Mondo Knows Facts
Microphones are chosen for two different jobs
Condensers are sensitive and detailed, dynamics are rugged and forgiving A condenser uses a charged diaphragm and needs power, while a moving coil dynamic works without it. Studios use condensers for detail and dynamics for close, loud sources such as a snare or a shout. Ribbon designs sit alongside as a third flavour. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
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Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
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More facts like this
One valve microphone defined the studio soundThe Neumann U47 has been behind countless vocal recordings since 1947The Neumann U47 set the sound of the studioThe German valve microphone appeared in 1947 and defined the vocal soundThe same stage microphone has been standard since 1966The Shure SM58 is a budget dynamic built to survive being droppedMicrophones replaced recording horns in 1925Electrical cutting roughly doubled the range of frequencies a disc could holdAlan Blumlein patented stereo recording in 1931His patent covered coincident microphone pairs and the mid-side techniqueThe Shure SM58 became the standard stage microphoneThe cardioid dynamic mic arrived in 1966 and has barely changed since
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Tags: microphones, studios, equipment
Microphones are chosen for two different jobs: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Condensers are sensitive and detailed, dynamics are rugged and forgiving. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a music fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.