Test your basic knowledge |

Microphones Theory

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Phenomenon causing carbon microphones to lose sensitivity as granules become packed together over extended use; To remedy problem mic is gently rapped on hard surface.






2. Proportional to: Magnetic field strength; Length of the conductor; Velocity of conductor moving through the magnetic field.






3. Rotating speaker cabinet design featuring separate treble and bass drivers that can switch speeds; Speaker rotate from front to back creating a Doppler effect; Resulted in new spatial perception for each note. Stereo miked up top and single miked at






4. Used to filter heating current in certain mics; Invented by Georg Neumann.






5. Forward facing bipolar mics spaced 20cm apart.






6. Dynamic; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Sennheiser; Unique mic clip with quick- release button; Large diaphragm dynamic element handles high SPL's - making it great for recording guitars and drums.






7. Moving a conductor (a coil of wire) through a magnetic field will cause a voltage to be induced across the conductor.

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8. Often look like large diaphragm studio mics; Talk or sing into the side of the microphone.






9. + & - (Front & rear in opposite equal amounts)






10. 1 Bidirectional & 1 Cardioid placed coincidentally; Bidirectional faces left and right and cardioid faces the sound; Gives control of the focus and size of the stereo image;






11. Voltage applied to piezoelectric material will cause it to deform or change shape; NO PHANTOM POWER!






12. Quartz; Barium Titaniate - Tourmaline; Rochelle Salt - and even cane sugar.






13. The reduction in the amplitude of a wave due to the dissipation of wave energy.






14. The lowest - and usually most intense - frequency of a complex sound; Most often perceived as the sound's basic pitch.






15. Works exactly like condenser mic but one of the two plates is manufactured as a capsule with a permanent static charge so there is no external power source necessary; Requires phantom or battery to charge internal mic preamp.






16. Sensitive in a slightly narrower pattern in the front than cardioid and has a small lobe at rear; Rejects most signals arriving from 125






17. Used in production sound for multiple perspectives on the set; Used in Audio Post to record a number of mics into a recorder with minimal set- up & tear down.






18. Raises the body of the microphone increasing height.






19. Responds to air pressure variations outside of the capsule; Not selective of direction; Natural polar pattern is omnidirectional.






20. Condenser; Cardioid; Side Address; 48V Required; Manufactured by AudioTechnica; Ideal for project/home- studio applications; Low price; Remains the low cost performance standard in side- address condenser mics.






21. The arm of the mic stand; Includes the angle adjust & telescopic adjust.






22. Causes an increase in low frequency response as one gets closer to the source.






23. Considered to be the best mic ever made; VF14 Tube.






24. Commonly found in acoustic guitar pickups; Ceramic piezoelectric material is used in hydrophones (underwater mics) because of durability.






25. Modern drummer who has created a large kit and innovated several ways of capturing the sound from his massive kit.






26. Tough & rugged; Can work in extremely high SPL environments; Less responsive to transient frequencies b/c of diaphragm mass is heavier than sound waves.






27. 4 to 6 ft. from the player; Mic should be placed below the line of sight of the bell - rotated at about 40 degrees off- axis - and tilted upward.






28. Device used to measure sound loudness; Often used to measure and balance the loudness of each speaker in a home - studio - or live venue or theater system.






29. Used for stereo miking to ensure correct balance and imaging.






30. Keep in proper case; Never disassemble shockmounts






31. Condenser; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Shure; Small condenser design that is great for instrument recording.






32. Timing difference between two waves; Waves interfere cancelling each other out and altering frequency response; Measured in degrees; Can be caused by reflections of sound waves; Can be reduced by putting cabinet or amp at an angle.






33. 2 - 4 ft. from player; Placed below the line of sight of the bell - rotated at about 30 degrees off axis - and tilted upward.






34. - Omnidirectional: 100% - Cardioid: 33% - Supercardioid: 27% - Hypercardioid: 25% - Bidirectional: 33%






35. Omnidirectional: N/ - Cardioid: 180






36. Derived from two words; 'electr' from electrostatic and 'et' from magnet.






37. Solid State and Tube.






38. Modeled to mimic a human head for extremely good spatialization; Shaped like a human head.






39. Use coincident or near coincident pairings; Too many microphones will cause phasing issues.






40. Condenser; Cardioid; Side Address; 48V Required; Large Diaphragm; Manufactured by AudioTechnica; Transformerless circuitry virtually eliminates low- frequency distortion.






41. French broadcasting stereo mic technique; An X-Y type with the mics 17cm apart and at a 110






42. Increasing magnetic field strength is the only practical means of increasing output voltage; Conductor movement is limited due to tension of the ribbon; and ribbon length increases lead to a loss of high frequency response.






43. Basket/grille made out of a specific type of copper wire to block protect the mic from physical damage and to protect the mic from stray RFI






44. Dynamic; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Electro Voice; Large Diaphragm; Humbucking Coil; Bass Roll Off Switch; Minimizes proximity effect; Ideal for broadcasting and sound engineering techniques.






45. A stereo miking technique similar to coincident pair - where the mics are set up with some distance between them; Distance and angle of microphones may differ; Creates a more defined stereo image; Produces very sharp images; Provides more 'air'.






46. The tuning machines of a guitar; Part of the tuning key that strings are threaded through and twisted.






47. Part of a mic stand that the mic stands on.






48. Measurement of the mic's sensitivity; Measured in mV/Pa (millivolts per Pascal).






49. Older ribbon microphone weighing 8.5 lbs. nearly all of it the large magnet!






50. Demonstrated the first stereophonic transmissions via the Theatrophone in 1881.