Microphones are a very personal item for musicians, and there are often many factors to consider when choosing. There are no theorems such as "some kind of microphone is the best" in a wide variety of microphones. Each type of microphone has its own unique properties and uses, resulting in a different sound texture. Let's take a look at the common 7 microphones.
Dynamic microphone
The meaning of "dynamic circle" is that the wire coil closely connected to the diaphragm continuously moves in the magnetic field according to the change of sound pressure, thereby generating a current that changes in proportion to the amplitude of the sound wave, so that the acoustic signal is converted into an electrical signal.
The coil of the dynamic microphone cuts the magnetic field to directly generate current, so the dynamic coil does not need to supply power. The advantage of a dynamic microphone is its simplicity and solidity. The disadvantage is that the diaphragm is less responsive to rapidly changing sound waves than other types of microphones because it is "trapped" by the wire coils.
It is difficult for a dynamic microphone to pick up the high-frequency part of the wiper. However, when picking up a strong bottom drum or snare drum sound, the dynamic microphone can have satisfactory performance. Dynamic microphones are also often used to record the sound of electric guitar speakers.
Dynamic microphones are often used for vocal recordings, which is largely a "traditional custom." Because the previous condenser microphone was cumbersome and fragile. However, despite the fact that today's condenser microphones are designed for live vocals, their more expensive average price tends to make people prefer a dynamic microphone that also works well.
Small diaphragm condenser microphone
The condenser microphone is designed based on the principle of electrostatics. The diaphragm and the back plate form a capacitor unit. The vibration of the diaphragm changes with the vibration of the sound wave, which changes the potential difference between the diaphragm and the backplane, thereby converting the acoustic signal into an electrical signal. Capacitive microphones typically have an amplifier built in because the output of the capacitor unit is very weak. Condenser microphones require an external 48 V phantom power supply or battery.
The significance of choosing a small diaphragm condenser microphone is that small diaphragms with a diameter of around 12 mm are very sensitive to the vibration of sound waves. The larger the diaphragm is made, the less sensitive it is to the sound of the microphone, and the sound produced by resonance is more pronounced.
If you want an extremely accurate radio, a small diaphragm condenser microphone is the best choice. It should be noted that a more accurate sound is not necessarily a more satisfying sound, and sometimes a precise sound does not sound so energetic and powerful. But if you want to completely record the sound of nature, a small diaphragm condenser microphone should be your choice.
Large diaphragm condenser microphone
In the past, microphone manufacturers couldn't make the diaphragm as exquisite as it is now. All condenser microphones at that time should be called "large diaphragm condenser microphones." Of course, there is no dividing line to define what is "large diaphragm" and what is "small diaphragm". As mentioned above, a size of about 12 mm can be called a "small diaphragm", and a size of 24 mm or more can be regarded as a "large diaphragm." When buying a microphone, we will find that some of the microphones that look great are surprisingly small, so the size of the diaphragm is a microphone parameter that requires our special attention.
The advantage of a large diaphragm condenser microphone is that it gives you the kind of sound that the studio specializes in - not the most natural sound, but the sound is thick and warm, and it feels very comfortable no matter what sound is recorded.
The disadvantage is that the higher the frequency of the sound, the more directional the large diaphragm condenser microphone becomes. If you are listening to the microphone, this is not a problem, but if you use two microphones for stereo reception, the sound from the side may not be ideal.
Vacuum tube microphone
The design and manufacture of such microphones dates back to the early days of the condenser microphone era. At that time, since the transistor has not been widely used, the built-in amplifier of the condenser microphone is a vacuum tube. Although some vacuum tube microphones used to be equipped with small diaphragms, the vacuum tube microphones we have seen today are mostly large diaphragms.
The advantage of the vacuum tube microphone is that the vacuum tube amplifier is prone to a very pleasant and comfortable distortion effect, that is, "warm sound." For vocals, this warm distortion is often used as a panacea.
Unlike other types of microphones, vacuum tube microphones have become very popular due to the age of vacuum tubes, and prices are often high.
Aluminum microphone
The aluminum ribbon microphone is a special dynamic microphone. The coil of the conventional dynamic microphone is closely coupled with the coil of the wire, and the aluminum ribbon microphone is formed by combining the diaphragm and the coil of the wire to form an aluminum strip (or metal strip). Because the aluminum strip is very thin and light, the aluminum strip microphone is more sensitive to sound waves than the condenser microphone, but the sound of the aluminum strip microphone is relatively dark.
The ribbon microphone can record clear, slightly faint sound. This makes them often used artistically in the studio.
Aluminum-belt microphones are generally fragile and fragile. Some brands of manuals will remind users that when you take an aluminum-belt microphone, you can walk slowly and avoid the air passing through the microphone too fast, causing the aluminum belt to be misaligned.
Like the dynamic microphone, most of the ribbon microphones do not require external power (except for some built-in amplifiers). However, the output of the aluminum ribbon microphone is generally small, so it works better with the preamplifier.
Electret microphone
The electret microphone is a special condenser microphone. We already know that the principle of a condenser microphone is that the amount of charge on the capacitor changes, thereby generating an electrical signal across the capacitor to achieve an acoustic-electrical signal conversion.
The electret material is a material that can permanently retain these charges after being charged. Using this principle, the electret material on the diaphragm or backplane provides the constant voltage required for the capacitor unit, eliminating the need for a power supply to the microphone. However, the operation of the built-in amplifier of the microphone still needs to be powered by battery or phantom. It should be noted that the electret microphone of the battery is less sensitive than the phantom power supply, and the processing power for the maximum sound pressure is also weak.
Due to its low cost and miniaturization, electret microphones are widely used in handheld devices. The electret microphone with integrated FET preamplifier provides high performance. Many of the most accurate microphones in the world are now electret microphones.
Piezoelectric microphone
Piezoelectric microphones, also known as crystal microphones, use the piezoelectric effect of certain materials—the change in voltage caused by the deformation of the material.
Piezoelectric microphones are now mainly in the form of contact microphones, a typical example being a guitar pickup. The piezoelectric microphone directly picks up the physical vibration of the source, not the acoustic vibration in the air. The advantage is to isolate the sound of the instrument from other sounds. However, the sound picked up in this way is not particularly real, and the application of the piezoelectric microphone is rather limited.
to sum up
This is the 7 types of microphones that are divided according to the working principle. Being able to understand their basic workings and identify their unique sounds is one of the must-have skills of every music producer.
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