mics upside down

It's been discussed here before but as already suggested, it gets the cable out of the way.
Also, given that moisture and dust are problems, having the mic upside down serves to protect the inner workings.
 
I've been told that if it's a tube microphone the heat from the tube is diverted away from the capsule while being positioned upside down.





:cool:
 
moresound said:
I've been told that if it's a tube microphone the heat from the tube is diverted away from the capsule while being positioned upside down.
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Exactly...that's where/why the practice originated...to keep the tube's heat from hitting the capsule and causing it to expand/change it's characteristics too dramatically.

Now days many people will do it with all types of mics...not just tube mics...moslty 'cuz they don't know why it's supposed to be done...and/or 'cuz it looks "cool"...as that's how they saw it in some studio pictures. :D
 
Now days many people will do it with all types of mics...not just tube mics...moslty 'cuz they don't know why it's supposed to be done...and/or 'cuz it looks "cool"...as that's how they saw it in some studio pictures.
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Actually, I do it for the reasons I gave.
 
moresound said:
I've been told that if it's a tube microphone the heat from the tube is diverted away from the capsule while being positioned upside down.
Click to expand...

More specifically, it was first done with the Telefunken U47. The M7 capsule's diaphragm was made from poured PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which essentially started losing moisture and drying out from the minute it was poured and would suffer from cracking. A dried, cracked PVC capsule looks like a spider web, and typically suffers from low end loss, or even no sound at all. The heat from the tube was thought to have an accelerating effect on drying out the capsule (although the VF14 tube was run with a lowered filament voltage, so heat from a wire wound resistor in the circuit probably produced more heat than the tube itself). The mic was used upside down to keep the heat away from the diaphragm and hopefully slow the cracking.

Some happy side effects occured when the mic was positioned this way. It helped with sheet music or lyrics not being blocked by the mic stand, plus engineers discovered if the mic is angled a bit towards the chest, some extra depth can be achieved, depending on the singer.

With modern tube mics, the diaphragms are typically mylar, which doesn't dry out and crack like PVC, so running the mic right side up can actually help keep moisture (from breath) from building up on the capsule, or help to dry it out quickly when breath hits it.
 
Jim Lad said:
Actually, I do it for the reasons I gave.
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I agree...it helps keep dust from falling down into the capsule....though, you'll get dust into it no matter which way it's facing. Dust tends to swirl all around rather than fall from above.
I usually will "bag" my mics when they are on the stand between takes/sessions...like if I'm coming back later or tomorrow and don't want to remove the mics.
I just place a larger bag over the top, but leave the bottom wide open so the mic can "breathe".

AFA moisture and flipping a mic upside down....mmmmm...not sure how much it reduces that? I think moisture is more of an issue with taking a "hot" mic into a very cold environment or vice versa.

With the cable issue...are you hanging it from above somehow?
I have a few mic "stands" that are actually mounted to the ceiling in key spots (so I don't have as much floor clutter)...and yeah, for them, it really helps get the cable up and out of the way…I have the cable running up and across the ceiling and down the wall.
Though with a typical floor stand...no matter how you face the mic...the damn cable still ends up running down the stand and onto the floor. :D

I still think some newbies just flip the mics upside down ‘cuz they seen it like that in some magazine studio picture. :)

Oh...and yeah...fix that damn avatar...flip the mic around! ;)
 
& then there's the way at a gig Lemmy & Status Quo along with sundry others have the mic high on the stand & pointing at a downward angle so that they lift their chins to sing.
I often wondered about the physics of that. I mean it DID look COOL but surely it was problematic.
 
The main reason I've heard is to keep the heat from a tube from influencing the capsule.

It should help keep moisture from being a problem, if outdoors and it's raining.

A cleaner look for those reading from a script?

The artists in the 80's were so ugly the publicist wanted to hide their faces behind the mics. The artists wanted to make it look more like they were working so they could charge more per hour.

To many gigs at a video shoot where you keep the mic ABOVE the sound sources and pointed towards the ground. Also helps to keep the bird droppings off the capsule.

And probably dozens of other reasons. For insurance purposes to guarantee that the claim replaces instead of repairs the mic.
 
Jim Lad said:
Yup!
I thought about that as I hit "Submit Reply". :)
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Here you are,

By the way I only turn them upside down if the singer is playing an instrument or they have the words positioned in a way so that the upside down mic gives them a better view.
Alan.
 

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Nah!
It doesn't look right.
Moisture could be a problem for me though.
Due to all of the extra mesh and so on in my ribbons, I don't use a pop filter.
Works like magic too. You can hear the "P" and the rush of air but never a "Pop".
 
Being a trombone player, having it upside down keeps it from occupying the same space as the slide. Of course on a boom arm, does it really matter? I tried the OLD AT4033a I had upside down, it didn't really sound as good. Not that I could nail down why, just that it seemed to be better right side up.
 
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