Recording - October 2015 - 24

First: a cardioid dynamic
($100 and up)
Picture a speaker vibrating
and reacting to the music it's
reproducing. Dynamic mics are
tiny speakers in reverse. When
a dynamic mic's diaphragm
vibrates, an attached coil
moves within a magnetic field,
producing a signal. Due in part
to their old-school mechanics,
these models are extremely
robust and can withstand very
high sound pressure levels. A mic
like this has a cardioid pickup
pattern that rejects sound from
behind it, helping to prevent feedback
in live situations and minimizing leakage
between neighboring mics. These mics also
exhibit quite a bit of proximity effect, which can
be heard as a pronounced buildup in lower frequencies as the mic gets closer to the source.
Ask almost any working recording engineer or
sound man what they would consider their 'desert island' survival mic, and the response is so consistent that it's almost a
cliché: the Shure SM57 ($100). When you need to get in close
to a loud source, this is the one you want, making it one of the
best-selling microphones in the world. Ironically, this mic was
designed to mike orchestras (the SM stands for "Studio
Microphone"), which may explain why just about anything
sounds acceptable through it. It's most famous for its use on guitar amps and snare drums, but toms, bass drums, piano, and
organ are all well-matched to this instrument mic. Some vocalists, like U2's Bono, swear by the SM57.
Naturally the SM57 isn't the only mic of this type out there.
Many engineers keep the Audix i5 ($100) handy for guitar
amps, toms, and snares, as a tonal alternative to the SM57. If
you want a mic with a hypercardioid pattern for even more side
rejection (at the cost of a bit more sound input from the rear),
Audio-Technica's ATM650 ($100) is a great option. At the high
end of this range, Telefunken offers the excellent M80 ($400),
in a standard size and a "short" version ideal for use on drums.
Sennheiser is famous for the MD 421 ($400 for the MkII version), which is great on everything from guitar cabinets to toms.

-from small budgets to the big leagues
By Sven-Erik Seaholm and Mike Metlay
In the battle to capture the truest audio and make the best
recordings we can, microphones are our troops on the front line.
Quality preamps, EQ, compression, and other sweetening can
go a long way towards improving the audio we record, but the
closer we start to where we want to be, the less we'll have to do
to get there later. We must start with the right mic (in the right
place, but that's another discussion for another time).
Good mics aren't always cheap and acquiring a collection of them quickly adds up to a financially daunting task.
Fortunately, there are some very good mics that don't cost
a lot. We can start our mic locker with those, and they'll
still be useful when we add more costly mics to the mix.
In this article, we'll track the steps to building a great mic
locker, starting with the absolute basics and working our
way up, stopping at around $3000. (There are some amazing mics above this price point, but that's also another discussion for another time.) We're quoting very rough street
prices below; you may find better deals if you shop around.
24

RECORDING October 2015

Next: a workhorse large-diaphragm condenser ($100 to $400)
When you're ready to lose the midrangy toughness of
your dynamic mic in favor of something better suited for
acoustic guitar and non-hard-rock vocals, with a clear and
extended high end and a frequency response that flatters
the upper mids where acoustic instruments soar, it's time to
consider a large-diaphragm condenser mic, usually a cardioid. These mics have a thinly stretched membrane over
a backplate that acts as a capacitor (a condenser in oldschool terminology), translating vibrations in the membrane into current. These diaphragms are very responsive
compared to dynamics, so their transient response and
high end are superior.
Prices run the gamut from (way too) cheap to (way, way
too) expensive; we'll start with models that give lots of
bang for your limited bucks. But we're emphasizing real
value here. There's a flood of cheap microphones filling
stores now-they have harsh sibilants, odd resonances,
grainy high end, and inconsistent performance. It takes
some hunting to find a mic that's both affordable and
something you'll want to keep using forever-a true workhorse, something that you can use on just about anything
you need to record.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - October 2015