H
Harvey Gerst
New member
Michael,
You really need to read the big mic thread. A pressure mic is an omnidirectional mic.
Pressure and omni (along with pressure gradient, cardioid, figure 8, bi-directional, hypercardioid, etc.) refer to a certain type of mic polar pattern (how the mic hears the sound, depending on the angle the sound is coming from).
The TLM 50-S is also a condenser mic.
Condensers, dynamics, piezos, and ribbons refer to the design of the mic, the way the mic "generates" its sound (i.e., how it's built).
The TLM 50-S's unusual feature is that the "S" stands for "Sphere". Think of a large ping pong ball with a hole in it, large enough to mount a 1" capsule flush with the rest of the ball. The rounded surface doesn't cause the usual problems with masking that can sometimes mess up a omni pattern.
The original Neumann M50 was a very popular microphone for recording classical works, and most of the original mics are still highly revered.
You really need to read the big mic thread. A pressure mic is an omnidirectional mic.
Pressure and omni (along with pressure gradient, cardioid, figure 8, bi-directional, hypercardioid, etc.) refer to a certain type of mic polar pattern (how the mic hears the sound, depending on the angle the sound is coming from).
The TLM 50-S is also a condenser mic.
Condensers, dynamics, piezos, and ribbons refer to the design of the mic, the way the mic "generates" its sound (i.e., how it's built).
The TLM 50-S's unusual feature is that the "S" stands for "Sphere". Think of a large ping pong ball with a hole in it, large enough to mount a 1" capsule flush with the rest of the ball. The rounded surface doesn't cause the usual problems with masking that can sometimes mess up a omni pattern.
The original Neumann M50 was a very popular microphone for recording classical works, and most of the original mics are still highly revered.
Michael Jones
New member
Thanks for the info Harvey. I have read the big mic thread, just wanted to have a better understanding of pressure mics. My intent would be to use this mic for classical styles of music, thats kind of why I had my eye on it. Probably for small chambers and quartets at first.
H
Harvey Gerst
New member
Michael,
Just remember that a "pressure" mic (or a "pure pressure" mic) means that it only responds to air pressure changes in the room - it really doesn't care what direction the sound is coming from - in other words, omni, or omnidirectional.
Now within that narrow category, there are two types of omni mics - direct AND diffuse field omni mics. Simply stated, one hears the sound better when it's directly in front of the mic (direct field) and the other hears the sound better when it's coming from the side (diffuse field, usually 90° off-axis, right angles to the body).
Now, you really can't make a perfectly flat mic that will be flat everywhere.
If you want it flat on axis (direct field), the high end will roll off when you move to the side. If you want it flat off axis (diffused field), the high end will climb when you move to the front.
So, "pressure" equals omni, but not all omnis are equal.
"Pressure gradient" equals all other patterns.
Just remember that a "pressure" mic (or a "pure pressure" mic) means that it only responds to air pressure changes in the room - it really doesn't care what direction the sound is coming from - in other words, omni, or omnidirectional.
Now within that narrow category, there are two types of omni mics - direct AND diffuse field omni mics. Simply stated, one hears the sound better when it's directly in front of the mic (direct field) and the other hears the sound better when it's coming from the side (diffuse field, usually 90° off-axis, right angles to the body).
Now, you really can't make a perfectly flat mic that will be flat everywhere.
If you want it flat on axis (direct field), the high end will roll off when you move to the side. If you want it flat off axis (diffused field), the high end will climb when you move to the front.
So, "pressure" equals omni, but not all omnis are equal.
"Pressure gradient" equals all other patterns.
Michael Jones
New member
So, rather than the sound source itself, to effectively use this microphone, I should consider the area around the sound source?Harvey Gerst said:
Does it make sense to consider the response "pattern" around the mic as a sort of hemisphere radiating out from the mic with a sort of flat or truncated portion of the hemisphere on one side of the mic?
If I had say a quartet consisting of 2 violins, a 'cello, and a woodwind, all sitting around in a loose semi-circle and I placed this mic above them, or better yet, used 2 mics above them, and positioned them so that the 'truncated' areas of the response pattern were adjacent each other, then I should get a really good image of the sound? yes?
Thanks for all your help Harvey!