If you haven't yet read the first segment posted to the site last Friday about instrument microphones, make sure to check it out at: "Instrument Mics: Learn Differences Among Mics to Best Suit Needs."
In the first part of this series, we looked at how some instrument microphones have an intentionally skewed frequency response, to help them sound good when paired with particular instruments. For instance, we looked at the Audix D6 and Shure Beta 91A, the latter of which doesn’t need a mic stand. Following on that theme of mounting methods, let’s talk more about some of the mounting options for microphones out there, when paired with a wide variety of instruments.
One convenient feature of many instrument mics is an integrated clip mount, for direct attachment to an instrument. The DPA 4099, for example, is a common orchestra microphone for close mic’ing. One of the frequent applications with this DPA mic is with the violin, for which it has a special purpose-built mount (see image above). In this case, the microphone’s sound isn’t altered based on the use of the mount (as with the kick drum microphone examples); it’s the way it mounts that makes it uniquely an instrument mic.
DPA also makes mounting options for wide range of other instruments (such as cello, acoustic guitar, drums, piano, and saxophone), and if that’s not enough variety, their 4061 microphone uses a totally different mounting system for strings than it does for the 4099. On a violin, the 4099 will gently attach to the side of the instrument body, whereas with the 4061 it attaches to the strings themselves (below the bridge, so as to minimally affect the tone).
The Audio-Technica PRO 35 (shown above) is also designed for applications requiring a low-profile clip-on microphone. Uses might include pairing it with brass instruments, drums, and percussion. Having a low profile keeps the mic out of the way of the musician and keeps the platform looking clean.
A variation of this specialized mount theme is the Earthworks PianoMic System (shown above). This is a kit that includes two microphones and a telescopic bar that sits across the inside of a piano. In this case, the microphones themselves aren’t specifically instrument mics, per se, but the mounting method that’s included in this kit, is what makes them well-suited for this role.
Returning to the drum examples noted earlier, there is also the Sennheiser e 604 (shown above), which is ideally suited for mic’ing toms, due to its clip that attaches directly to a drum shell. The small size of the microphone case also helps keep it out of the way, and you’ll see that design on a variety of other drum microphones.
Sennheiser also makes the e 609, which is a side-address microphone meant for mic’ing guitar cabinets. Like with some of the other examples noted earlier, it’s not this microphone’s “sound”, in particular, that makes it a “guitar mic,” it’s the fact that the side-address design (i.e., you point the side of the mic, rather than the front, towards the sound source) allows you to hang the mic in front of the cabinet, using its own microphone cable. Even if you don’t suspend the mic like that, mounting it on a stand will still yield a lower profile.
We should also consider more general-purpose microphones that are often thought of as instrument mics, simply because that’s their most common use.
For example, the Shure SM-81 (shown above) is a popular small-diaphragm condenser in the studio and also for live production. Although it can be used as a vocal microphone, assuming you use the included windscreen, it is most often seen around drum kits, orchestral instruments, acoustic guitars, and percussion (although its applications go far beyond just those categories). For this reason, I’ll consider it an instrument mic simply out of convenience, and because it’s quite versatile, although there’s nothing about it that specifically makes it so.
Like the SM-81, the AKG C 451 B (shown above) is also most commonly found being mounted to instruments, and also like the SM-81, there’s nothing particular about it that defines it as an instrument mic. It’s simply a fairly neutral-sounding microphone, and that characteristic makes it very versatile.
At this point, it would seem as if we’re starting to see the lines blur between instrument-specific mics and more general-purpose mics, which often get used for instrument applications.
In the next part, we’ll examine this idea further and look into a surprising example of a microphone type that was never intended for instrument use, but which, as it turns out, is very flexible and useful in that role.
If you haven't yet read the first segment about instrument microphones, make sure to check it out at: "Instrument Mics: Learn Differences Among Mics to Best Suit Needs."
To read the third and final segment about instrument microphones, click the following link: "Instrument Mics: Flexibility, Ears Key To Solution."