Music Production Techniques
1MP001 Music Production Techniques 1
Assessment 3 – Portfolio
Section A
Dynamic Microphone
So we are in the studio rearing to go, our musicians are well practiced and have a great track ready to lay down. As an engineer or a producer we need to decide what is the best possible way to capture the sound we want from the band. We are faced with a number of challenges at this point, such as where are we going to set the instruments up in the room? What order shall we record the artists in? What is the best process to take to make the recording go as smoothly as possible? However with all this aside, the 'big question' is what microphones shall we use?
There are endless amounts of microphones available at our finger tips these days, so how can we really decide what kind of mic is best for certain parts of the recording? First of all we need to see what types of microphones are available to us. There are various types of mic's, with specific polar patterns and sensitivity and frequency ranges, making each microphone unique for different roles.
Today we will concentrate on Dynamic Microphones. Dynamic mic is the standard general-purpose mic like the type you see people singing with at live gigs. The design of a dynamic microphone is very simple and they have few moving parts. This makes them quite rugged and able to withstand high volumes and abuse. Dynamic microphones work using the electromagnet principal. The diaphragm vibrates when sound waves hit its surface and this in turn moves a coil of wire back and forth past a magnet. This generates an electrical current that is sent down two wires and out of the mic.
Now we know the basic design of a dynamic microphone, we can decide how we can take advantage of these features. So why would we use a dynamic mic in a studio, surely we would want a higher frequency range and response and clarity within our recordings? So why don’t we just use a different kind of microphone which is on paper better and less rugged?
Assessment 3 – Portfolio
Section A
Dynamic Microphone
So we are in the studio rearing to go, our musicians are well practiced and have a great track ready to lay down. As an engineer or a producer we need to decide what is the best possible way to capture the sound we want from the band. We are faced with a number of challenges at this point, such as where are we going to set the instruments up in the room? What order shall we record the artists in? What is the best process to take to make the recording go as smoothly as possible? However with all this aside, the 'big question' is what microphones shall we use?
There are endless amounts of microphones available at our finger tips these days, so how can we really decide what kind of mic is best for certain parts of the recording? First of all we need to see what types of microphones are available to us. There are various types of mic's, with specific polar patterns and sensitivity and frequency ranges, making each microphone unique for different roles.
Today we will concentrate on Dynamic Microphones. Dynamic mic is the standard general-purpose mic like the type you see people singing with at live gigs. The design of a dynamic microphone is very simple and they have few moving parts. This makes them quite rugged and able to withstand high volumes and abuse. Dynamic microphones work using the electromagnet principal. The diaphragm vibrates when sound waves hit its surface and this in turn moves a coil of wire back and forth past a magnet. This generates an electrical current that is sent down two wires and out of the mic.
Now we know the basic design of a dynamic microphone, we can decide how we can take advantage of these features. So why would we use a dynamic mic in a studio, surely we would want a higher frequency range and response and clarity within our recordings? So why don’t we just use a different kind of microphone which is on paper better and less rugged?