Microphones
Microphones
● Microphones are transducers which detect
sound signals and produce an electrical
image of the sound, i.e., they produce a
voltage or a current which is proportional
to the sound signal.
● The most common microphones for
musical use are dynamic, ribbon, or
condenser microphones.
Dynamic Microphones
● Principle: sound moves the cone and the
attached coil of wire moves in the field of
a magnet. The generator effect produces
a voltage which "images" the sound
pressure variation - characterized as a
pressure microphone.
Advantages:
● Relatively cheap and rugged.
● Can be easily miniaturized.
Disadvantages:
● The uniformity of response to different
frequencies does not match that of the
ribbon or condenser microphones.
Ribbon Microphones
● Principle: the air movement associated
with the sound moves the metallic ribbon
in the magnetic field, generating an
imaging voltage between the ends of the
ribbon which is proportional to the velocity
of the ribbon - characterized as a
"velocity" microphone.
Advantages:
● Adds "warmth" to the tone by accenting lows
when close-miked.
● Can be used to discriminate against distant
low frequency noise in its most common
gradient form.
Disadvantages:
● Accenting lows sometimes produces "boomy"
bass.
● Very susceptible to wind noise. Not suitable
for outside use unless very well shielded.
Advantages:
● Adds "warmth" to the tone by accenting lows
when close-miked.
● Can be used to discriminate against distant
low frequency noise in its most common
gradient form.
Disadvantages:
● Accenting lows sometimes produces "boomy"
bass.
● Very susceptible to wind noise. Not suitable
for outside use unless very well shielded.
Condenser Microphones
● Sound pressure changes the spacing
between a thin metallic membrane and
the stationary back plate. The plates are
charged to a total charge
where C is the capacitancewhere C is the
capacitance, V the voltage of the biasing battery, A
the area of each plate and d the separation of the
plates.
A change in plate spacing will cause a change in
charge Q and force a current through resistance R.
This current "images" the sound pressure, making
this a "pressure" microphone.
Advantages:
● Best overall frequency response makes
this the microphone of choice for many
recording applications.
Disadvantages:
● Expensive
● May pop and crack when close miked
● Requires a battery or external power
supply to bias the plates.
Crystal Microphone or Piezo
electric Mic
● Crystals which demonstrate the
piezoelectric effect produce voltages when
they are deformed.
● The crystal microphone uses a thin strip of
piezoelectric material attached to a
diaphragm.
● The two sides of the crystal acquire
opposite charges when the crystal is
deflected by the diaphragm.
● The charges are proportional to the
amount of deformation and disappear
when the stress on the crystal disappears
● The electric output of crystal microphones
is comparatively large, but the frequency
response is not comparable to a good
dynamic microphone,
Carbon Microphone
● is a sound-to-electrical signal transducer
consisting of two metal plates separated
by granules of carbon. One plate faces
outward and acts as a diaphragm.
● When sound waves strike this plate, the
pressure on the granules changes, which
in turn changes the electrical resistance
between the plates.
● A direct current is passed from one plate
to the other, and the changing resistance
results in a changing current, which can
be passed through a telephone system, or
used in other ways in electronics systems
to change the sound into an electrical
signal.
