Microphones – Part 2 – Choosing a Microphone

In part 1 of the Microphone series, we discussed the basic kinds of microphones and some of their practical uses. If you haven’t had a chance to check out part 1 yet, you can do that by going to Microphones – Part 1 – Different Types of Microphones. In this post, we will help you choose what type of microphone would be best suited for your application.

Choosing a Microphone
The type of microphone you use will depend on what you will be miking and on your budget. For small setups, a couple of good dynamic microphones would be adequate. For a slightly larger setup – playing 300-500 person venues – 6 to 8 dynamic microphones and a pair of condenser microphones would be suitable. Microphones come at all price points. Companies like Shure, Sennheiser, and Audix have become staples in the industry and have maintained wonderful reputations. These companies offer several lines of microphones from small budgets to large ones. There are also companies like Samson and Nady which offer some decent “budget” microphones as well.

Remember that when you are buying microphones, you will also have to buy microphone cables. Don’t forget to factor that in with the price of your microphones. Microphone cables come at a wide range of price points as well. Some companies claim that their microphone cables are vastly superior and charge premium prices for their cables. Whether or not microphone cables can really make an audible difference in sound quality is debatable. If you plan on using a condenser microphone, you will also need to make sure your mixer can supply phantom power or if you will need to buy an individual microphone preamp. Remember that since phantom power is supplied through XLR cables. You will not be able to use anything other than a XLR male to a XLR female microphone cable if your microphone needs phantom power. Be sure to check out the full line of cables at www.SeismicAudioSpeakers.com.

Hopefully, you have gathered enough information and we have given you enough information to help you pick out the best microphone to use for your application. Be sure to check out the first part of the series if you haven’t yet! If this information was helpful, please subscribe to the Seismic Audio Blog feed to get the latest information.

Microphones – Part 1 – Different Types of Microphones

We will be doing a 2 part post about Microphones. This post will discuss the different types of microphones and the usage of each type of microphone. In the next post we will go over some information on choosing the correct microphone for your application.

Microphones
There is a lot to know when it comes to microphones. In fact, so much that it would take pages and pages to cover everything. But that doesn’t mean we can’t go into essential information and basic details about them.

There are several types of microphones. Some of them excel in specific applications and some microphones are considered to be “workhorse” microphones, meaning that they can be used on just about any source and get the job done while sounding fantastic. Before we go into that, let’s first cover the types of microphones.

Dynamic Microphones
Dynamic microphones are some of the most common microphones that you will encounter. They extend over a broad price range, are very durable, don’t require their own power source, and are generally ideal for most live sound applications. One of the most widely recognized microphones in the world, the Shure SM58, has been the industry standard for both the studio and the stage for decades. Every time you have seen a singer on stage or heard a public speaker at a podium, chances are they were using the SM58 microphone. Yet, there are plenty of dynamic microphones on the market to choose from. Dynamic microphones are ideal for miking sources that put out high sound pressure levels. Since quality dynamic microphones are generally low impedance, you will need at least one XLR cable to hook one up to your mixer.

Condenser Microphones
Condenser microphones aren’t quite as popular as their dynamic counterparts. They are widely used in the recording environment but are still fairly common in live sound reinforcement. Typically, condenser microphones are used on sources that are fairly quiet, such as acoustic guitars. Condenser microphones require power from an external source in order to operate. This is called “phantom power”. Phantom power is supplied through the XLR cable that you will use to hook up the microphone to your mixer. Most mixers are equipped to supply phantom power. Be sure and check if your mixer has this feature before you purchase a condenser microphone. Condenser microphones are also much more sensitive than dynamic microphones, making them a little more prone towards problems with feedback in smaller environments.

Ribbon Microphones
Ribbon microphones aren’t as widely used in live applications as condenser and dynamic microphones. There was a time when most microphones were ribbon microphones. Ribbon microphones use a thin (usually microns thick) strip of metal floating in a magnetic field to generate sound. They are quiet and need more gain than dynamic and condenser microphones. They are very fragile, and their wide polar pattern can make them prone to feedback issues. When ribbon microphones are used in a live situation, they are usually used on guitar cabinets. Ribbon microphones use XLR cables but beware of phantom power hitting them. Phantom power destroys ribbon microphones.

