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Koby Parks
Koby Parks - March 16, 2016
This last chapter covered microphones. From their history, to where they are today and what the purpose of each type of microphone holds. Alexander Bell is credited to the invention of the microphone (hence telephones), but no one is exactly sure who actually created the first working mic. Mics started out as carbon microphones, those quickly diminished and over the span of some 100 years we now use condenser, dynamic, and ribbon microphones. Every microphone has its specific qualities, but they work in pretty similar ways. Dynamic mics work like a speaker (coil & rod vibration) and are generally great for instrument miking like guitar amps, cabinets, drums, horns, and some vocals. Condensers change acoustic energy into a voltage through a capacitor. A diagram would be simpler to understand. These are great to use for drum overheads, rich vocals, broadcasting, acoustics, and can also be used for instrument miking and also need additional power, normally through a preamp, called phantom power in order to operate. Ribbon mics use a VERY thin abbraided aluminum strip in between a magnetic field to pick up vibrations. They can be very fragile and must be taken care of appropriately or one could easily shred the aluminum strip. Ribbons are great for broadcasting (close range soft spoken vocals), wind and string instruments, and many other uses. All microphones also have different pick up patterns (polar pattern) as well. Cardioid is one of the most common, meaning the mic is much more sensitive in the front of the mic in relationship to the rear. Omni directional is sensitive in any direction. Figure 8 or "Bi Directional" are equally sensitive to the front and back of the microphone and are null on the edges.
Alex had me inventory his mic closet before I came into the studio to where I would have somewhere to start with a knowledge of some of his and some of the best microphones to work with, and when it came time to come to the studio for my lesson he could quiz me on his mic closet. For the most part I could name off a good chunk of microphones he would pick out of his closet at random. He went as far as breaking some of them down and showing me how I could tell many microphones apart just by their type and what their specific characteristics were. His mic collection is awesome and he's already given me some pointers on mics that are on sale for great deals in music shops. After we checked out his closet he had me line up 4 microphones, plugged them in, and tested each one side-by-side to see the difference in audio through my voice. I used an MXL Genesis Large Cap Tube Condenser, an AEA R84 Ribbon, a Neumann TLM-103 Large Cap Condenser, and a Shure SM7a Dynamic. Needless to say studing this chapter is urging me to go out and buy microphones more often. That will come with time though. I already own a Shure SM-57 dynamic of my own, so my collection has already started.
This past Monday, I also got to sit in on another recording session. A band called Awake In Theory put together a new song and I had a good time hanging out with these guys. They'll be playing at Reno's Chop Shop in Dallas, TX on April 1st if you'd like to check them out. I shadowed Alex most of the time, keeping an eye on what he did from the time the session started until it ended and I can already start to get the main gist of what it is to be an engineer (minus doing ALL the dirty work of course). I also helped set up and breakdown some of the equipment being used for the session along with his studio assistant Paola. After the session Alex showed me a new Jericho guitar he'd just got in a few days previous. He mentioned it was used to record the newest Memphis May Fire album and the owner sent it to him to test it out on a few bands. I thought it was pretty cool to actually come into contact with an instrument from a band I listen to from time to time. It just goes to show how small the recording world can be and how connected everything is. I also got the chance to play on it a bit and it's an awesome instrument. He asked if I played in drop tunings and I told him "for the most part." Jericho guitars are made specifically for that and are intonated as such. Hopefully I'll be able to strike a deal for one of them at some point because they're NICE. In all, I'm really enjoying this opportunity and hopefully next session I'll be placing microphones in their designated areas for recordng, as the next chapter I'll be studying is microphone placement.
