Microphones for Musicians – Laser and Other

If you have been following my Microphones 101 series of articles, you would have read about 4 of the most important microphone types. These were: Dynamic Microphones, Condenser Microphones, Ribbon Microphones, and Carbon Microphones. This last update will cover a couple less used mic types. Laser Microphones, lavalier mics, contact microphones, and parabolic microphones. If you jumped in on this article without reading the first two, here a little re-cap of how microphones work.
How microphones work - in a nut shell.
A microphone captures sound waves with a thin and flexible piece of metal known as a diaphragm. Sound waves are introduced into the microphone, vibrating the diaphragm. The vibrations are then converted by various methods into an electrical signal that is an analog of the original sound.
There are various types of microphones, today we’ll be discussing laser, lavalier, contact, and parabolic microphones.
1. Laser Microphones
A laser microphone utilizes, well, laser technology to capture vibration and convert it into sound. The laser will be reflected off of glass or another flat and rigid surface that vibrates with the sound nearby. The laser measures the distance (very accurately) between itself and the surface it is reflecting off of, and measures the fluctuations of that surface when the sound waves from nearby vibrate said surface. This form of mic is portrayed in movies as spy equipment. But contrary to it’s portrayal, the device is very new, expensive, and not very portable.
2. Lavalier Microphones
This type of microphone is commonly used for hands-free operation, usually clipped to a person’s lapel. They usually have their own power source and can run directly into the mixer, or may be wireless, making it ideal for television.
3. Contact Microphones
In the world of microphones, contact mics are a little different than the rest. They are designed to pick up sound vibrations from solid objects, instead of vibrations carried through the air. This is mainly used to record low level sounds that you would not be able to pick up with a regular mic. These mics consist of a moving coil transducer, a contact plate and pin. The contact plate is placed on the object which you would like to record, the vibration is passed through the plate to the pin which passes it to the transducer. The experimental electronic music group Matmos used this on their album “A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure”, to record the neural activity of a crayfish.
4. Parabolic Microphones
Parabolic microphones use a parabolic reflector to pick up and focus sound waves for a microphone receiver. It is similar in function to a satellite dish in the way that it pick up radio waves. These mics are commonly used for law enforcement surveillance. But they are not very well suited for regular recording, as their low frequency response is very poor.
So this wraps up our Microphones 101 series of articles. I hope you all learned as much from these articles as I have from researching and writing them!

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Things to Look for When Buying a Cordless Microphone

Wireless microphones have numerous uses, from amateur to professional, from bars and clubs to educational institutions and churches. A good, reliable wireless microphone system can be an excellent addition to any of the mentioned locations, but it can also be used on stage, during a concert, a prize contest, announcing a play or for karaoke. Radio and TV stations often use such cordless microphones with great success. There are several frequency ranges in which you can get a microphone: VHF, UHF and Giga Hertz. Cordless microphones may also take shapes like hand held wireless microphones or clip-on microphones.
Advantages and potential problems of cordless microphones
When looking for a cordless microphone, one of your main concerns has to address the mobility range that the device will offer. Although the absence of a cord gives the person holding the microphone more freedom, this must also translate in the distance you can use the microphone, in relation with the wireless receiver. A good wireless microphone will allow a club DJ, for example, to leave his mixing desk and walk on the dance floor with the mic in hand, without experiencing any signal loss or quality problems. Also look for battery life specifications – it’s better to get a cordless microphone that has a battery level indicator on it, so as to get early warning and not be surprised by a sudden battery failure in the middle of a speech. In fact, batteries used to be one of the biggest disadvantages of older cordless microphones: they were heavy and had a short life. Today, however, you can expect to get dozens of hours of battery life and most wireless hand held microphones are actually lightweight.
A few popular wireless microphone models
VHF performance gear microphones are the least expensive in the line of semi professional and professional microphones. They work well in a wide area, but you cannot expect extreme recording environments to produce high quality results. Such microphones are, however, suitable for 80% of all sound recording situations. Fixed frequency UHF units are another popular choice for many musicians and even for educational institutions. They come with a series of microphone types, such as cardioid, super cardioid or omni directional. Broadcast quality UHF models are usually used in award shows, TV shows and other high-end locations. They offer agile frequency responses and excellent ambient noise cancellation filters.

Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author and publisher of http://the-microphone-guide.com, a resource for information and tips on buying wireless microphones online.

Things to Look for When Buying a Studio Microphone

Studio microphones need to accomplish one thing and one thing only: to record the best possible voice or musical instrument sounds. In order to do that, they use advanced technological methods to filter out unwanted ambient sound, which are present even in a controlled studio environment. Studio microphones have to capture the smallest voice subtleties and even the lowest musical notes. Most studio microphones use the electret model, in which a thin metal diaphragm receives sound waves and converts them into electrical current, which can then be interpreted by various recording devices. The filters used in the manufacturing of professional studio microphones are well calibrated, so that any disturbances are stopped before they reach the recording surface.
No room for compromise
Music recording studios, radio studios and TV station studios – they all use professional microphones. A UHF broadcast level microphone is expensive, often with price tags of several hundred dollars, so it is unlikely you will purchase such devices unless you intend to use them in one of the above-mentioned locations. Professional studio microphones need to have two major characteristics at a level far superior to regular microphones: flatness and linearity. Both these attributes mean that the recorded sound is clearer, more accurate, without noticeable distortion. Music studio microphones are often multidirectional, capturing sound from a well controlled ambient. The reason behind this is that the enclosed recording room allows no outside sounds to enter, so the only available ones are the ones produced by the singer or vocalist. A TV studio microphone, on the other hand, has to be focused on a single major source of sound: the speaker holding the microphone.
How to select your studio microphone
The variety of offers on the market is huge. And the truth is that it’s hard to pick a winner in any category. So how can you select your studio microphone? The first step is to determine exactly what the microphone is supposed to do: are you going to record voices, instruments, mixed music? Then you should look for a similar studio and check out their equipment. It’s almost like spying on the competition to see what they are using and if they believe it’s working for them. After you narrowed down the microphone list to a couple of different models, you can go by other decisive items, such as price, warranty or accessories. In the end, the aim is to get the most appropriate microphone for your studio without paying a fortune for it.

Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author and publisher of http://the-microphone-guide.com, a resource for information and tips on buying studio and throat microphones online.

Microphones Used in Recording Studios

A microphone is an example of a transducer, a device that changes sound from one form to another. Sound exists as patterns of air pressure; the microphone changes this into patterns of electric current.
Microphones vary greatly in quality. A top end recording studio microphone may cost thousands and in many cases they are needed for the very best recordings. A variety of mechanical techniques can be used in building microphones. The two most commonly found in recording studios are the magneto-dynamic and the variable condenser designs.
All microphones convert sound energy into electrical energy, but there are many different ways of doing the job, using electrostatics, electromagnetism, piezo-electric effects, or even through a change in resistance of carbon granules. When it comes to microphones used in recording studios, the vast majority of microphones used are either capacitors, electrostatic, or dynamic.
Both types employ a moving diaphragm to capture the sound, but make use of a different electrical principle for converting mechanical energy into an electrical signal. The efficiency of this conversion is very important, because the amounts of acoustic energy produced by voices and musical instruments are so small.
Different types of microphones used in recording studios
In live sound, nearly all the microphones used are dynamics. In the studio, instruments such as drums, electric guitars, and basses are recorded using dynamic microphones. Dynamic microphones have the advantages of being relatively inexpensive and durable, and they don't need a power supply or battery to make them operate.
Dynamic microphones are most effective when working with relatively loud sound sources that do not contain a lot of very high-frequency detail. They are also tough instruments which make them good for recording studios. Another type of dynamic microphone is the ribbon microphone, but this is only used in fairly esoteric recording applications by engineers who appreciate the subtleties of the ribbon sound.
These microphones are comprised of a thin metal ribbon suspended in a magnetic field, and when sound energy is encountered, the electrical signal generated is induced in the ribbon itself rather than in a voice coil. The main advantage of ribbon microphones is their smooth, detailed sound which makes them perfect for studio environment.
Capacitor microphones are more expensive than their dynamic counterparts, and they are also much more sensitive, and can capture high-frequency detail much more accurately. Even though they are relatively efficient like dynamic microphones, capacitor microphones produce such a small electrical signal that they require a special type of built-in preamplifier to bring the signal up to usable levels. Thus they are not fit to be used in live concerts or open air concerts. Capacitors are used mostly in recording studios where there is less noise.
Conclusion
The microphone is a ubiquitous piece of equipment. Found in everything from telephones and computers to recording studios, microphones are part of our daily life. A professional studio will accumulate a varied collection of microphones. The top studios use microphones such as Shure SM58s and 57s, AKG D112s, or Sennheiser 421s.

All the Details About Microphones For You

Though the modern microphones follow the same principle, they do it electronically. And thus, it captures pressure waves in the air and converts them into electric signals. Microphones are of different types, and they differ in their functioning too. Generally, there are five types of microphones commonly used for various purposes.
Condenser microphones: They are also called capacitors as the diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor that responds to the sound waves. The movement that happens changes the capacitance of the capacitor and it is amplified to create a signal. However, these microphones run on a small battery to provide voltage across the capacitor. These microphones produce high quality audio signal and are commonly used in studio recordings.
Dynamic microphones: These microphones work through electromagnetic induction. In this system, the sound wave creates a vibration in the diaphragm which makes the magnet or the coil to move and this movement creates a small current. However, these microphones are very hardy and resistant to moisture and are quite economical. And thus, they are widely used for stage performances.
Ribbon microphones: In these microphones, a thin metal ribbon is suspended in a magnetic field. And it is moved by the sound wave that changes the current flowing through it. Ribbon microphones usually do not require phantom power but there are some ribbon microphones that have pre-amplifiers and so need phantom power.
Carbon microphones: These are perhaps the oldest and the simplest microphones that were once used in telephones. Carbon microphones use carbon dust and they have a thin metal diaphragm on one side. As the diaphragm is hit by the sound waves, it compresses the carbon dust that changes its resistance. By running a current through the carbon, the changing resistance changes the amount of current flow and thus produces an electrical signal. Although they are quite robust they cannot reproduce high quality sound and have limited frequency. But these can be used as a type of amplifiers.
Crystal microphones: These microphones have a diaphragm attached to a crystal that crates a signal when the sound wavers hit the diaphragm. Basically, the crystal microphone uses the theory of piezoelectricity. However, they are commonly used with vacuum tube equipment like domestic tape recorders.
Other than these types of microphones, there is another type of microphone that is widely used these days. It is called wireless microphones. They are portable and have a versatile way of recording and broadcasting sound, without a cable connection.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for music gear, speakers, and microphones. You can find the best marketplace for music gear, speakers, and microphones at these 3 sites: music gear, DJ equipment, recording equipment, speakers, subwoofers.