THE RIGHT MIC, PT. 3 BY MITCH GALLAGHER
Welcome to the third part of our ongoing look
at microphones. In our first
two installments, we discussed
three different types of mics:
dynamic, condenser, and ribbon. We also examined polar
patterns, sound levels, pads, and
more. If you missed Parts 1 or 2
of this series, they’re available at
premierguitar.com.
Now it’s time to apply what
we’ve learned and start to look
at how to choose the right mic
for your recordings. Right up
front, before you can make any
sort of decision about which
mic you might want to use,
you need to have a firm grasp
of two things: the type of mics
you have in your collection, and
how each of them sounds.
But how to do that?
The first step—knowing
the type of mics you have at
your disposal—requires some
homework, because dynamic,
condenser, and ribbon designs
perform differently. Your mics
may also have different polar
(pickup) patterns. And, they’ll
likely have different feature
sets (pads, low-frequency cuts,
switchable polar patterns, etc.).
To acquaint yourself with each
mic, either break out the docu-
mentation that came with it or
browse the manufacturer’s website
to learn all you can about that
model. You don’t need to absorb
all the tweaky spec stuff. Instead,
it’s the features and functions
that are important—you want to
know what the mic does and how
it works. It also helps to know the
frequency response (for example,
80 kHz– 22 kHz) and to look at
the frequency-response graph—
which will show you if there is a
boost in a particular part of the
frequency range or if the response
rolls off the lows or highs.
As you test your mics, ask yourself these questions:
Check—One, Two
•;Is;the;mic;naturally;bright;or;dark?
•;Does;it;have;an;upper-midrange;bump;in;the;frequency;response?
•;How;strong;is;the;proximity;effect?
•;Does;the;mic;have;an;audible;noise;floor?
•;What;does;this;mic;contribute;to;the;tone;of;sources;you’re;recording?
Answering;such;questions;will;help;you;identify;a;mic’s;sonic;fingerprint,;and
thus anticipate what the mic will do to the tone of the guitars and amps you
put in front of it.
Testing your mics and keeping sound files of these tests allows you to
compare and evaluate each mic you own in the context of the others. It’s
good to test a mic with a variety of sources—electric guitars, nylon- and
steel-string acoustics, vocals, percussion, drums, and so on. Shown here
are some sound files from my mic-testing collection. Careful labeling of
the mic model, source, and switch settings is imperative.
that I own or that I’ve reviewed
or tested, and that allows me to
compare each mic to the others.
To keep these sonic tests as
consistent as possible, I play the
same music (I load in a track
I know well and play or sing
along with it), and I take very
careful notes so I can use the
same mic positions and use the
same mic preamps and settings.
I don’t do any EQ’ing, compressing, or other processing.
The idea is to get a straight
recording of each mic, so I can
do easy A/B comparisons and
really hear what each does.
I also have similar Pro Tools
sessions where I use the same
mic, but switch out different
preamps. You could also do
one where you use the same
mic and preamp, but change
the mic position. Regardless
of what you’re testing, you’re
basically following the scientific method: Keep everything
the same except for one thing
you change for each test. This
approach really lets you hear
the difference that one change
makes—or doesn’t make.
Once you’ve got your test
tracks down on tape or hard
drive, spend some time listen-
ing carefully to them. If you’ve
got tracks for a few mics, do
listening comparisons—this
will require careful volume-level
matching (a track that’s louder
will always sound better to our
ears than one that is quieter in
a direct comparison), and it’s
best if you can do such com-
parisons “blind” without know-
ing which mic you’re hearing.
Have someone else switch the
tracks behind your back so you
can concentrate on what you’re
hearing, not what you’re seeing.
MITCH GALLAGHER is
the former editor in chief of
EQ magazine. He’s written
more than 1000 articles
and six books on recording
and music technology, and
has released an instruc-
tional DVD on mastering. His upcoming
book is entitled Guitar Tone: Pursuing the
Ultimate Electric Guitar Sound. To learn
more, visit mitchgallagher.com.
