For more than half of my musical life, and certainly all of my musical career, I have played into a microphone. However, I must admit that I have always been rather uninformed as to how they actually work.
Then the other day I happened across a link provided by author, and respected SOTW Columnist, John Laughter, that explains in layman’s terms, how microphones work. This really informative section of the Media College.com site, provides the reader with a microphone 101 of sorts. It explains the following:
- The basics: How a sound wave is converted into an audio signal.
- Types of microphones available.
- Microphone & line levels.
- What dynamic microphones are and how they work.
- What condenser microphones are and how they work.
- Directional properties of microphones.
- Microphone impedance.
- Microphone frequency response.
After I read through these few pages, I did have a much better understanding of how the mic for my Audio Technica wireless system worked. Now I also understand the strange little drawings that were on my new mic’s spec sheet.
This summer I bought I new clip-on mic for my wireless system. When I went to Tom Lee music, I picked up the PRO 35 Cardioid Condenser Clip-on Instrument Microphone.
Source: audio-technica.com
On the mic’s spec sheet were the following diagrams…
Source: audio-technica.com
I now understand that the above diagram is indicating the pick-up pattern—mostly from the front, but a bit from the sides as well—of my mic. While this diagram on the other hand,
Source: audio-technica.com
shows the frequency response curve of my mic. Frequency response refers to the way a microphone responds to different frequencies.
Now while this may be old news to many of you, I suspect I’m not the only one who doesn’t know their ass from an ohm in the ground. 😆
Seriously, the article that John pointed to is a good read, and not too technical for the average, non-sound engineering student to get their head around. And if I can get it, that’s saying something. Because when it comes to concepts like this, I usually end up doing something like this… :bang:
Well I take that as a compliment Randy. Thank you.
To my ear, the Pro 35 sounds quite good. I tend to wander out when I play, and I do hear myself in the mains. I think that it doesn’t quite have some of the warmth of some of the really good floor mics that I’ve played into–I can’t think of the name off the top of my head now, but the sound crew who used to do one of the festivals we played at regularly used them–but as far as wireless units goes, it is as good as any of them.
I’ve used the Pro 35 for everything from my soprano through my bass with no problems. It worked well for all of them.
For the first time ever, I bookmarked a blog so that I could come back and read it leter when I had some time. I just used the microphone pictured here on a gig last night, provided by the band that contracted me, and I’ve used them before.
How do they sound? I dunno. I was on the wrong end of the sound system.