Yamaha AW4416 Tutorial - Page 31

Glossary Tutorial-Glossary ❒ Galileo An early astronomer who lived in the 16th -17th century, and who most certainly never saw anything like an interplanetary probe. We're pretty sure he never saw an AW4416, either. ❒ Close-miking As the term implies, "close-miking" involves placing a microphone very close to the source in order to maximize the amount of sound picked up from the desired source in relation to other ambient sound. ❒ Condenser Microphone Condenser microphones employ a very thin, light diaphragm with a low moving mass to pick up sound. This makes it possible to achieve high sensitivity and broad frequency response, but has the disadvantage that this type of microphone tends to be delicate. They can be damaged by physical shock as well as high humidity. Condenser microphones, particularly the more delicate large-diaphragm types (yep, they have a large diaphragm) are generally never taken out of the studio. ❒ Dynamic Microphone Dynamic microphones use a rigid diaphragm connected to a coil which moves in a magnetic field to transform acoustic sound into electric energy. Dynamic microphones are generally rugged and provide consistent performance under a wide range of conditions, but they rarely provide the high sensitivity and flat broad frequency response of their condenser counterparts. Still, dynamics are the microphones of choice for high-SPL (Sound Pressure Level) percussive sources such as drums (particularly when close-miked) and live sound. ❒ Phantom Power A number of studio-type microphones have built-in preamplifiers that, naturally, require some sort of power to operate. Power can be provided by an external power supply (not too common these days), batteries, or phantom power from the console. It's called "phantom" power because it sort of sneaks into the microphone from the console via the microphone cable without affecting the audio signal. Neat trick, huh!. Since dynamic microphones rarely require external power, most phantom-powered microphones are condenser types. ❒ Baffle Usually a movable sound-absorbing partition which can be placed strategically in the studio to prevent leakage between sources and microphones. 31 - Tutorial