Lesson 4 - Posted on 2013-03-22 by Griffin Plack

In this Lesson, Microphones are discussed as well as their different designs and uses. A microphone is an example of a transducer, that being something that converts one form of energy to another. All microphones can record all sounds but certain microphones are suggested to record certain sounds. At the center of all microphones is the diaphragm where all the acoustical energy is converted in to electric voltage. There are two main types of microphones, dynamic and condenser. An electret is a material with a permanently imprineted charge for the diaphragm. A flat frequency response is the goal of every microphone company. Problems in frequency response are encountered mostly with sounds originating behind the mic. Noise is the unwanted pickup of mechanical vibration through the body of the microphone. More microphone types include Carbon, Crystal,  and Dynamic Ribbon. Microphone Polar Patterns consist of Omnidirectional, Cardioid, Super-Cardioid, Hyper-Cardioid, Ultra-Cardioid, Bi-Directional, and Hemispherical. You don't need a special mic to record in stereo, all you need is two micrphones. The location of the mic when recording affects the sound of the instrument being recorded. What enviornment you're in when recording will determine whether or not you need to add effects such as reverberation to the microphone in order to obtain the wanted sound.