Mic Technique

In spite of all the technical details, what it boils down to is which combination of microphone type and placement you feel gives you the sound you are looking for. the most important tip of all, and the one for which you can disregard all the ones above, is try out all different kinds of microphone for the instrument you are recording, place it in about ten different positions and listen to each recording separately. then pick the one that sounds best to you.

Above all, only start recording when you are satisfied with the microphone sound. this is the base from which you will be working when making the final mix of the track. no amount of effects applied after recording can disguise a poor base sound.

TECHNIQUE

One of the most difficult instruments to pinpoint is the human voice. it has a wide dynamic (loudness) range and a great variation in pitch. depending on the type of singer, you can use a condenser (full range pick up, warm and clear sound), or a dynamic (slightly duller but useful with dynamic peaks and proximity effects - see below). a really expensive condenser microphone gives the best results

Seems like getting the vocal to sit in a 3-D space with the band is a problem for a lot of new recordists and vocalists. Mic technique, most new vocalists have a tendency to swallow the mic. Unless your want really dry hip-hop and punk vocals Step off that mic a bit. Even a new inches and sing slightly over the top of it instead of directly in. If you do this you’ll notice that the vocal seems more natural with the music even before adding reverb. Many times you can get away with no reverb. After that try messing with reverb, compression, eq , levels.. But always check the source first when dealing with any recording issue. Any problem can Always be solved here.

Vocalists singing live like to use omni microphones because they tend to move around a lot. The microphone may be directly in front of their mouth one minute, and then be to either side the next, but regardless, their voice is always picked up well. Cardioids are good for mic up background vocalists.

The first kind of sound pickup is a micing technique is called "Close Micing" where the microphone is placed within a foot of the instrument making the sound.

The second type of sound pickup can be used with electric and electronic instruments. The technique is called the "direct pickup" or the "direct injection" method

The third type of sound pickup used for this technique is the "near-distant" micing technique where the microphone is placed 3 to 5 feet away from the instrument

MICROPHONE

The microphones on the instruments convert the sound waves into an audio signal that gets plugged into microphone inputs of the recording console. Condenser microphones use electrically charged plates inside a diaphragm. the varying pressure from sound waves hitting the diaphragm cause one of the plates to move towards and away from the other, resulting in tiny fluctuations of the electrical charge. these fluctuations form the electrical representation of the sound being recorded

Microphones come in all shapes and sizes, but the basic distinctions are transducer type (condenser and dynamic) and polar pattern (omnidirectional and cardioid). a short explanation of some variations here will help you pick the right mic for the source you are recording.

You will find different images produced by various mikings and know how different types of microphones give different images with the same miking but important for effects of recording technique on music

There are two main types of microphones, these being dynamics, and condensers. Each are used for different applications, depending on what instruments you are micing up
Condenser microphones are the main type used within recording studios. This is because they usually have better frequency responses, increased sensitivity, and are generally of higher quality and you can see dynamic microphones are pretty simplistic in design, and as a result, are cheaper in relative relation to condenser microphones and Dynamic microphones are a popular choice for live sound applications, but are also used in the studio for those instruments having high attack volumes, such as snare drums. Then Microphones are one of the most important parts of the recording signal chain, and, when applied properly. All of these patterns are useful to decide what you are recording. Vocalists singing live like to use omni microphones because they tend to move around a lot.

MICROPHONE PLACEMENT

1. Find the sound generator of the instrument and determine how physical changes to the generator causes different pitches to sound. Something has to vibrate to make the sound pressure; this is the sound generator.

2. Find the acoustic amplifier of the instrument

1. Determine the direction the acoustic amplifier (or sound generator) would move air and this is the direction of sound projection off of the instrument. Put the microphone in the sound projection of the instrument.