Other Microphones
There are other types of microphones besides the ones listed. Since these are the most common in pro audio, we won’t go into the others here. Instead we will keep things “simple” and save them for a later post.

There are your basic types of microphones and we will give you some information to help you pick out the best microphone to use for your application. Be sure to check out the second part! If this information was helpful, please subscribe to the Seismic Audio Blog feed to get the latest information.

Memphis in May 2010 Lineup – Music Fest

Memphis in May is a series of festivals in Memphis throughout the month of May. During the first weekend in May, is the Beale Street Music Festival which is look forward to all year by music fans in Memphis and surrounding areas. This years music fest will take place April 30 through May 2 and will feature over 30 bands. These bands include national acts such as 3 Doors Down, Limp Bizkit, 30 Seconds to Mars, Jeff Beck, and plenty of others as well as some of Memphis best music acts including Al Kapone, Joan Red, and Sore Eyes to name a few.

As it always does, this years Beale Street Music Festival will take place at Tom Lee Park. It will cost you $36 for a one day ticket or you can get a 3-day pass for only $73 – which is a steal for over 30 of the best bands around! If you are anywhere near Memphis, the Memphis in May festivities are definitely something you do not want to miss!

Here is the lineup, stages, and times for this years Beale Street Music Festival:

FRIDAY, April 30
6:00PM: Neon Trees – Cellular South Stage
6:10PM: Al Kapone – Budweiser Stage
6:30PM: Blues Traveler – Sam’s Town Stage
7:35PM: Mute Math – Cellular South Stage
8:15PM: Jeff Beck – Sam’s Town Stage
9:15PM: 30 Seconds To Mars – Cellular South Stage
9:30PM: Goo Goo Dolls – Budweiser Stage
10:55PM: Limp Bizkit – Cellular South Stage

SATURDAY, May 1
2:20PM: Joan Red – Cellular South Stage
2:35PM: Balti – Sam’s Town Stage
4:00PM: Constellations – Cellular South Stage
4:00PM: North Mississippi Allstars – Budweiser Stage
4:25PM: Colbie Caillat – Sam’s Town Stage
5:40PM: Yo Gotti – Cellular South Stage
5:50PM: Drive By Truckers – Budweiser Stage
6:10PM: Jerry Lee Lewis – Sam’s town Stage
7:15PM: Puddle of Mudd – Cellular South Stage
7:40PM: Michael McDonald – Sam’s Town Stage
7:45PM: Gov’t Mule – Budweiser Stage
9:10PM: Seether – Cellular South Stage
9:30PM: Hall & Oates – Sam’s Town Stage
9:45PM: Flaming Lips – Budweiser Stage
10:55PM: Alice in chains – Cellular South Stage

SUNDAY, May 1
2:00PM: Truth & Salvage – Budweiser Stage
2:10PM: Rock Sugar – Sam’s Town Stage
2:15PM: Sore Eyes – Cellular South Stage
3:30PM: Bret Michaels – Sam’s town Stage
3:35PM: John Hiatt – Budweiser Stage
3:50PM: Boys Like Girls – Cellular South Stage
5:15PM: Booker T & the MG’S – Sam’s Town Stage
5:25PM: Five Finger Death Punch – Cellular South Stage
5:35PM: Band of Horses – Budweiser Stage
7:00PM: Earth, Wind & Fire – Sam’s Town Stage
7:05PM: Chevelle – Cellular South Stage
7:20PM: Alison Krauss – Budweiser Stage
8:45PM: 3 Doors Down – Cellular South Stage

If you would like more information on Memphis in May or the Beale Street Music Festival, be sure to check out their website at www.memphisinmay.org. If you would like to purchase tickets to the Beale Street Music Festival, click here. All festivities, times, and bands are subject to change.

What is the Difference in Speaker Cable Gauge

What is the difference in speaker cable gauge? Does the gauge even matter? This seems to be a common question that we get (and that several others get). First, let me explain how the gauge of the wire is classified. The speaker cable gauge, short for American Wire Gauge, represents the thickness of the wire. So, naturally you would think that 20 gauge wire would be thicker than 16 gauge wire; However, that is not the case. It is actually the opposite. The smaller the number the thicker the wire. (Just in case I wasn’t clear 16 gauge wire is thicker than 20 gauge wire.)

