Mic differenciations on different days?

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malcolm123

malcolm123

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Whats the science behind this. What makes a mic sound different on this day and different on the next.

I mean, the room stays pretty much the same other than a person moving around in the console chair.

The temperature will change. Humidity changes.

Sh@t, I think I just answered my own question. LOL

Any comments or links please.

Thanks

Malcolm
 
Sometimes your ears are just burned out and you need to take a break... then it sounds fresh again the next day or a few days later.
 
I think it goes way beyond that. Someone called it 'micro days'. One day all spunds fine, one the timings and grooves all suck, one the tones go to shit...

"Sometimes your ears are just burned out and you need to take a break... then it sounds fresh again the next day or a few days later."
Exactly. Plus, from dat to day? How about from take to take? This is why I never got completly comfortable with pre amp comparisons or whatever that use '2nd take w/ next piece of gear'. Mics maybe, but not electronics.
Wayne
 
<The temperature will change. Humidity changes.>

Here we go Malcolm,

Temperature...and humidity. The velocity of the waves determined by the air density and its elasticity. The higher the temperature--the faster the sound travels in the room.
Humidity has little effect on LF, but progressively effects the HF losses due to air absorption at 2 Khz and up.
 
Last edited:
Marik said:
<The temperature will change. Humidity changes.>

Here we go Malcolm,

Temperature...and humidity. The velocity of the waves determined by the air density and its elasticity. The higher the temperature--the faster the sound travels in the room.
Humidity effects the HF losses due to air absorption, and air friction reduces intensity of the sound.
Click to expand...

Ok

Now her goes the stupid question. Is there a optimal Temp and Humidity for room temperatures that would give you the best sound travel/absorbsion for tracking with microphones?
Well maybe not the best, but what are some good climates to track in dealing with Temp and Hum?

You asked for it. LOL

I keep a electronic Temp/Hum thermostat in the studio. Thats the first thing I look at when I walk in there.


Malcolm
 
i usually keep the booth around 70-75.. no hotter.. it tends to get hotter with a rapper in there for 3-16's, adlibs, intro.. all the mess ups..lol
i never have a problem with singers...
if using a condenser mic.. IMO.. when not using it.. put it up.. put it in its case.
and since i know you just got the v69M.. after a session and the mic isn't gonna be used anymore.. don't keep it on until you leave the studio. tern it off.. put it back in the case if its not hot if so let it cool then put it up... these are just things i do..
 
I was thinking about the subject. Let me tell you that my studio is rather big and the temperature is constant, so is the humidity.

Yesterday a female singer came in and I had fired up a Neumann M149 and a MXL V69 a couple of hours before she came.

The MXL has been it it's box since may 2003, the Neumann is on it's stand permanently.

When I had used the MXL together with the Neumann for the last time in may, it sounded quite different from the Neumann in a way I'd discribe as more hyped, more low end and more high.
It sounded a little 'bigger' than the Neumann, which sounds more neutral.

But yesterday I had the feeling that the Neumann sounded like always, but the V69 sounded very different from that day in may.
It sounded boxy and the nice low end wasn't there and so wasn't the high end. It sounded more like a mediocre dynamic mic than the nice LDC it was eight months ago.

BTW I used exactly the same pre.

I wonder, is the quality of MXL mics of any consistence or not?
 
<Is there a optimal Temp and Humidity for room temperatures that would give you the best sound travel/absorbsion for tracking with microphones?>

The realtionship between the temperature and sound velocity is linear, so the higher the temperature, the faster the waves travel. However, there is a limit of "compfortability" for musicians to be in the room.

Sorry, I just reread my previous message, and found out that it was unclear--the losses are greatest when the humidity is LOW. Yup, against of our intuition the humidity exhibits the effect of reducing air density. It has the most effect up to 30% of relative humidity, and then after 40% is much more linear.

It is hard to give a general rule for climate, as it depends on your situation, and primarily on the microphone distance to the source. You will need to experiment. Oh yeah, don't forget that your new V69 and your other condensers just hate humidity. :p
 
I don't know if I agree with keeping mics in their bags. You don't put acoustic guitars in plastic bags because what hurts them most is sudden changes in temp and humidity. If they are left in the room they can aclimate and slowly change with the room changes.

I don't know if the same applies to mics but it seems like it would. I could see storing things in plastic if you have extreme weather and changes but if it's pretty moderate you are only storing your mic in a different humidity level then the room and forcing the mic to acclimate while you use it.
 
none of my mics have bags, they all have little briefcases filled with what seems t be acoustic foam.. the one for my cad m9 is real nice..
if a plastic bag.. i'm sot sure i would store my mics in them either
 
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