Three Major Different Types of Microphones

[ChrisSmithWeb]

No Single "Best" Microphone. The first important thing to understand is that there is no "one mic fits all" solution. Each microphone is best suited to a certain type of recording. The first thing you need to know is what you are recording. Once you know that then you can select the best type of microphone (and from there you can choose the specific brand of microphone that you can afford.)


Dynamic Microphones
These are generally the cheapest type of microphone and they are also the most durable. They don't require "phantom power" like condenser mics do (more on that in the condenser mic section of this article.) What are they best suited for? They are used for recording amplified sounds such as an electric guitar's amp. You may think that you should record your electric guitar directly into your recording device but this is not true. You will never capture the same sort of sound by going directly in as you will when recording an amp. They are also used for recording drums (bass drums, snares, & toms.)


Large Diapraghm Condenser Microphones
These are used for recording vocals and "deep" sounding acoustic instruments such as a cello or an upright bass. These tend to be more expensive and in fact they can get to be extremely expensive in some cases (like the famous Neumann U87 which retails for over $4000.)


Small Diapraghm Condenser Microphones
These are used for recording most acoustic instruments (acoustic guitars, violins, etc) and for recording cymbals and hi-hats on a live drum set.

[Brad Weber]

You generally don't see large and small diaphragm condensers as two different microphone type categories, much less as two of the three major categories. I'm used to seeing condenser (possibly with electret separated as it is a pre-polarized condenser microphone that does not require phantom power while capacitor based condensers do require phantom power), dynamic, ribbon, piezo/crystal and carbon noted as the common general microphone categories. Perhaps this is more "Three Common Microphone Types for Live Sound Reinforcement".

The generalizations made regarding use are, well, generalizations. What might be more useful to many people is addressing why the different mic types are well or poorly suited for different applications. That probably requires first addressing some of the basics regarding patterns, sensitivity, maximum levels, etc.

[hoosierdraft]

Um, spam? Yep.

[ChrisSmithWeb]

I am actually about to post possible reasons why people are experiencing problems regarding their microphone but most probably it is because of the compatibility of their camcorder and external mic. Correct format and applications should also be considered.

[Glowry]

Sound is an amazing thing. All of the different sounds that we hear are caused by minute pressure differences in the air around us. What's amazing about it is that the air transmits those pressure changes so well, and so accurately, over relatively long distances.

If you have read the HowStuffWorks article How CDs Work, you learned about the very first microphone. It was a metal diaphragm attached to a needle, and this needle scratched a pattern onto a piece of metal foil. The pressure differences in the air that occurred when you spoke toward the diaphragm moved the diaphragm, which moved the needle, which was recorded on the foil. When you later ran the needle back over the foil, the vibrations scratched on the foil would then move the diaphragm and recreate the sound. The fact that this purely mechanical system works shows how much energy the vibrations in the air can have!

All modern microphones are trying to accomplish the same thing as the original, but do it electronically rather than mechanically. A microphone wants to take varying pressure waves in the air and convert them into varying electrical signals. There are five different technologies commonly used to accomplish this conversion. Take a look at the next page to see the first type.