Condenser Microphone
Condenser Microphone
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Condenser Microphones: Everything You Need To Know
Condenser Mic's: The Brief History
The first high quality wide range condenser microphone was developed by E.E Wente at Bell in the early 1900's. Condenser means capacitor, an electronic component which stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field. The microphone uses a capacitor to convert acoustical energy into electrical energy. The condenser microphone is more commonly found in recording studios, due to its great vocal recording quality which isn't usually found in any other type of microphone. Due to the fact that they used to be the most expensive microphones on the market, condenser microphones weren't often used for recording music in home recording studios, but now, due to companies like Editors Keys and Rode making affordable recording equipment, condenser microphones are a lot more accessible to everybody, no matter what budget or quality of recording studio you have, whether it be a professional studio or a home studio. Don't be fooled into thinking that paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds is what you need to do to get the best quality condenser microphone. There are some excellent microphones out there, for example the Editors Keys SL600 which is under £150, gives you the same quality of recording as microphones worth well thousands of dollars.
The Present Day Home Recording
Up until recently, condenser microphones were only available with an XLR connection, making recording more difficult for home users, with out use of additional sound cards and adapters. Condenser microphones are now are available with a USB connection and built in sound card, allowing you to get perfect studio quality sound straight into your computer.
Many people are confused about the differences between condenser microphones and dynamic microphones. Condenser microphones have a flatter frequency than that of dynamic microphones, which makes them more suited to recording vocals and instruments as they are more sensitive, as opposed to dynamic microphones which are less sensitive and mainly used for live performances. Condenser microphones are quite fragile and accidents like dropping them or screaming into it can cause permanent damage (be gentle with it).
What Makes a Good Condenser?
There are many factors to look at when dealing with condenser microphones to make sure you get the best for your budget. Look for a condenser microphone with a large diaphragm; anything above 20mm will help towards good vocals. A hyper cardioid pattern and gold diaphragm condenser are all things too look out for in addition to a good frequency response rate (between 20-18,000hz is perfect for home recording).
About the Author
This article was written by Fallon Morris of EditorsKeys.com. Editors Keys is the worlds leading website for Shortcuts Keyboard, USB microphones and Portable Vocal Booths.Click here for more information on vocal booths.
condenser microphone?
hey guys i want to record only vocals, im a hip hop artist and i want to do it at home
i dont have that much amount of money for a studio right now.
can anyone please suggest me a good condenser microphone?
im not looking to go over the price of £200
also i will need a good phantom power
please give me a reliable one that doesn't cost that much (im not buying a usb condenser microphone because my sound card on my pc isn't that great)
pop filter?
Stand?
The best voice microphone currently being made is the Shure SM-7
I have brought this in to studios that have $3000 Neuman condenser mics and they laughed when I said I wanted to use my $300 Shure mic instead. I told them to put up both mics and do an A/B test while I spoke into each of them. The three other audio engineers in the studio had to agree, the Shure was better and it was a night and day difference, not hard at all to decide it was best.
This mic has a warmth and rich sound no other mic can give you.
from MIX MAGAZINE, March 1998, page 53:
Eric Paul has made a career out of recording country giants like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and many others: "My favorite overall microphone for voices is the Shure SM-5. If they can't get a Shure SM-5, they can still get Shure SM-7s, which are still available. If you've tried out three very expensive tube mics and you aren't happy with any of them, then the next step should immediately be a Shure SM-7. I will almost always guarentee you that if the expensive mic doesn't work, an SM-7 will. For some reason, people sound better on them."
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from EQ MAGAZINE, July 2006 issue:
The SM7 is perhaps most famous for being used as the vocal microphone on Michael Jackson's Thriller engineered by Bruce Swedien.
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"When we were doing "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad" I ended up with 6 Shure SM7's. That is a fantastic mike." - Bruce Swedien
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have used the SM 7 on vocals on every album they have done.
You can see James Hetfield from Metallica singing into a Shure SM 7 on the "Some Kind Of Monster" DVD.
Condenser microphones used with garageband home recording