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Bruce Fugett
Although my 5th session at Fastback Studios did not involve any actual recording, it was definitely very informative. The focus of this lesson is the different types of microphones and their various applications. Another difference with this lesson was the fact that another TRC student, Babah, joined us.
Mark began with a history lesson on the different types of microphones and how they were developed. It's always interesting to hear about the timeline of an invention and how it developed over time, and Mark has a great way of explaining these things, as well as a wealth of knowledge of what was going on in the world at the time that these developments were taking place. For instance, did you know that World War II had a major effect on microphone development and how the world received the different brands. Here's an example: the German developed Neumann U47 was arguably one of the best microphones of that time period. But because America did not want to support German products during and after the war, the American company Telefunken bought the rights to this type of microphone and produced them under the Telefunken brand name, which became a hit in the US. Being dubbed "The Sinatra Microphone", because it was the microphone of choice for Frank Sinatra, allowed it to be accepted into our country. Ironically, an earlier model of Neumann Microphone was known as "The Hitler Microphone". Branding is Everything.
Mark also showed us the wide variety of other microphones that are available for use at Fastback Studios. Everything from dynamic microphones, like the multi-purpose Shure SM-57, to the Neumann U87 and it's newer counterpart, the U87Ai, and everything in between. I'm really grateful to have the ability to see and work with all of these different microphones firsthand. I am forever in awe with Fastback Studios and the equipment available for use there.
