mic frequency responses

[gitrokr]

ive been looking at mics and i see that some of they have different frequency responses for different applications.....that main application im looking for is bass drum and snare drum....what are good frequency responses to these.....like, ___Hz-____kHz....

 

[chessrock]

I wouldn't worry about it.

Just get / use the mic that sounds best or works best for the application.


More important than how high or how low the frequency response goes is the actual shape of the frequency curve . . . how it responds, rather than to what extremes.


Good luck.

 

[Fletcher]

FWIW, I did my first 'paid gig' in 1973... in that time I have tried my level best to learn how to read a frequency response and polarity response chart... I have failed miserably in that endeavor.

I have found the ability to stick a mic in front of a source and determine whether or not it might be useful in that application... which isn't really a bad thing, just doesn't give me the ability to intellectualize something into submission.

Best of luck wth it.

 

[Innovations]

Saying 'just listen to the mic' may be the best technique but is not really helpfull to the question.

Frequency response charts are made by essentially putting the mic in a soundproof booth with a speaker and an ocilloscope. The ocilloscope is attached to the speaker and run up through the range for frequencies and the signal strength of the output from the mic at every frequency is graphed.

But most of how a mic actually sounds has to do with the details of how the diaphram reacts to multiple sounds hitting it at the same time. Does it tend to smooth the waves or over-react to the peaks and valleys. Does it do it differently for different frequencies.

This does not mean that frequency response charts are useless. If a mic is high in a frequency that you don't want in that application or low in a frequency that you do then it is pretty much a non-starter for consideration. However deciding what it is you want to enhance is also a matter of opinion. When I made a post about what to use for a bass male voice the suggestions were divided between enhancing the deep character of the bass voice or reducing it so it doesn't get muddled with the bass instruments.

 

[DJL]

ive been looking at mics and i see that some of they have different frequency responses for different applications.....that main application im looking for is bass drum and snare drum....what are good frequency responses to these.....like, ___Hz-____kHz....

It varies with each drum depending on the size, depth, skins, and etc, etc.... but nornally a kick is about 30-147Hz with harmonics at about 1-6kHz... and snares are about 100-200kHz with harmonics at about 1-20kHz.