Microphones
1) The idea that dynamic microphones are better for live sound and condenser microphones are better for the studio is true although like anything in the music industry its all about personal preference, practicality and getting the best sound possible.
Dynamic microphones such as the Shure SM57 is an industry standard dynamic microphone. The shape of the microphone which is a long thin mic with a cardioid pattern which allows the microphone to only pick sound which in the space that the microphone is pointed at. This allows you to have more control over what the microphone picks up. This is one of the main reasons why a dynamic microphones is used in a live situation for vocals or instruments because sound from the surrounding instruments will not leak as much into the microphone giving the sound engineer more control over each instrument. Where as if you were to use all condenser microphones for the vocals and all of the instruments you are going to pick up a huge amount of other sounds from other instruments making it more difficult for the engineer to get a good set of levels as the sound would leak into other microphones meaning turning one up could cause another sound to turn up too. For example if the snare drum of a drum kit was mic'd with a AKG 414 the amount of sound from the rest of the drum kit would be so loud through that microphone that it would bee almost impossible to get a good and accurate sound from the snare drum without having an impact on any of the other drums or cymbals.
Your choice of microphone for a live show is completely down to what sound you are trying to capture. The idea of a condenser used in a live situation is not unheard of as there are a wide variety of microphones available. An example of where you may choose to use a condenser microphone is as an overhead of a drum kit. While a Shure SM57 would be capable of this this would not be my first choice as the dynamic range wouldn't enable it to pick up as much of the whole kit that I would expect an overhead to do. Over head microphones are used to capture first and for mostly the cymbals of the drums but an overall sound. As well as this, the cymbals are hard to close mic unlike the drums. Using RODE NT5 would give you a true sound of the drums. Although they are condenser microphones it is there job to capture a wide rage of sounds to fill out some of the frequencies to give the drums a fuller sound. Using a large diaphragm condenser microphone about 1 or 2 metres in front of the kick drum depending on the room and the sound is a common practise in the studio but for a live show this wouldn't be the case as you are likely to pick up a large amount of the other on stage sound and this wouldn't be captured well and give you your desired sound.
In the recording studio it is a completely differnt scenario. The use of a condenser microphone is much more common as each instrument is usually tracked separately and you are not disrupted by other instruments during recording. When in a recording studio your mixing desk and your outboard gear has a large say in how you use and choose your microphones as the change in sound from each manufacturer is quite high especially when you compare models from different price brackets. A condenser mic uses phantom power usually 48 volts as is requires power to do its function unlike a dynamic microphone. The use of a condenser microphone in a studio over a dynamic microphone is used normally because of the wider frequency range and warmer tones given from it. When recording vocals with a condenser microphone such as the AKG 414 the microphone has a selection of polar patterns which make it a very diverse microphone which is why it is used across many instruments while recording. It gives a much fuller sound of the vocal range which allows the mix engineer head room while mixing and can have a greater amount of control over the vocal sound. much like the live sound when recording drum you probably wouldn't mic each drum with a condenser mic but you could include a few condenser microphones as room ambient microphones to capture the resonance that you don't capture from close micing. Mic choice is dependant on the your desired sound and how well it captures the instrument you want to capture so the idea that dynamic microphones are for live and condenser microphones are for the studio is true to a degree depending on the sound you are looking for. Sometimes its good to try different methods and you might just be surprised.
2) The three main polar patterns that are used within microphones are Cardiod/uni-directional, omni-directional and hyper cardioid.
Uni- directional microphones are designed to capture sound coming from a single direction in a cardioid pattern. This is the most sensitive at the front and least at the back. This is most commonly found on dynamic microphones. The least amount of sound is picked up 180 degreed from the front of the microphone. Cardioid has an acceptance angle of about 120 degrees. This most commonly used live because it minimises bleed and gives a higher control over one particular sound. Usually and hand held mic would have this polar pattern.
