Shure's Microphone Techniques for Studio Recording
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About Shure's Microphone Techniques for Studio Recording
This one of Shure's Educational Publications. This article is reprinted with the permission of Shure Incorporated and is not under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2. It is protected from alteration and is provided as is.
WikiRecording has chosen to provide Shure's guides as a special article in order to make the information easily available and searchable using the Wiki search engine.
There is a PDF version of this guide available on Shure's Website.
Introduction
The selection and placement of microphones can have a major influence on the sound of an acoustic recording. It is a common view in the recording industry that the music played by a skilled musician with a quality instrument properly miked can be sent directly to the recorder with little or no modification. This simple approach can often sound better than an instrument that has been reshaped by a multitude of signal processing gear. In this guide, Shure Application Engineers describe particular microphone techniques and placement: techniques to pick up a natural tonal balance, techniques to help reject unwanted sounds, and even techniques to create special effects. Following this, some fundamentals of microphones, instruments, and acoustics are presented.
Sections
Section One: Microphone Techniques
Section Two: Microphone Characteristics
Glossary and Appendix
About the Authors
John Boudreau
John, a lifelong Chicago native, has had extensive experience as a musician, a recording engineer, and a composer. His desire to better combine the artistic and technical aspects of music led him to a career in the audio field. Having received a BS degree in Music Business from Elmhurst College, John performed and composed for both a Jazz and a Rock band prior to joining Shure in 1994 as an associate in the Applications Engineering group. While at Shure, John led many audio product training seminars and clinics, with an eye to helping musicians and others affiliated with the field use technology to better fulfill their artistic interpretations. No longer a Shure associate, John continues to pursue his interests as a live and recorded sound engineer for local bands and venues, as well as writing and recording for his own band. RICKFRANKOver his career, Rick has been involved in a wide variety of music and recording activities including composing, teaching, performing, and producing popular music, jazz and commercial jingles. He has spent his life in Illinois where he received his BS in English and his MBA from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. While in downstate Illinois he also operated a successful retail musical instrument business and teaching program that coincided with working as a professional guitarist and electric bassist. Rick’s work at Shure began as Marketing Specialist for Music and Sound Reinforcement where he was responsible for researching and analyzing new product concepts and introducing new wired and wireless products to the global market. He has presented training seminars to audiences and written instructional materials on a variety of audio subjects including Understanding Sound Reinforcement using the Potential Acoustic Gain Equation. He is currently Marketing Director for Wired Microphones at Shure where he is responsible for Music industry products including microphones and other products for recording and he continues to perform music professionally.
Tim Vear
Tim is a native of Chicago who has come to the audio field as a way of combining a lifelong interest in both entertainment and science. He has worked as an engineer in live sound, recording and broadcast, has operated his own recording studio and sound company, and has played music professionally since high school.
At the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Tim earned a BS in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering. During this time he also worked as chief technician for both the Speech and Hearing Science and Linguistics departments. In his tenure at Shure, Tim has served in a technical support role for the sales and marketing departments, providing product and applications training for Shure customers, dealers, installers, and company staff. He has presented seminars for a variety of domestic and international audiences, including the National Systems Contractors Association, the Audio Engineering Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Tim has authored several publications for Shure and his articles have appeared in several trade publications.
Rick Waller
Now residing in the Chicago area, Rick grew up near Peoria, Illinois. An interest in the technical and musical aspects of audio has led him to pursue a career as both engineer and musician. He received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, where he specialized in acoustics, audio synthesis and radio frequency theory. Rick is an avid keyboardist, drummer and home theater hobbyist and has also worked as a sound engineer and disc jockey. Currently he is an associate in the Applications Engineering Group at Shure. In this capacity Rick provides technical support to customers, writing and conducting seminars on wired and wireless microphones, mixers and other audio topics.
Resources
The Shure Incorporated Website
