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






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






3. Delicate and require extreme care; NO PHANTOM POWER; Becoming more popular than ever because of highly efficient magnets - lower manufacturing costs - and great fidelity.






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






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






6. When using two microphones reverse the polarity of the bottom mic.






7. Dynamic; Super-Cardioid; End Address; Humbucking Coil; Brilliance Switch; Manufactured by Sennheiser; Acknowledged as the most accurate and versatile dynamic mic available.






8. 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'.






9. When miking an amp placing it near the center of this will make it sound brighter; Miking near the outer edge of this will make it sound darker and more mellow in tone.






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






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


12. The measure of how quickly a mic's diaphragm will react when it is hit by an acoustic sound wave.






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






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






15. Solid state version of the U67.






16. 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.






17. Mid-Section of the mic stand; Includes the clutch.






18. 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.






19. 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.






20. 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.






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






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






23. Mic in which the diaphragm moves in response to sound waves and an attached pin/rod moves; Coil attached to pin/rod moves alone with the diaphragm.






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






25. 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.






26. 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






27. Sounds that may be broadcast over the radio or internet.






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






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






30. 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.






31. An electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge;






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






33. 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.






34. Coincident pairing that is at 90






35. 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






36. Aluminum Ribbon - Bi-Polar (Figure 8); Side Address; Manufactured by Shiny Box; Buttery mid- range improves digital recordings and smooths out modern treble; Best on drums - piano - overheads - and vocals where treble is focused.






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






38. Will yield a 6dB increase in output - but will cause a loss of high frequency response.






39. 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.






40. 4 coincident mics each positioned at 90






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






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






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






44. Allow sound to reach the rear of the capsule/diaphragm - to create cardioid - supercardioid - and hypercardioid patterns In single capsule pressure gradient microphones.






45. The head or top of the guitar where the tuning pegs are located.






46. The first phantom powered condenser microphone designed for use by Georg Neumann for Norwegian State Television.






47. Allows all high frequencies to pass; Blocks the lower frequencies from being processed.






48. Digital device used to Fourier Forms; Used to measure the specific number of sine waves in a specific frequency in a specific setting.






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






50. Allows all low frequencies to pass; Blocks the higher frequencies from being processed.