Dynamic mics - why so difficult to reproduce?

[soapfoot]

The NS10 driver works especially well for that purpose due to its F(s) of (IIRC) 58 Hz

When it’s excited, it basically resonates at that frequency, which some people find flattering for kick drum in certain applications

It’s not neutrally “capturing” the acoustic drum so much as supplementing it with a largely-undamped low frequency resonance

A different speaker will resonate at a different frequency (its own), which may or may not be as helpful

You’d have to look up that particular driver’s T/S parameters to know what’s actually going on

 

[samic]

I worked for a company that wanted to make a dynamic microphone for the mass market
we bought dozens and dozens of dynamic capsules on the shelf to get closer to an SM7, and it was a huge fail, impossible to have a good capsule in China! if you don't put 150k€ of research and development for the design and build your own winding machine and membrane manufacturing it's over you will never have quality,
in my opinion it is 10x complicated to manufacture than a K67 static capacitor capsule!

 

[engineerkyle]

Sylvia Massy (sic) "American record producer, mixer, and engineer" (says Wikipedia) sometimes/often uses a big speaker (as in guitar amp speaker) as a bass microphone to pick up guitar amp speakers, as described in a video interview last year with 'SoundOnSound' magazine.

This is both true and old news. Legend has it the first use of a subkick was for “rain” by the Beatles.

 

[Dave Obergoenner]

I've worked in both radio and recording studios for most of my life.

I have a lot of condenser mics in my home studio. Some fairly expensive, and some not so much, but modified such that they sound like the expensive ones. What do I use for my voice-over work?...One of my two 40+ year old Shure SM-5B dynamics. Before that, Heil PR-40 dynamics, which sound pretty close.

(Sorry Shure...The SM-7 (I have plenty of them) do not sound like my SM-5B's...even though you kept telling us that they did) I used to buy-up all the nasty, trashed SM-5B mics I could find back in the 1990s, and then restore/refurbish them for use at all the News/Talk stations I engineered. Lots of radio stations were very happy to trade me a nasty SM-5B for a brand new RE-20, or Heil PR-40.

A local NPR FM station I work for has plenty of condenser mics. What do they use for on-air and production?... Heil PR-30 mics, and a few EV RE-20's...mostly for guests who don't know how to use a microphone. They need to match the sound of the high-dollar condenser mics used by NPR (I think mostly U87s). The PR-30's can come very very close (with hardly any EQ), for about 1/10th the cost, and don't pick up all the room noise. Lots of times I can't tell on the air if I'm listening to something from NPR, or something done locally.

I believe there's certainly a place for condenser mics, but there are also a LOT of applications where a dynamic is a MUCH better choice. I'd like to see more new options in dynamics. Shure could probably reissue a true SM-5B pretty easily, an make a killing! Not that much different from a 57 inside...although there's a little more to it than that. For many people who are old enough to have worked with them, that's still the ultimate voice-over mic.

Dave O.

 

[MicMaven]

, it's understandable manufacturers are not very enthousisatic.

Ah ... yes. If you speak this aloud, you realize this IS the correct spelling, after a wee dram or two of good Scotch or Bourbon !!

(Anonymous)



[Just poking a little fun. Move along Johnny, nothing to see here ... ]

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Ah ... yes. If you speak this aloud, you realize this IS the correct spelling, after a wee dram or two of good Scotch or Bourbon !!

I toatlly argee wiht yuo.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

I believe there's certainly a place for condenser mics, but there are also a LOT of applications where a dynamic is a MUCH better choice.

I agree with you, however I think things are not as clear cut as it seems. In particular, the reputation of dynamic mics to pick up less room and be less feedback prone is not the result of dynamic vs. electrostatic transduction. It comes from a different optimization. Most dynamic vocal mics are tuned to offer more proximity effect and less HF response. If a condenser mic was tuned to reinforce chest voice and reduce HF, the difference would not be so abrupt. Historically, condenser mics were designed for different criteria, it's only recently that manufacturers have chosen to offer condenser alternatives to popular dynamics. I believe Neumann have done a good job with their KMS105, and Shure with their SM87.
Actually, after having used many dynamic mics in live situations (Beyer M67 & M88, EV RE16, Shure SM58 and one that remains a favourite, the unduly overseen Samson S12), I have switched to a Zoom SGV6, a unique dual-element design that provides excellent feedback and room rejection all across the frequency range.

I'd like to see more new options in dynamics.

Me too. I'm a sucker for "dedicated" mics. I'm not curious for a general purpose mic. I listen when I see a mic that's presented as specialized.
I think the world has not enough Senn E609/906 or AKG D12 type mics.

Shure could probably reissue a true SM-5B pretty easily, an make a killing! Not that much different from a 57 inside...although there's a little more to it than that.

I believe Shure have transitioned from the SM5 to the SM7 because of manufacturing optimization. Probably more automation, less handwork. It's very hard to convince R&D (and bean counters) to go back.