Peak Freak's guide: Microphones Part 2

[Peak Freak]

Microphones: Part 2

In the first part we learned something about the different types of microphones, and how they work. This part should give a guide, in which situations and for which instruments you can use these different microphones. However, these are more pointers and some basics, not a guarantee for a perfect recording. You can use these pointers for the experiments of your own.

Single Instrument recordings
The most common technique for production of Jazz-, Rock- or Popmusic is recording each instrument with a separate microphone. This technique allows to change the balance and the spatial effect of a recording without needing to take care of the conditions in the actual recording room. At the same time the timbre and the dynamic of each instrument can be influenced. Everything in the following guide is only appliable when the recorded instruments are really recorded separated from each other, means either in completely different rooms or at different times. Sometimes it is also possible with the right choose of directed microphones (Cardioid) or partition walls.

Vocals
For vocal recordings it is recommended to use a condenser microphone with a large diaphragm. Some microphones are suitable for this purpose, but comparing different ones is the best way to find out which one does the best job. Moreover, your taste also influences the choice of the right microphone.
Advantage of a large diaphragm is the insensibility against pop-noises, which occur at explosive-sounds like "p" or "b". A distance of about 20-40 cm is recommended. Smaller diaphragms can quickly lead into a distorted signal. Still you should use a pop-filter even when using a large diaphragm microphone.
The directivity should be cardioid. A omnidirectional microphone leads to a more spatial sound, which can have an interesting sound in a good sounding recording room.
You should mind and use the proximity effect. A lot of inexperienced singers don't know this effect, which often leads to problems while recording. Singers who are familiar with it can use this effect for their rendition.
When recording multiple vocalists, for example for backing Vocals, you can normally also use only one microphone. Only when there are more than 3 vocalists you should use a second microphone. If the vocalists however have difficulties hearing each other or themselves it is sometimes better to work with one microphone for each vocalist. This allows you to control the balance of the different voices. For these recordings you also should take a distance of about 20-40 cm from the microphone.

Acoustic Guitar
Deep frequencies, mainly the fundamental notes, mostly come from the sound hole. Higher frequencies come from the table and from the Strings. If you want a high amount of overtones you adjust the microphones to the bridge, else you adjust it to the sound hole.
The best results are achievable with condenser microphones. Small diaphragms lead to a brilliant and clear sound, large diaphragms make the sound more round. The difference however is just very small. The distance of the microphone should be at about 20-50 cm.
You can also take pressure zone microphones, placing them on the floor about 1-2 meters away from the guitar player. They lead to a more spatial sound, however, you should have a good recording room to use them.
Sometimes Guitars have built-in pickups. These often won't give you a balanced sound. Except you want exactly such a sound, you should rather take a microphone.

Piano
When you have the possibility you should always record a grand piano. An upright one is only a workaround and mostly give you an unsatisfying result. But also the grand is not that easy to record, because of its size. Most grand recordings are done with at least 2 microphones, sometimes even with 3.
The direction and the distance are responsible for the sound. If you want a percussive and hard sound you point the microphones to the area of the hammers. The distance can be around 15-40 cm. The more you spread the microphones apart across the range of the hammers, the more you can get an impressive stereo effect, mind you doesn't display the natural conditions. For a more balanced sound you can direct the microphones to the holes in the soundboard.
You can also use a pressure zone microphone for the grand by attaching it on the lid of the grand. However you cannot achieve a stereophonic recording then.

Double Bass
For recording a double bass you can use a condenser microphone with a large diaphragm and cardioid directivity. Mostly it is directed to one of the both f-holes. When the double bass is plucked, a distance of around 20 cm is enough, when being bowed a distance of 50-70 cm reduces the bow noises.

Violins, Violas, Cellos
For these you also choose a distance of minimum 50 cm. The most frequencies are directed upright to the ceiling, so you should place the microphone in this area. A condenser microphone gives you the best results.

Flute (concert flute)
Significant for a flute are the strong blow noises. You can emphasize it by a small distance of 10-20 cm. However, you should watch out that the microphone is not blown on directly, so you better place the microphone from above. If you want less blow noises, you can place the microphone a little bit further away. This also reduces the effects of the flute player's movements. Condenser microphones are recommendable.

Clarinet
The Clarinet has an anomaly to watch out for: the bell (the end of the instrument, where the sound comes out) only emits frequencies above 5kHz, the rest is released through the keys. Thats why you should align the microphone to the bottom keys in a distance of at least 50 cm. A hard floor like parquet can give you a more shining sound.

