THE MICROPHONE

Any type of microphone can work or not work for any audio source. That is,
there are no rules for using microphones.

Not all microphones go hand in hand with all instruments and interpreters.

The 3 most important types

These probably already you have heard, but the 3 types of most important
microphones, or which you will find more followed in the studies or for sale
are the following: Condenser, Dynamic and Ribbon.

In general terms, each of them has its essential characteristics, but also each
individually has its own characteristics.

3 polar patterns

Within these the 3 types of microphones that I mentioned, each one can have
1 or more integrated polar patterns.

There are 3 polar patterns that it is important that you know. Then you will find
some more variations but the most important are 3: Cardioid, Figure 8 and Omni.

How do they work?

Cardioid: This type of polar pattern works practically as if it were a flashlight.
Where you point the microphone front is where you will hear the signal and slightly
from the sides. In the back part it will reject enough of the sound.

Figure 8: This type of pattern works practically the same as the cardioid,
only listening to the signal from both sides, the front and the back of the microphone.

Another of its qualities is that it rejects the signal from the sides quite well.

Omni: As you will notice, in this type of polar pattern the microphone detects
the signal in all its circumference, bony, all 360 degrees.

How to know which one you have to use?

The vast majority of microphones come with the most common polar pattern
that is the cardioid, but there are also some to which you can change the pattern
with a simple switch and there are others that already come with the patterns
of Figure 8 and fixed Omni.

Cardioids are the simplest and most intuitive to use, but if you want to experiment

Figure 8 can be useful, for example, to record two singers at the same time, to
record with mid / side technique and more.

The Omni can serve you when you want to capture choirs, or the whole environment
of an instrument in a room.

Now let's move on to the types of microphones ...

1. Capacitors: these are the microphones you always see in professional studio
photographs. They look robust, beautiful, classy and fine. Within the condenser
microphones there are 2 important types:

- The large diaphragm condenser.

- The diaphragm guy or sometimes known as pencil capacitor.

Both have similar characteristics only that the large diaphragm captures the signal in
a larger way and the smaller diaphragm in a more localized way.

General characteristics:

- Detailed sound, clear and fine.

- They are the most colorful microphones sonoramente.

- They have high sensitivity to sound.

Common Uses:

- Voices, Guitars, Drum, Tarola, Battery overheads, Piano,

Percussions, Podcasts, Strings, Metals, etcetera.

2. Dynamic: are those that you usually find in any live audio situation or those
that you see that are included in karaoke systems.

Of course these are also highly used in recording studios in various situations.

General characteristics:

- Useful when the source is reasonably close and when the sound is low or predominantly  

media.

- The representation of high frequencies is not as good

- They are durable, cheap and do not need external power to operate

- Resist high sound pressures (SPL)

Common Uses:

- Electric guitars, percussions, voices, drums, amplifiers,

metals, among others ...

3. Ribbon microphones: they may be the most mysterious and the least "popular"
because these generally tend to be very expensive because of the way they are

facts and therefore also are quite fragile in their management.

In short, they are called ribbon microphones because there is a small fragile sheet
of metal that captures the sound and can easily be broken if high levels arrive.

of sound pressure.

General characteristics:

- They are expensive and fragile

- They have a honeyed, robust and opaque sound with a remarkable cut at high

frequencies.

- Very sensitive to sound pressure

- Popular with distant microphone positioning techniques.

Common Uses:

- Guitars, metals, microphones fourth, drum overheads, voices,

among others.