Microphones

Microphones in Music

As the singer of the band “MAC.” It is important to me to find proper equipment when recording our songs. To do so, we don’t trust just any software. Specific microphones are essential in creating the desired sound quality. Since microphones have been around since the 1930’s there has been great headway made. There are a variety of microphones to choose from i.e: a condenser microphone, electret condenser microphones, dynamic microphones, ribbon microphones, carbon microphones, fiber optic microphones and the list goes on and on. In addition to all of these types of microphones, the way sound gets received into these microphones are new and unique. You can have an omnidirectional, bidirectional, subcardioid, cardioid, hypercardioid, supercardioid, and shotgun microphones. A microphone's directionality or polar pattern indicates how sensitive it is to sounds arriving at different angles about its central axis (from top looking down.)
                After doing much research with my bandmates about specific microphones to buy, we concluded that for singing purposes we would use a uni-directional microphone, (it picks up the sound from directly in front of the mic, this eliminates outside noise and fuzz.) In addition to the microphones specific cables and wires are necessary; otherwise you’d have nothing to plug the mic into. For cables we use a simple Male XLR connector and plug into the soundboard or an amp used for a standard guitar. There are a few issues with amplifying your voice with a guitar amp. First, you’re relying heavily on the cable staying in tact and not adding any white noise or fuzz to the background of your voice. Second, the XLR cables are sometimes finicky and relying on them isn’t always the best idea. Finally, there are a variety of effects you can add to a standard guitar when it is plugged in, such as echo, treble, and gain, because of these things, you need to be careful you have those knobs turned off, or way down (depending on your genre of music.) There is a lot of thought that goes into a simple microphone and cable, knowing which is right for you is difficult. Do some research before you buy, it makes all the difference in your sound quality.
For extra reading on this check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphone or http://www.lloydmicrophoneclassics.com/mic_history.html