When it comes to speaker cables, you generally get cables that are at least 16 gauge. Now, that is just a general assumption and it can be broken down mathmatically to determine exactly what gauge cable you need according to the distance that audio travels. Except in extremely high power conditions, I can quickly give you a very conservative assumption without doing the math:

30 feet or less : 16 gauge
30-50 feet : 14 gauge
50-100 feet : 12 gauge
100 feet or more : 10 gauge

These numbers are just safe assumptions when it comes to the consistency of the audio. Many people will swear there is no difference in a 14 gauge cable at 100 feet and a 12 gauge cable at 100 feet. Some serious audiophiles will say that you should never use less than 10-12 gauge wire no matter what length the cable is. So, why does it matter? To make things simple – the thinner gauge wire (remember, the higher the number the thinner the wire) over a long distance will introduce its own impedance. This means reduced sound quality. Added impedance can drastically affect the overall sound and loudness.

So, am I saying that you should only buy 10-12 gauge wire? No. In fact, I would say that there is no need for anything other that 14 to 12 gauge speaker cables as long as the length of the cable is under 100 feet. I just wanted you to know the difference and the meaning of speaker cable gauge. Also, please realize that speaker cables, instrument cables, and microphone cables are all different. Thinner gauge wire is actually okay for instrument cables and microphone cables. Though, I would suggest for speaker cables you go no less than 16 gauge cable. (I typically use 14 gauge wire.)

If you are in need of some speaker cables, be sure to check out www.SeismicAudioSpeakers.com.

EQ: Understanding Sound

I will be doing a series of post on the general use of equalizers for live music, but for this post I wanted to just go over the very basics of sound. Knowing this information will later aid you in fully understanding the concept of equalization.

How is sound made? Simply put, vibrations in the air. The rate at which the vibrations happen is called frequency. High-frequency vibrations produce high pitches and low-frequency vibrations produce low pitches. Frequency is measured in vibrations, or known as cycles per second. These cycles per second are called Hertz (Hz). You will notice knobs on mixers, EQs, and other equipment with a number followed by ‘Hz’ – Hz stands for hertz. (Ex. 80 Hz = 80 Hertz, 1kHz = 1,000 Hz)

Now that you know about frequency, it is important to realize that sounds you hear are not just one frequency. When someone plays a note on a guitar or a piano, you will get a fundamental frequency, but you will also get some higher frequencies, known as overtones or harmonics. The fundamental frequency is the note that you recognize. The overtones make up the tone color of the notes source, or timbre. The timbre is what makes a piano sound like a piano, a trumpet sound like a trumpet, and a violin sound like a violin. When they all play the same note together, their timbre allows you to pick out the different instruments.

All frequencies make up what is called the frequency spectrum and the part of the spectrum that we can hear is called the audio spectrum. The audio spectrum is from about 20Hz to 20kHz and any portion of the frequency spectrum is known as a band. It may be a wide like the range of synthesizers or it may be narrow like the human voice. Bandwidth is how narrow or wide (measured in Hz) the band is.

This is just a basic overview of how sound is made and a couple of terms that are very useful to know. Keep checking back for more information on equalizing live sound. I will quickly go over some of the new words you learned today.

Frequency is the sound vibrations related to what we hear as pitch. Higher-frequency vibrations produce high pitches and low-frequency vibrations produces low pitches.

Hertz (Hz) is a unit of frequency. Simply, the number of vibrations per second.

Fundamental Frequency is the actual pitch that you recognize.

Overtones make up the tone color, or timbre, of an instrument.

Timbre (pronounced TAM-bur) is the term for an instruments tonal characteristics. It is what makes the piano sound like a piano and a trumpet sound like a trumpet.

Frequency Spectrum is a spectrum of frequencies.

Audio Spectrum is the spectrum of frequencies that are audible by the human ear. (About 20Hz – 20kHz)

A Band is a portion of frequencies. Ex. The human voice has a band of approx 80 to 1200Hz.

Bandwidth is how wide or narrow (measured in Hz) a particular band is.

