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. Changes in air pressure from the front or the back can cause polarity cancellation; Sides have good rejection; Natural polar pattern is bidirectional.






2. Small coil of wire wrapped around the plastic or aluminum diaphragm of a dynamic microphone.






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






4. Device used to calibrate sound pressure measurement devices; Emits a single 1 kHz frequency over a sustained period of time.






5. The part of the guitar you turn to tune the strings in order to get the right sound out of the guitar when one plays.






6. Pure polar pattern with which the microphone is equally sensitive in all directions; Great for capturing ambiance or room reverb.






7. The outer covering of a microphone.






8. Utilized primarily on condenser and ribbon mics to isolate it from vibrations that might otherwise be transmitted to the microphone through the mic stand.






9. Coincident stereo miking techniques that has two microphone diaphragms occupying (as near as possible) the same space; Capsules often on top of each other; Not good for noisy locations.






10. A flat or roughly flat strip on the neck of a stringed instrument against which the strings are pressed to shorten the vibrating length and produce notes of higher pitches.






11. 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.






12. Tube with ports down the side with the mic capsule at the bottom; Sounds entering the tube from on - axis interact inside the tube with the sounds coming in through the side ports - an interfere with each other in such a way as to partially cancel of






13. Condenser; Cardioid/Hypercardioid; End Address; 48V Required; Manufactured by AKG; Can be powered by internal 9 V battery for field recording; Improves clarity of speech with the PB 1000 Presence Boost Adapter.






14. Pair of cardioids facing to the front and rear - plus a sideways - facing figure 8; Mid- sides pair plus another rear- facing cardioid which is combined with the same Figure 8 mic for the surrounds.






15. 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.






16. Sensitive in a narrower pattern in the front than a cardioid and has a prominent/pronounced lobe at rear; Rejects most signals from 110






17. Divisions on the fingerboard which represent the position of a specific note or tone.






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






19. Overall measurement close to the overall sound level in frequency response charts.






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






21. 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.






22. Tube microphone capable of SPL's over 140dB.






23. To oppose with equal weight or force as in the length of the boom arm versus the weight of the microphone.






24. Developed the condenser microphone in 1916 at Bell Labs.






25. Pair of omni mic separated by a circular absorptive baffle.






26. Pure polar pattern that receives sound from both the front and back; Also known as a 'Figure 8' pattern; More proximity effect that Cardioid or Hyper Cardioid; Often found in ribbon mics.






27. E = Blv - e - Electromotive Force (in volts) - B - is the magnetic field strength - l - is the length of the conductor - v - is the velocity of the conductor moving through the magnetic field






28. Condenser; Cardioid; Side Address; 48V Required; Large Diaphragm; Manufactured by Rode; Widely recognised as the world's quietest studio microphone; Ideal for vocals - voiceover - and acoustic instruments.






29. Dynamic; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Sennheiser; Very small and compact; Especially suitable for use with drums and brass instruments; Includes a clip to mount directly on drums.






30. Vintage Tube Mics hold voltage after being unplugged; Be sure grounds are connected to power cord and that the charge has left microphone prior to striking.






31. Bell Labs scientist that was an innovator of many spaced pair and arrayed miking techniques.






32. To break down or disassemble any portion of a set or stage set- up.






33. + & + (Front & rear in equal positive amounts)






34. Polar pattern produced when you add a little bit of bidirectional to the omni pattern.






35. One of the world's greatest condenser microphones prized for the CK12 capsule.






36. Adds two outer right and left rear facing mics to a Decca tree for surround sound depth.






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






38. Method of creating low end effects from a bass drum by creating a tunnel at the mic end thus trapping sound and amplifying low end boost.






39. Mounts on a single stand to provide for adjustable spacing and angling between mics.






40. Close mic placement can help guard again bleed from other instruments and takes advantage of proximity effect; Center of cone = Brighter; Outside of cone = Darker; Reflections can create phase issues (can be reduced by putting the cabinet at an angle






41. Measurement similar to how our hearing works in frequency response charts.






42. Tube manufactured for the new version of the AKG C12 (called the C12-A); Powered by Norelco.






43. Captures sounds arriving 90






44. 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






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






46. Forward facing bipolar mics spaced 20cm apart.






47. Coincident pairing angled between 90






48. Sounds that arrive at the 0






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






50. An instrument for detecting sound transmitted through water commonly manufactured using ceramic piezoelectric material.