Hi, My name is Juan Carlos Mejía,

I'm from Colombia and I'm doing the

assignment of the second week,
Microphone Basics example, for the
Coursera´s Introduction to Music Production.
Let me review some previous basics to
understand this matter clearly.
 Is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually
a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in
another and tries to do so without changing the signal at all.

A microphone is a transducer. The microphone performs the conversion

of the variations of pressure of the sound in the air to variations of
voltage in a cable, which is what we call audio signal.
 There are three main classes of Microphones
A unidirectional mic (‘uni’ ) is
most sensitive from sound
coming from one direction (with
one notable exception: the
bidirectional mic, but more
about that to come). A ‘uni’ mic
picks up less ambient noise
than an omni type and is less
susceptible to feedback when
used with a sound system.
There are several different
types: Cardioid, Sub-cardioid,
Super-cardioid, Hyper-cardioid.
A bidirectional mic (‘bi’ )
sometimes called a figure-of-
eight, is equally sensitive to
sounds coming from the front and
rear of the mic and least sensitive
to sounds coming from the sides.
Bidirectional mics have a very
narrow pickup angle, which
makes them useful for isolating
one voice, or instruments that are
surrounded by other sound
sources, as long as there is
nothing directly behind the mic.
They are useful for picking up two
sources that are positioned side
by side. The deep null rejects
everything else.
An omnidirectional (or ‘omni’)
microphone picks up equally from
all directions since it has the same
360-degree output regardless of its
orientation to the sound source. Its
polar pattern is a sphere, and on
paper, it looks like a nearly perfect
circle. An omnidirectional mic can
pick up a group of people sitting
around a table, but it can’t be
aimed to favor one source over
another. That means it is also
prone to feedback.
 They are considered as the most resistant professional
microphones. It is designed to be used onstage in a noisy
environment where there are monitors and, you know, too much
volume of the microphone itself. There are also other instruments
on the stage whose sound you should not pick up. Therefore, it is
excellent for this type of occasion.This type of microphone is too a
good choice for journalistic work where commonly encountered a
variety of difficult conditions. In a dynamic microphone the sound
waves hit a diaphragm supported on a coil of fine cable. The coil is
suspended in a permanent magnetic field. When the sound waves
hit the diaphragm this causes the coil to vibrate in the magnetic
field. The result is a small electric current generated by friction,
this current will have to be amplified thousands of times. One of
their biggest advantages is that they do not require an external
source of energy to operate and are particularly resistant to
physical abuse. However their fidelity is not always the best.
 They have an incomparable quality of response, operate under the
principle of an electric capacitor or capacitor. An ultra thin metal diaphragm
is tightly stretched over a flat piece of metal or ceramic. In most condenser
microphones, a power source provides an electrical charge between the
two elements. Sound waves striking the diaphragm cause fluctuations in
the electric charge which must be further amplified in the pre-amp. The
preamplifier may be integral with the microphone body or be located in a
separate device. Because these microphones require a preamplifier this
implies that, unlike their dynamic counterparts, most condenser
microphones require a power source, either current or batteries. To supply
AC power to a condenser microphone, the source is usually built into the
audio mixer. This is known as phantom power. When using this type of
power the microphone cable serves two purposes: it delivers the signal
picked up by the microphone to the console and brings the power of the
console to the microphone preamplifier.
Microphones are designed to work in a wide variety
of situations and for a wide variety of applications.

Some unidirectional microphones are designed to work

primarily for a voice. And they are designed to produce good
vocal frequencies, and to reject frequencies that are not usually
part of the vocal range.

A condenser microphone is designed to pick up everything as

transparent or exactly as possible. So he's going to pick it up.
And this type of equalization that the microphone imposes is
designed to work in a specific situation. And it's something that
we have to be very careful when choosing a microphone for a
specific application.

Thus, depending on the microphone, the frequency response It

will change according to the polar pattern.
 The frequency response is the output level or sensitivity of a
microphone over its operating range, from the lowest to the highest
frequency. Usually we will find two general categories in this:

Custom responses are usually All audible frequencies (20 Hz - 20 kHz)

designed to enhance a sound source
in a particular application. For
example, a microphone may have a
peak in the 2-8 kHz range to increase
the intelligibility of live voices.
have the same output level. This is best
suited for applications where the sound
source must be reproduced unchanged
or "colored" over the original sound; E.g.
For a recording.
 The polar pattern of a microphone is its sensitivity to sound in
relation to the direction or angle from which the sound comes, or
more easily said the quality with which the microphone "hears" the
sound coming from different directions.
0° 0°
0°

270° 270° 90° 270° 90°

90°

180° 180° 180°

A cardioid microphone has A microphone with a The omnidirectional microphone

maximum sensitivity on the front
and the minimum on the rear.
This gives you total insulation
against unwanted ambient sound
and makes it far more resistant to
feedback than omni-directional
microphones. All this makes
cardioid microphones particularly
suitable for very noisy
environments.
bidirectional or eight-shaped
polar pattern picks up sound
from the front and back of the
microphone, but not from the
sides (90 ° angle). Microphones
with eight-shaped patterns are
usually tape or large diaphragm
microphones.
has an equal output or sensitivity
at all angles, which means it is
capable of picking up sounds from
all directions. For this reason,
these types of micros should not
be oriented in a specific direction,
which is especially useful with
lavalier type microphones. A
disadvantage of these micros is
that you can not remove them from
unwanted sources such as PA
speakers that can lead to feedback
problems.
 0°

270° 90°

180°

0° 0° 0° 0°

270° 90° 270° 90° 270° 90° 270° 90°

180° 180° 180° 180°

Cardioid Sub-cardioid Super-cardioid Hyper-cardioid

Coverage
Angle 131° 150° 115° 105°
Angle of
Maximum 180° 180° 126° 110°
Rejection

MORE REJECTION
THE PROCESS OF CREATION OF THIS PRESENTATION WAS DEVELOPED
IN THE NEXT WAY:

-IN FIRST PLACE I HAD THE CHOICE OF THE FORMAT TO SUBMIT IT AND
A CHECKLIST OF THE ELEMENTS TO BE USED.

-THEN I INVESTIGATED IN THESE ELEMENTS IN THE LESSONS OF THE

COURSE AND IN OTHER SOURCES THROUGH INTERNET.

-AFTER I SELECTED THE MOST ADEQUATE BELIEVERS , BETTER

EXPLAINED AND STRUCTURED, AS WELL AS THOSE THAT
COMPLEMENT THE EXPLANATIONS GIVEN IN THE LESSONS.

-I FURTHER ORGANIZED THE PRESENTATION AS A TREE OF IDEAS AND

FINALLY EXPOSE THEM IN THE MOST LOGICAL WAY POSSIBLE.

I FEEL THAT I DEVELOPED THE PROCESS IN THE MOST APPROPRIATE

WAY AND EXPLAINED THE PRESENTATION IN A CLEAR, VISUALLY
PLEASING, CONCISE AND COMPLETE WAY.

THE CHALLENGE WAS IN THE COMPILATION, TRANSLATION AND

ORGANIZATION OF THE INFORMATION TO BE PRESENTED.