Knowing where your microphones are pointing is an essential part of mastering the art of microphone positioning. The address type of a microphone is a great indicator of a mic’s directionality and helps us know how to best position our microphones. So what are top-address and side-address microphones? Top-address microphones have the centre-axis of their…
Phantom power is often required for proper microphone function. What is so “phantom” about this powering method, and why is it so popular with microphones? We’ll find out in this article! What is phantom power? Phantom power is a DC voltage (typically +48 V) that provides power to the active components within certain active microphones….
If you’ve ever seen a film crew in action, you may have wondered about the large blimp-shaped object that is so often held above the actors’ heads. You may have seen these same blimps pointing at the field or the audience in sporting events. What are microphone blimp kits, and what are they used for?…
We naturally hear ambient noise in our waking lives (unless we live in an anechoic chamber), so it’s often necessary to have ambient sound in our audio recordings. Rather, it’s uncanny not to have ambient sound in our recordings. One method of capturing ambient audio is by using an ambient microphone. What is an ambient…
Spot miking (also known as accent miking) helps us to emphasize certain instruments and sound sources in dense environments. What Is Spot/Accent Miking? Spot/Accent miking is the act of close-miking certain sources in dense acoustic environments such as orchestras. Spot miking, when done effectively, will concentrate on a single sound source (i.e., a solo instrument…
Clean audio is nearly always strived for in any sound recording or reinforcement. Still, it is often difficult to achieve due to microphone bleed/spill, extraneous and ambient noise, and other noise factors. What is microphone bleed/spill? When close-miking any particular sound source, microphone bleed/spill refers to all extraneous noise other than the intended sound source….
Near-coincident pairs include many high-quality miking techniques for audio engineers and musicians to use effectively in their work. What is a near-coincident pair of microphones? A near-coincident pair is any stereo miking technique that uses a pair of microphones spaced roughly 6-12 inches apart and angled symmetrically on either side of the centre. Near-coincident pairs are often…
Coincident microphone pairs provide common methods of capturing audio inside and outside the studio. Audio engineers cherish these setups for many reasons. What is a coincident pair of microphones? A coincident pair is a pair of microphones positioned with their capsules as close together as possible. The capsules are pointed in such a way that…
Spaced microphone pairs are excellent for capturing a wide stereo image in the studio and elsewhere. What is a spaced pair of microphones? A spaced pair is a miking technique utilizing two identical microphones separated by several feet (usually one-third to one-half the width of a sound stage) that point directly at a sound source….
Surround sound, when done correctly, offers much more immersive than typical mono and stereo audio. Like mono or true stereo, there are true surround sound miking techniques that allow us to capture true surround sound audio in real-time with microphones. The top 4 best surround sound miking techniques are: In this article, we’ll get to…
Microphones come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are nearly wand-like, built with very long lengths and relatively small diameters. These microphones are typically known as shotgun microphones. Why Are Some Microphones Long & What Are Interference Tubes? Shotgun microphones are very long, but their capsules are not near their ends, unlike most…
When looking through catalogues of condenser microphones, it’s fairly common to see the terms FET or solid-state used to describe the microphone. Many condensers on the market today have FETs or JFETs in their design. What are FETs & what is their role in microphone design? FETs (field-effect transistors) are active electrical devices that use…