How To Color Swirl A Guitar

Here is an awesome how to video on how to do a swirl-like paint job on your guitar. It is done by Tony Gayter (@theswirling) and he recommends a lot of practice before doing this paint job. (It took him over two months of practice to get it down.) He has a website in the works that will offer tutorials on these guitar paint jobs. It sure is neat how he makes them. Maybe we will have to make one!

The finished product is awesome. What do you think of it?

Selling Music Gear To Help Haiti

Seismic Audio Will Donate 10% of Sales to Haiti

If you have watched the news at all in the last few days, I am sure you have seen the coverage of the earthquake in Haiti. Thousands have died. Kids no longer have parents and parents no longer have kids. Watching the kids in need on TV has pulled at my heart. Being a father myself, I can’t imagine watching my child be in this type of situation and not being able to do anything to help him. Starting today, January 21st through the rest of the month, I will donate $10 for every $100 ordered through our website, www.seismicaudiospeakers.com. Due to fees associated with selling Seismic Audio products on eBay, Amazon, and other marketplaces, I am only able to afford donating 10% based on sales generated through our actual website. These marketplaces charge 10%-15% for each sell that occurs on their site. However, if you find us on one of these sites and decide to purchase on our website instead, I will donate the money.

I will be donating money through the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org. If you would like to help, you can text “HAITI” to 90999 $10 will go towards the Haiti earthquake relief via the Red Cross. I have personally sent five texts to them and hope you guys can send a text or two yourself.

I plan to send my donations every day for the previous days sells. For example, if today we do $2000 worth of sales, I will send $200 tomorrow. For weekends, I will send the money for Friday, Saturday and Sunday sales on Monday. I will attempt to post receipts given to me from Red Cross. I will do everything I can to show legitimacy in this campaign, but it may require you taking my word for it when it comes to sales. View our feedback on eBay and Amazon, check us out on Facebook, or just Google us, and you will see I run an honest company and treat people the right way. $2000 worth of sales from the website would be a good day for website sales, based on past history.

If this campaign increases sales for Seismic Audio, then great. If not, that is fine. Increasing sales is not my goal with this campaign. I have been blessed to be in a business I love. I figure I can afford to give away 10% of my gross sales for a good cause for 10 days. Also, since I named my company Seismic, I feel like I should donate to this cause.

If you don’t need any pro audio gear, then I would hope you would still donate. Simply text “HAITI” to 90999 and $10 will be donated to the people of Haiti who have been devastated by the earthquake.

Keep Rockin,
Steve Acree
Seismic Audio Speakers owner

Rock Band Network is Transforming the Music Industry

Recently, game developer Harmonix opened up the beta for musicians and bands to upload their own song into the Rock Band Network. Each completed song that is submitted will go on sale in the Rock Band Network store along with hundreds of other Rock Band tracks already available. Now, this is just the beta testing, but once all the bugs are worked out and the library is big enough, the created content will go live and will be downloadable by any player’s XBox 360 or PS3 Rock Band Network store.

This has great potential for both music creators and Harmonix. Not only can unknown, indie bands get noticed through the internet, but now they have a new way they can be heard and played by thousands of people. Game developer Harmonix also gets a great deal because they can sell songs they don’t have to spend time creating. Usually, it takes a day to do 2-3 songs for Harmonix and they sell constantly. So, the only logical move was to find a way to produce more songs and make more money. And that’s exactly what they are doing by allowing creators and bands the chance to share their songs. Oh, and of course creators get a 30% cut for each of their songs that sell on the network.

Unfortunately, this is not something that everyone will be able to sit down and do in a few minutes. To create a song you have to use full blown professional editing software and it will take first-time users 20 to 40 hours to complete a song. So, if you are up for the challenge you can get started at the “Rock Band Network” Creators Club official site. If all the computer recording and editing is not for you, I am sure soon there will be plenty of people willing to create the song for you for a small price.

Everybody Is Trying To Run With Pants On The Ground

Do you Remember General Larry Platt? I sure hope that you remember his catchy song, “Pants On The Ground.” Over the past several days since the air of his American Idol audition everybody wants to be like Larry. Here is just a small sample of the ‘remixes’ that people have done of “Pants On The Ground.” Everything from rap remixes to Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young to Brett Favre and the Vikings!

