Exploring the Different

What’s The Difference Between Condenser Microphones, Ribbon Microphones & Dynamic Microphones?

While you can put a condenser, ribbon or dynamic microphone on any source and get perfectly adequate recordings, there is an art to capturing noteworthy sounds in the studio. Like colors on a palette or different types of brushes, your choice of microphone imparts distinct character and textures on your sound. Each style of microphone offers its own feature set, one that enables the mic to capture a vocal or instrument in a specific way.

Ever wonder why engineers gravitate towards putting a large diaphragm condenser mic on a vocalist? Have you seen ribbons or small diaphragm condensers placed over a drummer’s kit? These standard miking techniques are classics for a reason. Each decision is based on the microphone’s design and character while also factoring in the same elements for the instrument at hand.

Throughout this blog, we’ll dive further into the world of condenser, ribbon and dynamic microphones to highlight the differences between each of these mic categories. In addition, we’ll discuss which microphones are tailored to specific instruments and explain why they make these sources shine so brightly.

Condenser Microphones

Condenser microphones may be the most logical place for us to start, as all of the mics we make are in this style. Technically speaking, these microphones employ a fairly simple system with a capsule that features a thin membrane and metal plate. When sound waves from a singer or instrument arrive at the capsule, it causes the thin membrane to move closer and farther from the backplate. This movement changes the voltage across the backplate and is converted into an electrical signal.

The next step in the process is boosting this signal. The microphone is supplied with power through its impedance converter, either a vacuum tube or FET (or Field Effect Transistor) circuit. This power is delivered by your external power supply or 48V phantom power on your mixer, mic preamp or interface. With the power supply boosting your signal via the impedance converter, your audio signal can now be delivered to the mic input on your preferred recording device.

With the technical mumbo jumbo out of the way, let’s talk about the benefits of condenser microphones. Thanks to its