It’s getting closer to the time for all the Christmas parties and maybe you have several gigs planned. It should be scratched on different songs and when you went through the equipment you may have realized that it is time to update your microphone?

Of course, there are many other reasons why you can enjoy a microphone. For example, there may be a location with a special microphone for your lecture in a large hall with room for over 100 people. If so, what would suit you best? A microphone in a headset or a small mosquito?

A microphone converts the sound into an electronic signal that is transmitted to a receiver or other device that converts it into sound again. Microphones are used in many different situations, e.g. telephone systems, hearing aids, wireless radio, baby monitors and many more areas.

How to think then to get a microphone that is more or less perfect for your purpose. There are 4 different main groups of microphones used in the audio and music industry: dynamic microphones, capacitor microphones, tape microphones and special microphones.

• Dynamic microphones: this type of microphone is robust and very durable. It is also quite directed because it must be aimed directly at the sound source in order for it to be able to capture the sound.
• Condenser microphones: this type of microphone is the most sensitive and therefore works best with high quality amplifiers. It is characterized by a low noise level and provides good sound quality.
• Tape microphones: This type of microphone is actually quite rare due to its fragile structure. When it works well, however, it gives a good sound quality and great credibility.
• Special microphones: Cardioid microphones are most commonly used in theatrical plays, while parabolic microphones are quite rare.

Where should you place the microphone?

Before, there was only one type of microphone, so then there was a lot of experimentation with the distance between the microphone and the instruments. Weaker instruments were moved closer to the microphone and stronger farther away. Nowadays, it is important to set the sound at a certain distance and at a certain angle between the microphone and the instruments. The different types of microphones have different uses and different requirements that must be met.

Today there are many different microphones and it is up to you to decide when to place your microphone in relation to other instruments. You should always strive to get as clear a sound as possible. When you start, it is worth trying different distances with the microphone for each instrument to find the perfect balance.

Feel free to continue experimenting with distances and different microphones. It can differ between different environments and you can learn some tricks. Maybe even test different types of microphones. How much and what to test depends on the purpose for which you use the microphone. If it is only for speech or song, it can be relatively limited with how much you need to test.

Some people like to record sounds in different environments and then use them in computer programs where they can mix together in different ways. These can then be used as background sound for, for example, commercials or to create more emotion in one’s video. In some mixer programs you can buy sound packages to then experiment with, but it’s quite fun to sometimes create from scratch.