Microphone Types and Equalization Blogpost

What is the difference between Dynamic and Condenser microphones?

Condenser Mics are more expensive and more sensitive this includes lavalier and shotgun mics. Dynamic Mics are more rugged and require no power.

What is directionality?

Directionality refers to the direction that which the microphone picks up the most sound. There are omnidirectional mics that pick up noise from all directions and Cardioid mics that are less sensitive to noises coming from the sides and back.

Why would you use a Lavalier? A  Shotgun? A Handheld Dynamic?

Lavalier Mics are best used for interviews television or live performances where each person's voice is the only important sound and they intend to move with the mic. Most shotgun mics are used for long-distance recording when attaching a mic is not an option. Dynamic mics are best used for their ability to withstand higher sound pressure which is good for live singing and voice recording.

What is EQ?

The process of changing the balance of different frequency components in an audio signal.

How does an instrument or voice’s timbre affect how we EQ?

An instrument's timbre is the characterizing tone of said instrument. This affects the frequency of the partials and changes how equalization will affect the sound of this instrument.

How does masking effect recordings with multiple sounds? 

The two sounds can overlap and cause one or both of them to be heard less clearly this is masking.

How can you use filters to improve audio quality?

You can apply High or low pass filters to cut a certain range of frequencies from a recording. There are many additional filters that have a variety of effects and can be implemented to deal with certain audio elements.

Explain Additive and Subtractive EQ.

Additive frequency is increasing some sounds to improve the overall quality of a recording

Subtractive EQ is muffling problematic noises to achieve the same result.