pattern can be changed by means of a switch or by interchangeable
capsules from one pattern to another-from omni to cardioid,
for example. This capability gives the mic added versatility
in the studio.
This is the range of frequencies from low
to high that a microphone will respond to and is stated as
a range such as 80Hz to 15kHz. This would be a decent range
for a vocal mic. For miking snares and toms, you would look
for a range that starts around 50Hz, and for a kick drum mic,
a low-end of 40Hz or even 30Hz is desirable.
More than specs determine the characteristics
of a mic—its structure, the kind of metals used, and
manufacturing precision can all affect performance. Because
some manufacturers fudge the numbers, specs alone often don't
distinguish a $50 mic from one that costs hundreds. It's fair
to say that price itself is a significant specification. Listening
is the best way to really know the differences between a great
mic and a lesser one.
How
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Buying Guide | Types
of microphones and their applications
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