New subject: using a condensator microphone live

29 Jan 2009

frank pirrone wrote:
...
  Jörn Nettingsmeier wrote:
  fwiw, *any* _directional_ microphone will have
the proximity effect
 (i.e. a bass boost when used up close) - it's the directivity that does
 it, not the transducer principle.  
 I'm not sure that's consistent with my experience.  Even cardioid
 dynamics vary significantly in the *quality* of proximity effects I'm
 referring to - response to breathy singing, punch, timbre as a function
 of harmonics balance, maybe even mechanical overdriving of the diaphragm
 in loud passages.

 FWIW, the SM58 is a nice comfortable mike for singers who heavily employ
 dynamics in their vocals.

 I understand the theoretical reality of what you assert here, but
 believe there's more going on than pickup pattern. 
i agree that the proximity effect of, say, an U87 in cardioid setting is
not usable in the same way than that of an sm58. for one, it would pop
like mad :)
but that's due to the size and sensitivity of the capsule, the built-in
foam (or lack thereof) and the robustness of the suspension.

if you take a directional condenser optimized for hand-held (neumann has
a veery nice hypercardioid, i forget the model number, or take some of
the offerings by beyerdynamic or sennheiser), you will find that it can
be used in much the same way than an sm58, although sibilance will
become a problem, simply because those mikes are way more linear in the
treble range and more sensitive. another downside of the neumann is that
it's quite prone to handling noises

otoh, no true omni will display a significant proximity effect.
in short: i can assure you that it's only the pickup pattern :)

but in actual practice you are of course right, other factors come into
play, and nobody in their right mind would use a hand-held large
diaphragm like a TLM for a dynamic vocal performance (unless money was
utterly not an issue, and even then it would probably suck)

best,

jörn

Re: [LAU] using a condensator microphone live