Condenser Microphones

Condenser microphones are a staple of the recording engineer or home recordists arsenal. They come in many shapes and sizes and specialize in different things. This article will hopefully give you some insight where and what type to use in different situations.

First things first, no discussion of condenser microphones would be complete without talking about phantom power. Most condensers need phantom power which can be provided by a mixing console or microphone preamp. A few mics can be powered by an internal battery, and this makes them more versatile, especially in low budget situations. The point here is that if you are shopping for a condenser make sure you have available phantom power if you are looking at a mic that does not have built in battery power.

There are three basic types of condenser microphones, large and small diaphragm and electret. Generally speaking the large diaphragm types are used primarily for vocals and acoustic instruments. This is because they have a wide frequency response and are very sensitive, too sensitive for use close to drums or close up on loud guitar amplifiers. However they will work great as room mics further away from a drum kit or if you want an ambient guitar sound you can use a large diaphragm mic a few feet away or more to capture more of the room sound. Small diaphragm microphones are often more affordable and can be used in the same way, but because of the smaller capsule they don’t capture as wide a frequency response. Small diaphragm condensers work very well as overhead drum kit mics, on acoustic guitars or other acoustic stringed instruments. Electret mics are best at capturing high frequencies as well.

Some examples of small diaphragm condenser microphones:
AKG C1000s

Some examples of Large diaphragm condenser microphones:
AKG C414, Audio Technica AT2035

An example of an electret microphone, is the mic in your Telephone or Cellular phone.