That is just a few – there are several hundred and you could spend all day watching them. All video and audio belong to their respective owners.

Connecting An Amp To Speakers

So, you got yourself a great pair of Seismic Audio Dual 15″ Pro Audio PA / DJ Speakers. You also have great amplifier to power those speakers. You are ready to get out there and start rockin’ the house! There is just one problem – you don’t know how to hook the speakers to the power amp.

The most important place to start is at the amplifier itself. It is extremely important to make sure that amp is capable of handling the impedance (ohm) load from your speakers. For this blog, we are going to assume that you are using 1 channel of your amp and have a single pair of identical speakers and want to run in mono mode. Other configurations will be addressed in future blog entries. Most of the time, when running a PA in this mode, your speakers are going to be daisy chained (or run parallel). You daisy chain speakers by hooking one speaker up to an amplifier and then out of that speaker you hook up another speaker. Keeping in mind that for this example we have only 2 speakers with the same impedance rating, when you daisy chain speakers you divide the impedance. (For example, two 4-ohm speakers connected in parallel result in a 2-ohm overall impedance.) This is why it is important to be sure your amplifier is capable of handling the ohm load. If the ohm load of your speakers is lower than what your amplifier can handle, you will most likely cause severe damage to you amplifier! (And most of the time – void your warranty!)

Now, let’s go back to your pair of Seismic Audio Dual 15″ Pro Audio PA / DJ Speakers (SA-155T) for an example. Individually these speakers run at 4-ohms a piece. When you hook them up parallel (daisy chained), the ohm load of the speakers is 2-ohms. Remember, running your speakers parallel divides the impedance. A large majority of amplifiers can handle 2-ohms per channel (running non-bridged mode) – but it is important that you check your amplifier and find out! So, if your amp can handle 2-ohms per channel, you are ready to hook up the SA-115T because daisy chained together they carry a 2-ohm load.

Let’s say you got the same 2-ohm per channel amp, but you have a pair of speakers with a higher ohm load. So, you have two 8-ohm speakers and when you hook them up is parallel they would be a load of 4-ohms. Can you do this? Yes, as long as the ohm load is not lower than the amp is capable of handling then you are okay.

But what if you have an amp that is 4-ohms per channel and the SA-155Ts which run at 2-ohms parallel? Well, you guessed it – DO NOT DO IT! If you run this configuration, you will more than likely severally damage your amplifier!

This is just a general example and there are many ways to configure running your speakers to an amplifier. What I am trying to point out is the fact that you should NEVER run an ohm load lower than your amp is capable of handling. This can permanently destroy your amplifier!

Now that you have figured out that your amplifier can handle the ohm load of your speakers, you are ready to get them hooked up! The last step is actually connecting the speakers to the amplifier. You need to find out what kind of connectors your amplifier and your speakers use. Some might only offer binding post connectors in which you would use banana plugs. Others might have inputs for 1/4″ connectors or speakon connectors. What is the difference in these connectors? In the context of this blog entry, it is just the connector itself. When applicable, I prefer to use speakon connectors because they lock in place and you know that you have a great, secure connection. Also, when the stage is crowded, speakon connectors insure that no one is going to accidentally step on a cable and pull it out of the speaker. Another thing to keep in mind when buying a speaker cable, the heavier gauge wire you use, the better. Heavier gauge wire insure that you are getting less resistance from the wire and therefore, less signal loss. Keep in mind that the lower the gauge number of the wire, the heavier the wire, i.e. 14 gauge is heavier or thicker than 16 gauge. The size of the wire is really dependent upon the amount of power you are pushing through it and the distance of the run. The details of that are beyond the scope of this blog entry though. Just be sure to use speaker cables and not instrument cables!

Well, you got the correct amplifier, a great set of speakers, and all the proper cables. All that is left is to hook up the speakers and to power up the amplifier. To daisy chain the speakers just plug in a speaker cable into the output of the proper channel of the amp and run it one of your speakers. Once you have put that cable into the input of the speaker, grab another cable and go from that speaker to your other speaker. Now you are ready to start the gig and to bring down the house!