Sound and Music - Microphones and Mixers

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Microphones and Mixers

Recording directly to computers requires a mix-match of two worlds - the analog (sound and the electronics of sound amplification and reproduction) and the digital (sound broken down into numeric data). Unfortunately, the analog world has a certain set of standards that the digital world must acknowledge - if you want to cross over, you'll have to pay homage! Here we discuss the analog end: Microphones, mixers, transformers, and other analog sound handlers.

Microphones - the first line of defense.

The following list is by no means exhaustive, but gives you an idea about what your buck will buy. Don't get hung up on model numbers - they change as frequently as computer processor speeds! Prices are current (August 2001) discount prices available at most on-line dealers, and local ones will usually match if you have the price in hand. A word of warning: decent microphones require special handling (so-called "low impedance"), so you'll need to purchase a mixer or impedance transformer before you can record with them.

Shure Access ASX2 (around $70): This mike is as low a quality as you would want to go for music recording. It's a good hand-held, but will also do fine as a general recording mike.

Shure SM58 (around $100): The SM58 is a standard for quality hand-helds for 30 years. It will perform only marginally better than the ASX2 in terms of quality, but it's so ruggedly built that you can almost hammer nails with it and it'll still

maintain that quality. The SM57 is cheaper at $80, but is a better instrument mike. If you intend to use either for sound stage work, better to spend another $20 and get a switched version so it can be turned off on stage.

Audio-Technica AT3035 (around $200): The main difference between an ordinary dynamic mike like the Shures above and a large-diaphragm condenser mike like the Audio-Technica is that the latter can take more sound saturation (lots of instruments/voices), but also will pick up distant sound better as well. They have shock isolation mounts which prevents floor noise from being picked up through the mike stand. Hence they are much better-suited for ensemble recordings and live stage productions.

Bryan Station has a pair of AT3525's (slightly more expensive at $300), and they have made all the difference in the world. If you decide to purchase one or two of these, be sure to purchase a boom stand or two so that they can be placed high, and resolve never to allow them to be used for any other purpose than recording!

Sound Mixers - Control for your mikes.

Sound mixers do two things: they give some measure of control over the output of your microphones, and they provide a matched electrical feed to your computer sound card or other recording device. Although mixers are not cheap, here is one area where the least expensive will be fine for almost every school application.

Behrenger MX602A (around $100): Bare minimum - only two mike inputs - but just fine for a simple recording rig. And small! Behrenger makes slightly larger models for a bit more money.

Alesis Studio 12R (around $350): A lot of flexibility, 8 mike inputs, a total of 12 channels, and one of the smallest mixers on the market. I own one, and the quality and durability are excellent. This is a rack-mount mixer - the others on this page will sit on a table-top, but this one won't.

Mackie 1202-VLZ PRO (around $380): Mackie's quality is unmatched, making this a popular brand. This mixer has less flexibility and larger size than the Alesis, but most who have it are willing to pay for it.

Impedance-Matching without a mixer.

If you don't want to buy a mixer, you can purchase simple impedance-matching transformers for the microphones above, making it possible to plug them straight into sound cards or other recording devices. Transformers cost about $30, and it's really not possible to use more than one mike by this method. It doesn't take much to figure that a mixer is worth the trouble.

Of course, there are digital converters for computer that provide for elementary mixing and impedance-matching - see "Recording digitally" for details.