Saxophone
Because the most frequencies come out of the bell you should align the microphone to this part of the saxophone. However, you shouldn't place it too close, because else you have too much air noises. A distance of 50-70 cm also take away the effects of small movements of the saxophone player.
Because a saxophone can be very loud you should use microphones which don't distort quick. You can use condenser microphones with inbuilt pre damping, but also a good dynamic microphone can lead to a good result. Mostly they even sound fuller and smoother than condenser microphones.

Trompet and Trombone
Very sharp high frequencies and a very high sound pressure level specify these both instruments. Thats why you should choose microphones which are more insensitive against high pressure levels, like only a few condenser microphones, or a good dynamic microphone. A distance of at least 30 cm is recommended. Moreover, you can avoid overdriving by letting the Trumpet or Trombone player play not directly in the direction of the mic.

Guitar amps
More and more E-Guitars and Electric Basses are directly plugged into the mixer or interface and the signal is simply send through digital effect processors or software, which recreate the sound of amplifiers. However, recording a sound over a real amp still cannot be replaced by this. The alignment of the microphone is important for the sound. A distance of 5-20 cm is mostly applied.
The choice of the microphone is dependent of the maximum volume of the amp. An undistorted guitar sound can be recorded with a small condenser microphone, without having distortion in the recording itself. Loud and distorted sounds should be recorded with large diaphragm condenser microphone or even dynamic microphones. A comparison between microphones makes the decision easier.

Drums
The most common technique to record drums today is having an own mic for each part of the set. You always have signals of the other parts in the record of one part, thats why a good choice of microphones and their alignment is important. Because the microphones are placed close to the parts of the set, high sound pressure levels and immense air currents lead to distortion when using condenser microphones. Thats why dynamic microphones are preferred.

Bass-drum
Naturally the bass-drum is very deep and very loud. Small diaphragms will distort quickly, thats why you should use microphones with large diaphragms, preferably dynamic ones.
For the alignment of the microphone one main rule is applicable: The closer the microphone to the drumhead, the higher the impact sounds are recorded. You get a high amount of deep frequencies when you place the microphone on a layer with the resonance head. When placed outside of the Bass-drum you get a more spatial sound, but also you record more from the rest of the drum set with that mic.
You can use two microphones, one close to the impact point and one on the layer of the resonance head, so you can vary the ratio of impact and sound. However, using two microphones can lead to phase erasement. When standing around 40-50 cm away from each other frequencies around 800 Hz could be erased, but this doesn't influence the sound in a negative way.

Snare
Two problems occur when trying to record a snare drum: Because of a lack of space it is hard to place the microphones optimally, and often sounds of the HiHat are loudly recorded with the snare microphones. Thats why you should use a microphone with cardioid directivity to avoid the hit recorded on them. The microphone is adjusted to the rim of the drumhead with a distance of about 5-10 cm.
You can also use a second microphone for the bottom side of the snare, where the chains are located. Again you should be careful with erased frequencies. Best technique is to use two identical microphones and place them in a similar distance of each head. Then you shift the phase of the bottom microphone.

TomToms
Each tom gets an own microphone, however these microphones should be similar, so you have a balanced tomtom sound. Again dynamic microphones are a good choice. They should be straightened to the rim of the drumhead with a distance of about 5-10 cm.
You always should have a look for the cymbals hanging above the toms: Avoid them being recorded much with the tomtom microphones.

HiHat
The sharp sound of a HiHat should be recorded with a condenser or a ribbon microphone. You should place the microphone about 5-10 cm away, directed to the top of the HiHat. You should never align it to the gap between the HiHat cymbals.

Cymbals
Cymbals are normally recorded with two Overhead-microphones. Because of the impossibility to record only the cymbals, the overhead microphones are also used to give the whole drumset a spatial sound, which can be even enhanced by additional room microphones. You should use 2 similar microphones, place them a little bit away from each other, to have a stereo effect. Moreover they should be not too close to the cymbals: a distance of > 50 cm is already good.

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Finally, second part is out there, this time with some advice for practical use. However mistakes happen, be it grammar/typos or textual ones. If there are questions, misunderstandings, whatever: Post it here or pm me.

[Conduit]

This is great, thanks!

[LoreRD]

Very useful guide, I could see consulting this when buying microphones. One thing, though: I've been exclusively been using condenser microphones for recording drums (2 positioned overhead and one in front of the bass drum), and I've never had problems with distortion (at least, I haven't noticed any).

[Applejinx]

Also it's worth mentioning that the humble SM57 and SM58 turn up in a ridiculous number of expensive professional recordings, generally plugged into VERY fancy mic preamps. Vocals won't be glossy through either but they will handle a harsh rock vocal and deliver a good texture that can be made loud and intelligible without much trouble- and the SM57 is sometimes the go-to mic for snare drum and VERY OFTEN the go-to mic for heavy distorted guitar.

