Microphone Comparisons Speech overhead

INTRODUCTION The audio file contains voice samples of various microphones, to illustrate the differences in sound quality and characteristics. All recordings were made at 30cm from the mouth with the mics boomed overhead. No post processing except level normalisation. Different microphones such as the Beyerdynamic M201TG, AKG D202, and a cheap dynamic cardioid microphone from Maplin are compared. Other microphones include the Clock Audio D520E reporter microphone, the inexpensive Golden Age FC4 multi capsule pencil condenser, Audio-Technica ATM10A, Rode NT2A, the expensive Sennheiser MKH30 Figure of 8 slim condenser and BBC Coles 4038 ribbon microphone along with the generic budget Stagg branded large diaphragm studio microphone. The summary highlights the different patterns and features of each microphone. TRANSCRIPT This audio file is a collection of voice samples for various microphones so that you can hear the difference between microphones of different types and different characters and the nuances between them. The first one is the Beyerdynamic M201TG which is the one I'm using now. The Beyerdynamic M201TG is a dynamic supercardioid microphone so it has a very tight polar pattern. This microphone is the AKG D202. It's a vintage microphone which was used by the BBC for many years and this microphone has got bass cut on the barrel itself so you can take 7 or 20 dB of bass off this. I'll just move it on to 7 dB of bass cut. So I've now applied 7 dB of bass cut on this microphone, the AKG D202. And by way of comparison with the professional D202, this is a cheap dynamic cardioid microphone from Maplin which cost about £22 many years ago. It's unbranded but it works just as well and it produces quite a decent sound. And this is a supercardioid reporter microphone by Clock Audio. It's called the D520E and it's mounted on a boom about 10 inches away from my mouth. It's got a long handle for reporters and it's a supercardioid pattern. And this microphone is a Golden Age FC4 pencil condenser microphone with a cardioid capsule. The capsules are interchangeable on this particular microphone so you can have an omni, a cardioid or a supercardioid. This is the Golden Age Project FC4 pencil condenser microphone with a supercardioid capsule at 30 cm mounted on a boom overhead. This is the Golden Age Project FC4 pencil condenser microphone with an omnidirectional capsule. So at the moment it's on an overhead boom about 30 cm from my mouth. I can go to about 15 cm and the bass gets a little bit deeper but not overbearing. And now back to 30 cm. So that's the Golden Age Project FC4 with the omnidirectional capsule. And this microphone is an Audio-Technica ATM10A pencil condenser microphone which has an omnidirectional pattern. It can be powered by an AA battery or phantom power. And at the moment it's boomed about 10 inches from my mouth. The Audio-Technica ATM10A. This is the Rode NT2A in figure of 8 configuration. "Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow". And there's no bass cut applied to this. This is figure of 8. I'll now go into cardioid. And this is in cardioid configuration "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8". And this is in Omni "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8". The Rode NT2A multi-patterned condenser microphone at about 30 cm. This is the MKH-30 figure of 8 microphone boomed overhead horizontally so that I could use it for Zoom calls or recording video on the screen. So it's out of shot. And this is with no bass cut '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10'. So I've now applied bass cut on the microphone just to compare the sound between a flat signal and a signal with bass cut on the microphone for this figure of 8 condenser microphone, the MKH-30. This is the Coles 4038 ribbon microphone suspended overhead. And I'm about a foot away. It does produce a very nice warm sound. It's a figure of 8 microphone so it will pick up sounds from the back so you don't want any reflective surfaces behind it. But it doesn't pick up anything from the sides. The Coles 4038 ribbon microphone. This is the Stagg large diaphragm studio microphone in cardioid pattern about 30 cm in front of my mouth. It's roughly about level with my nose so it's above mouth level. This is a condenser microphone and it can be switched to omni. I'll come a bit closer. So this is at a closer distance about 15 cm. '1, 2, 3, 4, 5". And now back to 30 cm. And we'll look at the omni side. So this is the omni directional polar pattern switched in. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10". The Stagg studio condenser microphone. Well, I hope you found the comparison of these microphones useful. They were all recorded at about 30 cm from my mouth, boomed overhead, mainly because I'm testing them out to see whether they're suitable to use for video recording out of shot. But of course if you're a podcaster you might well want to put them in shot, in which case you can put them closer. But at 30 cm they are going to pick up a bit more room noise and equipment noise so that's something to bear in mind. Now I just have a few microphones that I've been able to pull together for this demonstration. Of course there are hundreds on the market and there are USB mics and all sorts of other things which are very good these days. So you really do need to look around. The purpose of this demonstration was just to give you an idea of what happens when you boom about 30 cm with various types of microphones and various costs. And in case you're wondering what microphone I'm using at the moment it's the Rode NT2-A which is set on the cardioid pattern with [bass gut at 40 Hz] <Correction : NO Bass Cut> on the microphone. So that's the end of this session. I hope that you found it useful and perhaps I'll do another one later. So for now, goodbye.