Condenser & Dynamic Microphones

Choosing the right microphone can be a difficult challenge if you are new to recording music. At first it may seem like there are a thousand different choices but really there are only three major choices to choose from. In this article you'll find out which of those three choices goes with which recording need.

What makes it doubly confusing is that there isn't a single "best" microphone for all situations. There are microphones that are best for one thing but don't work very good for another application. When choosing your microphone you first have to ask yourself what you plan on accomplishing with that microphone.

There are two major types of microphones: Condenser microphones & dynamic microphones. To make it just all that much more confusing there's actually two different types of condenser mics: large diaphragm and small diaphragm. Each type of microphone is best for a different type of recording.

One thing you need to make note of is that condenser microphones need something called "phantom power" in order to work. You will need some kind of mic preamp or an audio interface that includes a mic preamp (phantom power.) Most audio interfaces do include a mic preamp but they are usually not of very high quality. A better mic preamp can make a big difference in your recording quality. They also tend to be very expensive.

You should choose a large diaphragm condenser microphone for recording vocals and bass heavy acoustic instruments such as a cello or an upright bass. I won't put you to sleep with the science of why you need to choose this type of microphone, you just need to know that this is the standard in recording studios all over the world. People have already figured out which microphones work best with which instruments so there's no reason to try to figure it out for yourself (it'd be like reinventing the wheel.)

You should choose a small diaphragm condenser microphone for recording most acoustic instruments. That includes acoustic guitars, violins, mandolins, banjos, etc.) Why? This type of microphone has a "quicker" response which enables it to better capture the sound of these types of instruments. This is also the right type of mic to choose for recording some parts of a live drum set (cymbals & hi-hats.)

You should choose dynamic microphones when recording amplified sound (ie: recording the sound of an electric guitar's amp) and when recording most live drums (snare, toms, bass drum.) It's also the usual choice for live vocals because live sound doesn't need to be as exact as studio sound and they are lot tougher (and cheaper) than condenser mics. They are better suited to live performances.

So now you know which type of microphone to choose for each of your possible needs. But how do you know which brand to buy? Well the simple rule of thumb is that you buy the most expensive mic you can afford because generally speaking expense equals value in the world of microphones. The best mics really do tend to be far more expensive. And the best mics really do make a huge difference in the quality and clarity of your recordings. Buy what you can afford.