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. The attachment that holds a microphone in place on the mic stand; Comes in various shapes - sizes - and applications.






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






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






4. More compelling sound - giving both depth and perspective.






5. Cable wrapping method that keeps every coil on top of the next; May cause interference and tiny curls or tangles.






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






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






8. 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.






9. 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.






10. Built by AKG for Telefunken and regarded as one of the best vintage condenser microphones ever.






11. Commonly utilize large diaphragm dynamic mics.






12. Mics in which sound waves vibrate a piezoelectric crystal that generates a varying voltage.






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






14. Dynamic; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Shure; Popular musicians' choice due to its sturdy construction and ability to work well with instruments that produce high sound pressure levels.






15. Very robust and durable; Used in telephones until 1990's; Currently finds applications for military use.






16. Shows the max sound pressure level possible with a certain amount of distortion; Measured in dB (decibels).






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






18. Early example of switchable polar patterns; Had both a dynamic and a ribbon capsule inside of it which when combined produced other polar patterns.






19. The outer covering of a microphone.






20. 2 - 4 ft. from player; Placed below the line of sight of the bell - rotated at about 30 degrees off axis - and tilted upward.






21. First to mass produce the condenser microphone in 1929; Improved cutting lathe technology by developing direct drive turntables; Invents 48V Phantom Power to power the new condenser microphone for Norwegian State Television.






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






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






24. EMI employee that was the innovator of many coincident pairing mic techniques; Mid/Side & Blumlein techniques are associated with him.






25. 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.






26. Barrier made of shaped wire covered with a piece of nylon that is placed between a sensitive mic and the talent to avoid damage to the diaphragm of the mic.






27. The property of certain crystals that causes them to produce voltage when a mechanical pressure such as sound vibrations is applied to them; Originates from Greek word 'piezein' (to compress).






28. Microphone with 4 large diaphragm condenser capsules; 3 bidirectional and 1 omni; Can be combined to make any polar pattern.






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






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






31. 4800 ft/sec






32. Pair of omni mic elements mounted on opposite sides of a spherical shaped capsule.






33. One of the oldest mics; Diaphragm mounted on & compresses cup of tiny granules of carbon (100 microns big) that increase current flow when compressed by sound waves and vary electrical current; Also called Resistance Mics;






34. Coincident pairing of two bidirectional mics that make a pattern of crossing Figure 8's.






35. An electromagnetic microphone - in which a thin - corrugated ribbon is suspended within a high magnetic flux field; Excellent transient response due to the small amount of acoustic energy required to move diaphragm.






36. Cable wrapping method that reduces interference and makes it easier to unravel the cable.






37. Small Diaphragm Electret condensers; Extremely flat frequency response; Omnidirectional pattern.






38. An extremely strong acoustic nano- film designed to replace the foil ribbon in ribbon microphones.






39. A gradual - continuous decrease in low frequency response.






40. Determined by: Ribbon Thickness (about 3 to 6 microns); Corrugations/Inch; Tension of the Ribbon.






41. Three or more microphones working together to capture a stereo or surround image of the sound source.






42. Most sensitive to sounds arriving from the front while rejecting sounds from rear; Shaped like a heart; Rejects most signals from 180






43. Condenser; Cardioid; End Address; 48V Required; Manufactured by AudioTechnica; Switchable 80 Hz Hi-Pass Filter; Ideal for professional recording and critical applications in broadcast.






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






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






46. Mics placed in front of an instrument or ensemble (in a left/right fashion) to obtain an overall stereo image; Sound more open and natural; Weaker center image than X/Y; Great for creating background sounds that will blend in with foreground sounds.






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






48. Magnetic field opposite to that which presently exists; Do this on the bottom mic when miking a snare with two mics.






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






50. 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.