You might need to cut away the grille cloth to get the mic right up to the speaker cone for fullness. Do not mic the dust cap, find a place on the speaker cone (and an angle) that sounds better: the SM57 is unusually sensitive to mic placement on a guitar speaker, meaning some positionings will sound terrible and some will sound fantastic. If it's too thick pull it back an inch or so- no closer than one inch to the speaker cone, probably- few mics will get as up-front a sound as the 57.

I'm gonna try mine on acoustic guitar and see if I can get a really tight, up-front sound on that too. It'll be about 45 degrees off axis, pointing down at the guitar. You can also get a really immediate sound 45 degrees to the rear of the guitar pointing at the bridge- very upper midrangey.

[Sai]

Can someone explain to me why it is that one would use a large diaphragm microphone for recording a bass drum?
I know it says that smaller diaphragm microphones will distort more easily, but I've read elsewhere that small diaphragm microphones handle higher sound pressure levels better because they're more...rigid than large diaphram ones, and therefore they are actually less likely to clip and distort (with the trade-off being that they need more amplification; maybe this is the reason?). That could be wrong for all I know, but I'm just curious.

Otherwise, thanks for these guides. They're really helpful.

[Peak Freak]

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[LunchBagMusic]

Peak Freak this is all so good.

So. Good.

[Applejinx]

Can someone explain to me why it is that one would use a large diaphragm microphone for recording a bass drum?
I know it says that smaller diaphragm microphones will distort more easily, but I've read elsewhere that small diaphragm microphones handle higher sound pressure levels better because they're more...rigid than large diaphram ones, and therefore they are actually less likely to clip and distort (with the trade-off being that they need more amplification; maybe this is the reason?). That could be wrong for all I know, but I'm just curious.

Otherwise, thanks for these guides. They're really helpful.

Some of the better dedicated kick drum mics have been large diaphragm dynamics, like the AKG D112 and the Audix D6. I owned a D6 once- really pre-shaped the sound and gave incredible lows, for days.

The thing about LDCs (large diaphragm condensers) is that they'll pick up EVERYTHING so you'll get tons of leakage- dynamics seem to get a lot more focused on the sound they're aimed at. Might be because dynamics change tone color more aggressively off-axis... you'll find people using condensers more often for drum overheads and room mics (and of course if they feel the need for a hi-hat mic) and dynamics on individual drums for their ability to reject adjacent sounds and mute their presence.

If you really want a large diaphragm kick mic...

http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Yamaha/Subkick

[Sonarch]

Okay, I might need to get a new mic, and since it's almost christmas, I figure it would be good to figure out what I need for my purposes. Since you, Peak, seem to be the mic expert, might I ask for a little input?

I happen to have a mic already, but I don't know if it's any good, because my parents got it for me last year for christmas. It looks like this is it: http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U1-Dynamic-Recording-Microphone/dp/B000ULQTE0 and I feel like I could stand to get a better one.

I would want it to be able to record acoustic guitar, specifically classical since it's the only acoustic I have right now, and also be able to record vocals decently, because I may get into singing and/or rapping later on.

Could you recommend a specific model/brand of mic that wouldn't be terribly expensive? Based on your guide it looks like I would want a large diaphragm condenser mic, but i'm unfamiliar with brands and the like.

[Peak Freak]

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[Sonarch]

That's a good point, my house is pretty noisy. I'll go searching around and post back here when I think i've found something good.

[Sonarch]

Some of these mics say they use phantom power. How do I tell if my computer can provide phantom power?

[Nine Volt]

Well I don't know about phantom power, I use a guitar hero mic with a sock on it (so ghetto yo) to record my dramatic readings. The Hyrule thing is a bad example because I boosted the vocals about 10db and dropped the arp about 10 so it would be clearer. I don't get clipping normally though, it's good for vocal recording, maybe not singing but I can see rapping being fine on it.

[Peak Freak]

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[Sonarch]

So, until I obtain a proper audio interface, i'll need to stick to usb microphones, right?

[Peak Freak]

...

[Applejinx]

However, the XLR cable has 3 wires: 1 for the ground, 1 for the signal, and 1 which takes these noises, and removes most parts of them by phasing.

I'm gonna correct you here- 1 for the ground, 2 for the signal (one in-phase and one out-of-phase)

Both of the signal wires are carrying exactly as much of the signal (sometimes transformer balanced or from a microphone coil, which by definition is giving both sides exactly as much energy) which is why XLR cables can reject noise so well. The two wires are running right next to each other in the same place, but carrying opposite signal. When they're combined at the preamp, by flipping the phase of one and summing them, the signal adds up to get twice the power and any noise put into the wires flips to become OUT of phase and cancels out. (which is what you already meant by phasing- for those who are new to this stuff we don't mean like a 'phase shifter', we're talking 'inverse phase cancellation' or like a 'phase switch', putting stuff 180 degrees out of phase)

It's the same as an 'invert' button on a DAW.

