Choose the Correct Mic

Choose the Correct Mic.

Have you ever recorded something that you were extremely excited about; you immediately get everything set-up and spend an hour recording, only to find it sound muffled and nothing like you had imagined?

Indie artists know exactly what their recording should sound like. The ups and downs, beats, vocals, drums, you know everything, but it just doesn’t come out right. It’s the wrong mic. While picking a mic for your recording, you need to keep in mind the exact requirement of the specific song. What do you want to highlight, what is to be kept low, just in the background for effect? Whether you want different mics for vocal and instruments or do you want to use the same mic for both. All of these factors have to be considered before you start recording the song.

Types

In general, there are two types of mics. Dynamic and Condenser.

Dynamic Mic – these are versatile and ideal for general use for singers and indie artists. They use a simple design with few moving parts. They are relatively sturdy and resilient to rough handling. They are also better suited to handling high volume levels, such as from certain musical instruments or amplifiers. They have no internal amplifier and do not require batteries or external power. Dynamics do not usually have the same flat frequency response as condensers. Instead they tend to have tailored frequency responses for particular applications.

Condenser Mic – also known as capacitor microphone or electrostatic microphone, uses a capacitor to convert acoustical energy into electrical energy. Condenser microphones require power from a battery or external source. The resulting audio signal is stronger than that from a dynamic mic.

Condensers tend to be more sensitive and responsive than dynamics, making them well-suited to capturing subtle nuances in a sound. They are not ideal for high-volume work, as their sensitivity makes them prone to distort.

Live recordings, both indoor and open air, are normally best done on a dynamic mic. It is more durable, can withstand humidity and moisture, and does not distort high pressure sounds. Although it can also be used inside a studio, it is not fully equipped to justify acoustic instruments and delicate vocals. In any case, heavy metal and other loud or high vocals may be recorded perfectly by a dynamic mic even within the studio.

Acoustic instruments are best recorded with condenser mics. These mics will stop working if exposed to high sound pressure or not handled delicately. It is also important to note that condenser mics require phantom power. They typically need 48 volts of power provided by a mixer or a preamp.

A condenser mic responds flatter to frequency than dynamic mic. This makes the condenser mic appropriate for recordings that should be clear and extremely accurately audible, hence, as mentioned before, acoustic instruments are best recorded with condenser mics. Considering their fragile composition, condenser mics are ordinarily not used for open air shows.

Condenser mics come in little diaphragm and large diaphragm varieties. Little diaphragm mics are perfect for catching stringed instruments, concerts and performances. Large diaphragm mics are frequently used for recording deep vocals and adding warmth to them.

Other Commonly Used Mics

When you are attempting to catch sounds from all parts of your studio, you might want to use the Omni Directional Microphone. Since most indie artists aim to avoid any background noise, they mostly do not prefer this kind of mic. The omni-directional mic is preferred for recording rooms with a lot of people present.

Unidirectional mics can separate sound from one general direction; hence they function in exactly the opposite way. In the recording studio, this is the most commonly used mic because it filters only the sounds that you want to keep. This quality completely eliminates the worry about background noise.

There are also a few mix kind of mics available, making them multi-functional and saving money. These are especially useful for the indie artists as they save the expenditure of getting a different mic for every sound. Put some idea into the sort of recordings you are creating so you can pick the mic that works best for your requirements.

Know more about mics that can be useful to indie artists? Share it in the comments section and I will add it in my future blogs.