Things to Look for When Buying a Studio Microphone
By Mantius Cazaubon

Studio microphones need to accomplish one thing and one thing only: to record the best possible voice or musical instrument sounds. In order to do that, they use advanced technological methods to filter out unwanted ambient sound, which are present even in a controlled studio environment. Studio microphones have to capture the smallest voice subtleties and even the lowest musical notes. Most studio microphones use the electret model, in which a thin metal diaphragm receives sound waves and converts them into electrical current, which can then be interpreted by various recording devices. The filters used in the manufacturing of professional studio microphones are well calibrated, so that any disturbances are stopped before they reach the recording surface.

No room for compromise

Music recording studios, radio studios and TV station studios – they all use professional microphones. A UHF broadcast level microphone is expensive, often with price tags of several hundred dollars, so it is unlikely you will purchase such devices unless you intend to use them in one of the above-mentioned locations. Professional studio microphones need to have two major characteristics at a level far superior to regular microphones: flatness and linearity. Both these attributes mean that the recorded sound is clearer, more accurate, without noticeable distortion. Music studio microphones are often multidirectional, capturing sound from a well controlled ambient. The reason behind this is that the enclosed recording room allows no outside sounds to enter, so the only available ones are the ones produced by the singer or vocalist. A TV studio microphone, on the other hand, has to be focused on a single major source of sound: the speaker holding the microphone.

How to select your studio microphone

The variety of offers on the market is huge. And the truth is that it’s hard to pick a winner in any category. So how can you select your studio microphone? The first step is to determine exactly what the microphone is supposed to do: are you going to record voices, instruments, mixed music? Then you should look for a similar studio and check out their equipment. It’s almost like spying on the competition to see what they are using and if they believe it’s working for them. After you narrowed down the microphone list to a couple of different models, you can go by other decisive items, such as price, warranty or accessories. In the end, the aim is to get the most appropriate microphone for your studio without paying a fortune for it.

Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author and publisher of http://the-microphone-guide.com, a resource for information and tips on buying studio and throat microphones online.

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