Omni-Directional is where a microphone captures sound equally from all directions. This enables movement or a larger variety of placement and makes it a more diverse polar pattern. It is a 360 degree pattern capturing a very wide selection of sound. This found more commonly in the recording studio rather than a live situation as this can cause feedback quite easily. This is also used frequently by video producers in a quiet environment for projects like interviews as this enables one microphone to be used without passing the mic between the subject and the interviewer. They are also used for stereo recording. This can be found in the AKG D 230 which is good for capturing several sound together that may not be coming from the same direction.
Hyper Cardioid microphones have acceptance angles of 100 degrees, the microphone is very similar to a cardioid although it has a small area at the back of the microphone that can capture sound. Much like the omni-directional it is less likely to be used live because this causes feedback if monitors are places directly behind the microphone this is why it is important to know your microphones otherwise you could have a problem and you wouldn't know why. These microphones are used for loud stages or weak singers as they do capture more of the voice, although you do have to be directly in front of the the microphone to get the strongest signal.
3) Another type of microphone is the ribbon microphone such as the sE Electronics R1. This type of microphone is usually powered. Sometimes these microphones are considered to fall under the category of dynamics microphones and some people claim the are the purist and warmest type of microphone. There are two magnets placed either side of a conductive material, usually aluminium. It's very responsive to very little air pressure. A Ribbon microphone depends highly on the preamp. The Audio Technica AT4081 is a phantom powered microphone and contains a small preamp inside. This feature allows the mic to be less dependant on pre amps externally. The ribbon material is very thin and can easily be damaged in high wind conditions as well as just blowing into the mic. Ribbon microphones can be damaged with phantom power when plugging or unplugging the microphone. Ribbon microphones give a really nice warm tone and sound fantastic on a guitar cabinet used a lot in the 80's and on horns. Lately the ribbon mic has been used in a live situation which 10 or 20 years ago wouldn't have been the case.
4) The Audix D6 is used as a kick drum microphone in the live setting or a recording studio. The dynamic microphone from Audix has a cardioid polar pattern which allows the microphone to be uni-directional. This means the microphone specializes to capture sound directly in front of the microphone. This microphone has a good response to the bass frequencies. This is why it is used on a kick drum or a bass cabinet. It is even used on floor toms if you are looking for the low punch in your mix. The large diaphragm allows this is allowing this bass response in this microphone. The reason this mic is used mainly for a kick drum is because the frequency response boosts the high frequencies giving the attack of the drum and the low frequencies are boosted as well giving the desired punch. For this reason you wouldn't mic a snare drum with this microphone as the mid range frequencies are lowered. This microphone is also compatible with the a live set up as a great kick drum sound can be required without heavy pre amps and you will still get a modern sounding kick drum.
The sE electronics Titan is a large diaphragm condenser microphone specifically designed to give you a high quality studio recording and a very diverse microphone than can be used to record anything from vocals to a saxophone or a full drum kit to a 9 ft concert grand. This mic include several polar patterns to make the microphone even more diverse. The large diaphragm give a remarkable frequency response to the microphone which make it perfect for a studio mic. As this mic is a condenser microphone it will have a high sensitivity for lower air pressures meaning this microphone can capture the smallest of detail to pick up each frequency and make them sound warm and toned in your recordings.
The Microtech Gefell M300 is a compact condenser microphone with studio quality. It has a great frequency response stretching across a wide range of frequencies. This microphone also has a very smooth treble boost. These features as well as the compact size and shape of the this microphone make it perfect for vocals or solo instruments such as a acoustic guitar or a violin. These isn't the only capabilities that this microphone can stretch too. This microphone is used widely in the film industry used as on board camera microphones as well as being used for radio and television broadcasting. This mic is used for profession and semi-professional use across all media production for rooms where the acoustics are to the producers advantage as this microphone can capture great audio in places such as churches. This microphone is equipped with phantom power as it needs external power to work.
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