Microphone Frequence Response

When engineering sound, you need to be aware of what your microphones are capable of doing. You are not just going to slap any mic in front of a vocal singer or on a kick drum. Each microphone has its own frequency response which will change the sound as its being picked up by the mic. Every sound engineer will have a wide variety of mics in their collection and its important to know how each one will effect the sound that you are trying to record.

If you buy a studio quality microphone, it will come with a published spec and frequency response chart. This chart will show which frequencies the mic will amplify and which ones will be diminished. Also, some mics frequency response will change with an increased distance from the source and this will usually be show in the chart as well. If you do not know what the frequency response of your mic is, look it up on the web and you should be able to find a chart.

To show you an example, I’ll talk about the AHG D112. This is a great mic that is usually used on kick drums and bass guitar amps and other low frequency sounds. The Reason that this mic is so popular with these low frequency instruments, is because of its frequency response. Take a look at the D112 charts.

Notice how there is a boost in frequency between 50Hz and 250Hz and a drop above 15KHz. Boosting lows and cutting highs is one reason why its great for those low frequency instruments. This doesn’t mean you couldn’t use it on other things, but be aware of what effect its going to have. I once put one on a Piano just to see how it would sound.