17
votes
Accepted
What are the 1 2 3 settings on the back of The Blue Snowball?
Referencing both manuals for the Snowball Blue Microphone (and this manual) which provide similar information with different descriptions of the settings, this switch controls the pickup pattern,
...
- 1,103
10
votes
TRS 3.5mm microphone not working in mixer
I have recently run across this exact issue and have found the answer so thought I'd share.
PC microphones are a type of "electret" microphone which is essentially a specific type of unbalanced ...
- 101
9
votes
Why do microphones underperform at distances?
It's not the ear that can differentiate a voice from background, it's the brain.
It can use the minute differences in timing that a sound arrives at each ear (known as the Haas or Precedence Effect) ...
- 8,405
7
votes
Accepted
How to record classical piano with one microphone?
Deep and resonant with less sharpness sounds like you want to put the mic underneath the piano pointing up at the sound board. You'll probably want to move it around down there and experiment with how ...
- 2,190
7
votes
Accepted
My new sennheiser doesn't have an XLR port, what is this plug called? (picture included)
It's a modular system.
You need the microphone module, which you have, and the power module, which you apparently don't have.
According to Sennheiser documentation you need the K6 or K6P power ...
- 421
7
votes
What type of microphone is best suited for recording ambient sounds?
Since you need natural sounding stereophonic sound, you would need two cardioid mics set up as a near coincident pair.
There are actually two ways of doing this, the French (ORTF) and the Dutch (NOS)...
- 1,563
7
votes
Accepted
How do I read this frequency response chart?
The response curves are for each of the three selectable roll-off switch positions...
Flat
–6 dB/octave below 100 Hz
–18 dB/octave below 80 Hz
From the spec sheet -
Low Frequency Response ...
- 8,405
6
votes
How do sound engineers maintain levels in live performances?
This is probably a better question for Sound.SE, but anyway:
A good vocalist will be aware of their mic placement (it becomes habit pretty quick). In "loud" genres, rock for example, as an engineer, ...
- 341
6
votes
Phantom Power: Would it run through TSR plugs and if so would it cause electrocution?
It would be very unusual for equipment to put phantom power out to TRS inputs. One reason is that connecting an unbalanced TS connector would shorten one line with phantom power but not the other, ...
- 61
6
votes
Accepted
What are these microphone connectors?
Those are DIN connectors. DIN line-level signals expect a different impedance than is usual for RCA or XLR connections. IIRC you can put a resistor in series to convert to RCA.
I'm not sure what ...
- 1,578
5
votes
Microphone to pick voice of several people in a big room
If you are on a budget you might want to give the Blue Microphones Yeti a try. It has switchable pick up patterns on it one of with it polar which will pick up 360 degrees around the mic. It's USB so ...
5
votes
Accepted
Choosing a studio mic for accordion
I would go with 2-4 goosenecked clip microphones positioned in top and bottom of each sound source, something like this:
The important thing here is that the mics stay at a fixed position, so you ...
- 3,782
5
votes
Accepted
Studio mic --> Headphone jack not working
The suspect area is the ¼" jack & ¼" - ⅛" adaptor.
It needs to be correctly wired as a mic input to that specific jack socket, which on a Mac is a 4-pole connector, TRRS, for headset/mic combos.
...
- 8,405
5
votes
Rode SmartLav+ does not work with Scarlett 2i2
Rode has now a device which allows to plug in microphones which need to be powered by power usually provided by smartphones (2.7v) through TRRS such as Rode's Lavalier Go or Shure's MVL/A to a USB ...
- 51
5
votes
Why do microphones underperform at distances?
Let me start by addressing the lack of microphones that can do this. There isn't one. We have specialized highly directional microphones that can pick up very specific points at fairly long ...
- 8,142
5
votes
Accepted
Microphones for instruments ranging from double bass to fife
If you're specifically after something that's versatile, the Shure SM57 is the best microphone you'll find for that budget.
It can be used for pretty much anything, it sounds good live and in the ...
- 131
5
votes
Mic closest as human ear (not just few inches away)
I think you are working to a false premise.
It is not actually the sensitivity of the microphone that is they key to this - you can take any half decent mic & keep turning it up. Sure, there will ...
- 8,405
5
votes
Why aren't amplifiers aimed AWAY from the audience on live shows?
First off… pros don't just decide they want to turn their amp up halfway through a gig. That's what sound crews are for; there's one guy whose job it is to make sure everyone on stage can hear ...
- 8,405
4
votes
DIY contact microphone
Here is a nifty preamp circuit that provides a FET buffer and balances the signal, which deals with all the issues you are discussing. The circuit is based on the work of Alex Rice.) You attach the ...
4
votes
Accepted
TRS 3.5mm microphone not working in mixer
The microphone is a balanced connection don't bridge pins 1(ground) to 3 the -(negative) When you do this you're losing at least half your signal. The other problem is that a mixer generally expects ...
- 334
4
votes
How to connect a stereo microphone to a mono input?
To answer your question directly yes you can connect a stereo mic directly up to a mono input without causing damage. Worse case scenario is it won't work. Next worse case scenario is it will work ...
- 111
4
votes
Shotgun Microphone to isolate sound of golf club striking golf ball
Shotguns help, but they do not 100% isolate anything. The main way to "isolate" a sound in the field is with distance. You want to get as far away from undesired noises and as close to desired noises ...
- 2,190
4
votes
Accepted
How to introduce automatic gain control over two mics using audio interface, DAW and a mixer
What you are looking for is a Dugan automixer. This can be acquired as either a hardware processing device, as software inside an existing hardware device such as a mixer, or as a VST plugin.
I ...
- 8,815
4
votes
What is the ideal type of mic to use for recording street musicians?
You've hit the typical "I want to do this solo" wall.
Really, you want a good shotgun mic, with blimp & dead cat - on a boom, so it can be turned to point at you or them for the ...
- 8,405
4
votes
LOTS of static on my microphone
That's not static, it's a bad ground condition.
When hum reduces if you touch a ground plane, it means you're doing a better job than the circuitry at becoming the signal ground.
At best guess, if you ...
- 8,405
3
votes
Accepted
What is the axis of the cardioid pattern of a condenser microphone?
The cardioid pattern is a 3D pattern and is taken along the front direction of the mic.
This video explains the concept pretty well -
The internal structure of the ...
- 141
3
votes
How do sound engineers maintain levels in live performances?
What they said - plus:
If it is well done foldback* is provided to the performers, the variation in distance to the microphone is compensated for by a feedback loop via ears brain and mouth - often ...
- 131
3
votes
Microphone to pick voice of several people in a big room
I second Mike Rinehart's suggestion of the Blue Yeti. Although I haven't used one personally, it is one of the most popular budget mics on the market. Its switchable pickup pattern means you can set ...
3
votes
What is this microphone connector?
Looks very much like a vintage Switchcraft 2501 connector. Note that those were typically used for vintage high-impedance unbalanced microphones. So even if you had a cable with that connector on one ...
- 1,869
3
votes
Accepted
Shure SM57 with lost sensitivity
Yeah, that happens eventually. I've been working with SM57s in live and studio setups for 15 years. In particular the ones used in live setups, which are used both indoor and outdoor, wears faster.
...
- 3,782
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible