Brightness?

M

Miseria_Cantare

New member
Probably a dumb question and I did search first but didnt find much....

But I read people describing mic's as too "bright" or 'dark'

What does this mean? :confused:

:D
 
A bright mic will accentuate bright tones or high end, whereas a dark mic has more bottom or low mids being prevalent
 
Thankyou.

So is it good to have a bright mic or a dark mic? I'm guessing it would depend on what type of music you're recording?
But in general?
 
Brightness or lack of by itself is not much of a problem as this can be EQ'd in or out to suit. What is a problem is when the tonal changes are as a result of say resonances that also cause harmonic distortion. This charateristic may well stay on the recording regardless of EQ.

An example of this is some of the Metal dome type tweeters that are used that always sound peaky regardless of any EQ. The tweeter in the Behringer Truths B2031 is a good example of this.
 
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Bright or dark mics are like clothes in bright or dark colors. Neither one is good or bad, but the colors can clash, and the best color is a matter of opinion. You can dye clothes to change their color, too, but it's a pain in the ass, and doesn't always produce the best results, like EQ. It's better to get the sound you want in the first place, rather than trying to dial it up with EQ.-Richie
 
Many people will have more intelligent and informed things to say on this than me, but my +/-2p is that neither bright nor dark is necessarily tied to a musical style, but to each part you record. It might be that for a classical vocalist you need a very flat mic that reproduces their voice accurately ... or you might want something with less top end because it might not sit well with a large string section.

Match your sources to your mics ... far easier said than done when your ears are not so educated. I'm learning, but I don't think my ears are actually all that great. :(
 
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