I'm also going to suggest that the down-side to a USB mic is not noise getting in on the wire- that's a computer cable wire, it's already carrying digital. For a hobbyist, a USB mic might easily be the quickest easiest way to a decent sound on some things like vocals or maybe a guitar or piano. Instead of having a non-XLR cable, what you have there is basically NO cable, inside the mic is the preamp and the converter.

The reason to avoid USB mics if you're serious about pushing for better sound is this: you're stuck with the pre and the converter built into the mic and these are NEVER a super great pre or ADC. It'd cost as much as a car and probably not fit in the mic, to have a truly great pre/ADC in there. So what you get is a sort of 'computer grade' pre and converter built into a LDC, which itself isn't always what you'd want for everything. If you use separate stuff you can get or make a better pre eventually (there are kits to build these!) and switch out the mic for a different one. I've tried lots of different mics for different things

USB mics do have the problem of noise, but not the kind Peak Freak means exactly- cheap pres and converters have more hiss and self-noise than the really good stuff. And it is true that bad converters will pick up computery noises from the computer, beeping bzzting noise maybe- but it's not getting in through the cable. The cable is carrying the computer noise up to the mic and its pre/converter and it's getting in there. (Also, if you put the mic RIGHT AGAINST the computer, I bet you'll pick up a bunch of electronic digital trash)

[Sonarch]

Ah. So the next logical question is: what kind of equipment do I need to get in order to be able to use an XLR cable?

[Applejinx]

A preamplifier, or some sort of A/D converter that already has XLR inputs that will take a mic. For instance Apogee or something

[Sonarch]

I've been doing a lot of searching, but I can't seem to find an interface that isn't way overboard for my needs. Most of them have 4 or 8 XLR inputs, plus a bunch of other things, and I don't want to pay for an expensive piece of equipment when I probably won't use most of the features. Can anyone recommend something a bit cheaper that doesn't have a ton of extra stuff on it?
I looked at Apogee, but I don't have a Mac, so it looks like none of their stuff is good for me...

[Raddons]

I've been doing a lot of searching, but I can't seem to find an interface that isn't way overboard for my needs. Most of them have 4 or 8 XLR inputs, plus a bunch of other things, and I don't want to pay for an expensive piece of equipment when I probably won't use most of the features. Can anyone recommend something a bit cheaper that doesn't have a ton of extra stuff on it?
I looked at Apogee, but I don't have a Mac, so it looks like none of their stuff is good for me...

You must not have looked real hard.

[the4thImpulse]

I've been doing a lot of searching, but I can't seem to find an interface that isn't way overboard for my needs. Most of them have 4 or 8 XLR inputs, plus a bunch of other things, and I don't want to pay for an expensive piece of equipment when I probably won't use most of the features. Can anyone recommend something a bit cheaper that doesn't have a ton of extra stuff on it?
I looked at Apogee, but I don't have a Mac, so it looks like none of their stuff is good for me...

Whats your budget?

I typically suggest a fast track C400, its the best in in its price range imo.

[Sonarch]

I've been doing a lot of searching, but I can't seem to find an interface that isn't way overboard for my needs. Most of them have 4 or 8 XLR inputs, plus a bunch of other things, and I don't want to pay for an expensive piece of equipment when I probably won't use most of the features. Can anyone recommend something a bit cheaper that doesn't have a ton of extra stuff on it?
I looked at Apogee, but I don't have a Mac, so it looks like none of their stuff is good for me...

Whats your budget?

I typically suggest a fast track C400, its the best in in its price range imo.

This actually looks great. I don't see anywhere where it says that it actually has an XLR jack specifically, but it seems to be implied.

[the4thImpulse]

I've been doing a lot of searching, but I can't seem to find an interface that isn't way overboard for my needs. Most of them have 4 or 8 XLR inputs, plus a bunch of other things, and I don't want to pay for an expensive piece of equipment when I probably won't use most of the features. Can anyone recommend something a bit cheaper that doesn't have a ton of extra stuff on it?
I looked at Apogee, but I don't have a Mac, so it looks like none of their stuff is good for me...

Whats your budget?

I typically suggest a fast track C400, its the best in in its price range imo.

This actually looks great. I don't see anywhere where it says that it actually has an XLR jack specifically, but it seems to be implied.

Look for yourself



On the right there are two mic/line inputs, they work with both 1/4" and XLR in the same spot! (one at a time of course)

[Sonarch]

Thanks 4th!

This is the thing you are referring to, correct?
http://www.amazon.com/Avid-9900-65162-12-M-Audio-Fast-Track/dp/B005KPDRKA