Originally Posted by epilot

Hello there,

Does anyone know which kind of microphones are the best choice to be used with audio band?
Which kind of them is able to support the widest audio spectrum?

You first need to decide what the microphone is going to be used for, different types are suitable for different applications.

Your question is far too vague for any helpful reply.

Yep, what Nigel said. However, in answer to the part "Which kind of them is able to support the widest audio spectrum?", a condenser mic would be the answer. These can cover any frequency you can hear aswell as some far lower and some quite a bit higher and often maintain a very flat response across them.

Still too vague. For "music performances", do you mean making ambient recordings of a band in the room? For this you really require 2 condenser mics to make a stereo recording. With rock bands this doesn't work too well usually anyhow, sounds good with more orchestral instrumentation though. For voices, you can use pretty much what you want, if you use a condenser your sure to need a pop-shield if it's a close recording. A simple/cheap way to make acceptable recordings of most music or vocal situations is to use something like this;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/STEREO-MINIDIS...QQcmdZViewItem

The sound will be very much "live" and not a studio close sound, but they are good for the money and i'm still not certain what you need to do.

Those are electret condensers, they can be very good, but actual condensers are often bigger especially the vocal ones. Electrets loose thier charge over time and eventually become useless, proper condensers do not but require 48v phantom powering. Also, condensers can't record the very loudest sounds, like near a kick drum (I have seen a special 100v condenser capable of over 168db though). A dynamic is needed for this. Also, condensers are very sensitive, and although this is sometimes desirable, it can also be a hinderance. For instance, they might pick up surrounding instruments where a dynamic will provide a more isolated recording of a single instrument, or in stage use a dynamic will not feed-back so readily. In a studio, your likely to have both types and use them appropriately to achieve the best possible recording. A few standards for;

Snare drum - dynamic
Kick drum - dynamic
Hi-Hats - dynamic
Toms - dynamic
Overheads - condensors
Ambient recording - condensers
Acoustic guitar - condenser
Vocals - condenser
Brass - dynamic (usually)
Guitar amp cabs - dynamic
Piano - condensers

Originally Posted by epilot

Thanks,

So a condenser mic is able to support 20Hz to more than 20kHz,
If so, I am wondered why other kind of mics are manufactured yet while condenser mics have the widest freq ,are too cheap and very small!?

Because condenser mikes are completely useless for many uses, as I said before specific mikes have advantages for specific uses.

You need to specify EXACTLY what you're wanting to use it for!. If you're wanting multiple useages, then any selection will be a comprimise.

Dr. Em mentions using condenser mikes on acoustic guitars, many acoustic guitars already have electret condenser mikes built-in - but they are completely useless for a live performance, you can't stop the feedback from them!.

But I suspect his list is more for recording than live performance?, live I would only use condensers as overheads on the drum kit, and no where else and NEVER, EVER, ABSOLUTELY NOT as a live vocal mike!.

Yeah, my list is thier uses for recording, not live amplification. I assumed he was making recordings but re-reading his post it doesn't actually specify.

The frequency response that is spec'd as "20Hz to 20kHz" is meaningless without it saying how much deviation it has within the range. It could be all over the place at plus and minus 10dB or be very smooth at plus and minus 1dB.
Most microphones have a directional response at high frequencies. The datasheet will have a graph showing how far down the response is at a certain frequency and at a certain angle off-axis. When I saw the E-Bay stereo mic that has one at each end, I wondered how its response sounds at 90 degrees as it is used. The demo recording sounded like too much boomy bass and too much "S's" picked-up from the speakers not from the mic. The speakers were probably located at each end, not in front.
That mic also seems to add too much strong English accent (at no additional charge?).

Here is a sample of the excellent on-axis frequency response of a fairly inexpensive electret mic:

I use WM61A mic capsules with a phantom powered balanced circuit so they connect to my mixer. They are very good yeah, and cost under £10 a mic total. The difference between a cheap kareoke type dynamic I actually paid £12 for it shocking.

Interestingly though, i'm almost certain that stereo mic from ebay uses those very capsules, the spec listed seems awfully similar. That example to me seems particularly bad. Even the very best hi-fi equiptment recorded with excellent mics still sounds far worse than it does in reality, they should have used a recording of an acoustic instrument (thier mono one has an acousric guitar iirc, that was far more flattering).

You can hear a recording I made with a freind using one of my mics. It is a classical guitar recorded in this room. We left the window open as it was a nice day and the birds were singing outside and we thought it would add a nice ambience to the recording. As such the mic is quite a way from the guitar. The guitar sound is EQ'ed as little as possible so it is a bit boomy and there is more noise than there should be (my room is next to the water tank which is a bit noisy), but it's generally reasonable I think;

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=248197

Thats my freinds page, top track, "The Comfort of Silence".

Originally Posted by Dr.EM

I use WM61A mic capsules with a phantom powered balanced circuit so they connect to my mixer. They are very good yeah, and cost under £10 a mic total. The difference between a cheap kareoke type dynamic I actually paid £12 for it shocking.

I use Behringer dynamic mikes, £18 for three! - great live mikes!, and the price is brilliant!.

Thats my freinds page, top track, "The Comfort of Silence".

Sounds nice! - I notice the next song down is a cover of 'Creep', my daughters band do that as well - the drummer goes for a walk, Melissa hangs up her bass, Charlie plays guitar and Melissa sings - it sounds really good!.

Anyway, the band have a new drummer now - the last one left because he wanted to play guitar instead of drums!. First gig 9th October.

Yeah, those covers were done in the college recording studio, though the person he did them with (the singer) oddly decided to use 2 dynamic mics on the acoustic. Make of it what you will, I think he was going for a grungey, less bright sound mabye?

The old drummer, called Tom wasn't he? I saw him playing in the videos you put up here, he seemed pretty good. How does the new one compare? I play them a bit myself, just an electric kit though and no lessons or anything.

Originally Posted by Dr.EM

The old drummer, called Tom wasn't he?

Yes he was, the new one is even younger (and smaller), I think he's year 9?, and comes from Chesterfield. He played in a band at Musicx with Melissa this summer, so she asked him to join InBetween - apparently he's better than Tom?.

On the subject of mikes, InBetween have a video on myspace - but I don't have a link for it here - I'll try and post it tomorrow. It's a good example of the limitations of an electret mike in a cam-corder, and the entire thing is NOTHING to do with me - although as a performance it's pretty good.

I imagine 2 main limitations in a camcorder. Firstly, the capsules will have to be too close to give a good stereo effect. The supply to the capsules and general circuitry probably isn't high headroom enough to effectively capture a loud rock performance as the preset level is probably talking volume (and assuming you can't manually adjust the gain, there is probably a rather low quality limiting circuit in there?). Those WM61A capsules can have the linkwitz mod performed on them and, when wired up suitably, can handle 134db levels without distorting. I have parts here ready to make one, but still haven't done it.