Microphones

If you’ve been flipping through our range of microphones, you’ve probably come across the terms ‘electret’ and ‘true condenser’. But what’s the difference? And are ‘real’ condenser microphones always better than electret microphones, like the name suggests? In this blog, we’ll explain it all.

Thanks to social media, it’s never been easier for bands to reach a huge audience by dropping studio-polished tracks on online platforms. That said, sounding good in the studio is one thing – sounding just as good or even better on stage is another. Stunning live performances are exactly what sets good bands apart from the rest, which raises the question: how do you make the perfect live recording of a gig? Well, read on and learn!

So, you play keyboard and you’d like to sing along. But is it even possible to plug a microphone directly into your keyboard? That depends entirely on your keyboard, but even if it does have a microphone input there are still a few things to bear in mind or look out for.

Back in the day, ribbon microphones were not only expensive but incredibly delicate, and generally, were only built and maintained by the studios that used them. In America, RCA records built their own ribbon microphones, while the BBC built their own Coles microphones. Of course, these days, you can find a massive range of affordable models available, and most of them are a lot more hard-wearing and less delicate than their ancestors. Here, I’ll go over the pros and cons of using the infamous ribbon microphone so you can make up your own mind.

Stereo recordings often have the kind of three-dimensionality you just can’t replicate using reverb or delay effects or the pan controls of your DAW software. Most stereo recordings are made using a pair of condenser microphones loaded with cardioid pickup patterns, though omni-directional and bidirectional microphones aren’t uncommon either. Usually, more high-end microphones can even toggle between all three patterns so you can pick one depending on the situation. If you want to know which microphone set-ups are best for recording in stereo, just read on!

Say you’ve finished recording all of the instruments and vocals and you want to mix everything down. The individual tracks sound great, but once you start playing with the faders, it sounds like all parts of the recording are working against each other. The mix is all but up to snuff, and a phase issue is most likely to blame. In this blog, I’m going to explain what phase is, what it causes and how you can get rid of it, so you can prevent or fix any phase issues as they pop up while you’re working on your studio projects.

A full choir can be seen as an enormous, singular audio source, that sometimes spreads out its sound over tens of metres, making for a pretty unique job when it comes to recording. How do you make sure that every choir member is captured while the choir sounds like a cohesive whole? In this blog, I’ll explain how just two or three cleverly positioned microphones can result in a balanced and clear stereo-recording.

While recording an acoustic guitar might sound like a straightforward job, getting a clear and natural-sounding recording can depend on a number of factors. The kind of microphone you use, the way the microphone is positioned, as well as the way the recording space reacts to the vibration of the strings, all play an important role in the final recording.

In theory, it’s definitely possible, but in practice it can be a little bit cumbersome. The advantage of using a USB microphone is that you have a great all-in-one setup without needing to use an audio interface. But if you want to use more than one USB mic, things get pretty complicated for your computer. Also, hooking two USB microphones up to a computer kind’ve defeats the purpose of using a USB microphone. But, can it actually be done?

Despite the fact that setting up and teaching classes online is easier than ever in today’s digital age, there are lots of tutors, coaches and private teachers who struggle with the audio quality of their live-streams – even when their internet connection is working just fine. Since comprehensible speech is essential for getting any kind of message across, the sound needs to be spot-on. In this blog, I’m going to explain how you can take the audio quality of your online classes to the next level and, no, you don’t necessarily need to invest in a new microphone!

Most people never even think about vocal microphone hygiene, which is okay as long as you’re the only one using the mike. If not, it’s important that you clean your vocal microphone after use to prevent one singer from passing their germs on to the next. In this humble blog, I’ll explain how you can easily clean a microphone yourself.

This might sound familiar: you’re at home trying to record audio using an audio interface, a microphone and some kind of recording software. The signal input meters of the software are barely moving so you turn up the gain, only to then sing one or two loud notes and be immediately confronted with the signal clipping as if possessed by the devil himself. If that does indeed sound familiar, you’ve no doubt asked yourself (and the internet apparently): how loud should I record audio?