You have a lot of microphones, but you often have to consider many factors when choosing. In a wide variety of microphones, there is no such a theorem as "a certain microphone is the best". Each type of microphone has its own unique properties and uses, and the sound quality produced is also different.
Dynamic microphone
The meaning of "moving coil" is that the wire coil closely connected to the diaphragm continuously moves in the magnetic field according to the change of sound pressure, thereby generating a current that changes in proportion to the amplitude of the sound wave. In this way, the acoustic signal is converted into an electrical signal. The coil of the dynamic microphone cuts the magnetic field to directly generate current, so the dynamic microphone does not need power supply. The advantage of a dynamic microphone is its simplicity and practicality. The disadvantage is that due to being "dragged" by the wire coil, the response speed of the diaphragm to fast-changing sound waves is not as fast as other types of microphones. It is difficult for a dynamic microphone to pick up the high-frequency part of the wiper's high energy, but when picking up a strong kick or snare drum sound, the dynamic microphone can have a satisfying performance. Dynamic microphones are also often used to record the sound from electric guitar speakers. Dynamic microphones are often used for vocal recording, which is largely a "traditional custom." Because the previous condenser microphones were bulky and fragile. However, although condenser microphones designed specifically for live vocals abound, their more expensive average prices often make people more inclined to choose dynamic microphones that can also do their job well.
Small-diaphragm condenser microphone The condenser microphone is designed based on the principle of electrostatics. The diaphragm and the back plate form a capacitor unit. The vibration of the diaphragm with the sound wave causes the potential difference between it and the back plate to change, thereby converting the acoustic signal into an electrical signal. Condenser microphones generally have built-in amplifiers because the output of the condenser unit is very weak. Condenser microphones require an external 48 V phantom power supply or battery. At present, there is no final standard for the size of the diaphragm of small diaphragm microphones, but most professionals and manufacturers believe that all microphones with a diaphragm diameter of less than 5/8 inches belong to small diaphragm microphones.
Large-diaphragm condenser microphone A large-diaphragm microphone refers to a microphone with a diaphragm diameter greater than or equal to 3/4 inch, which is called a large-diaphragm microphone. Everyone agrees that a microphone with a larger diaphragm will also make a louder sound. In traditional terms, large diaphragm microphones record more distinctive sounds such as vocals, musical instruments, ventriloquist, dubbing and so on. Blue cactus, kiwi fruit or something. The advantage of a large-diaphragm condenser microphone is that it can give you the kind of sound that the studio is particularly admired-not the most natural sound, but the sound is thick and warm, and it feels very comfortable no matter what sound is recorded. The disadvantage is that the higher the frequency of the sound, the more obvious the directivity of the large-diaphragm condenser microphone. If you are facing the microphone, this is not a problem, but if you use two microphones for stereo reception, the sound from the side may not be ideal.
The design and manufacture of vacuum tube microphones can be traced back to the early days of condenser microphones. At that time, since transistors had not yet been widely used in large-scale applications, the built-in amplifiers of condenser microphones were all vacuum tubes. Although some vacuum tube microphones used to have small diaphragms, most of the vacuum tube microphones we see now have large diaphragms. The advantage of the vacuum tube microphone is that the vacuum tube amplifier is prone to produce a very pleasant and comfortable distortion effect, that is, "warm sound". For vocals, this kind of warm distortion is often used as a panacea. Unlike other types of microphones, vacuum tube microphones have become very popular since the age of vacuum tubes have long passed, and their prices are often high.
Ribbon microphone
The ribbon microphone is a special dynamic microphone. Ribbon microphones are classified as dynamic microphones, but there are huge differences in structure and pre-amplification circuit. The aluminum ribbon microphone is actually a replica of the physical electromagnetic induction phenomenon in junior high school. Its pickup part is an annealed aluminum ribbon about 10cm long, 3mm wide, and 2-5um thick. This aluminum ribbon is placed in In a strong magnetic field. When the sound makes the aluminum tape vibrate, the magnetic induction line of the aluminum tape produces a weak current, which is amplified by the pre-processing amplifier circuit (usually a transformer) and converted into sound. The aluminum tape microphone can record clear but slightly dim sound . This makes them often used artistically in recording studios. Ribbon microphones are generally very fragile, so fragile that some brands' manuals will remind users: When holding the ribbon microphone to receive the sound, walk slowly to avoid the air passing through the microphone too fast and causing the ribbon to displace. Like dynamic microphones, most ribbon microphones do not require external power supply (except for some built-in amplifiers). However, the output of ribbon microphones is generally relatively small, so it is better to use with a pre-amplifier.
Electret microphone
The electret microphone has the characteristics of small size, simple structure, good electroacoustic performance, and low price. It is widely used in circuits such as cassette recorders, wireless microphones and voice control. Belongs to the most commonly used condenser microphones. Due to the high input and output impedances, a field effect tube should be provided as an impedance converter in the microphone housing. For this reason, the electret condenser microphone needs a DC working voltage when it is working. The electret material is a material that can permanently retain these charges after adding charges. Using this principle, the electret material on the diaphragm or the backplane provides the constant voltage required by the capacitor unit, which can save the power supply of the microphone. However, the work of the microphone built-in amplifier still requires battery or phantom power. It should be noted that battery-based electret microphones are less sensitive than phantom-powered ones, and have a weaker ability to handle the maximum sound pressure. Electret microphones are widely used in handheld devices because of their low cost and miniaturization. An electret microphone with an internal integrated FET preamplifier can provide high performance. Many of the most accurate microphones in the world today are electret microphones.
Piezo microphone
Piezoelectric microphones are also called crystal microphones, and their principle is to use the piezoelectric effect of certain materials-that is, the sound causes the deformation of the material to produce a voltage change. Piezoelectric microphones are now mainly in the form of contact microphones. A typical example is a guitar pickup. The piezoelectric microphone directly picks up the physical vibration of the sound source instead of the sound wave vibration in the air. The advantage is to isolate the sound of the instrument from other sounds. However, the sound picked up in this way will not be particularly real, so the application of piezoelectric microphones is more limited. In summary, this is the 7 types of microphones classified according to their working principles. Being able to understand their basic working principles and recognize their unique sounds is one of the necessary skills for every music producer.
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