6
Operating the U24
1. Powering the U24
The U24 is a USB bus powered microphone and no external power supply is
needed. When it is plugged into your Mac/PC USB port via the provided USB
cable, the power LED ring inside the mic capsule unit will light up (green),
indicating that the U24 is powered properly and ready for use.
2. Setting up the signal level
To set a good level on the MIC, set the U24 up in front of the desired sound
source and slowly raise the MIC gain control until you see the Peak LED (orange)
light up. Then, turn the gain control down until the LED does not light any more.
3. Microphone Placement
In order to maximize the sound quality, you must pay careful attention to the
placement of your "U24" and how it is positioned for the instrument or vocalist
that you are miking. All microphones, especially unidirectional or cardioid
microphones, exhibit a phenomenon know as the “proximity effect”. Very
simply put, proximity effect is a resulting change in the frequency response of
a microphone based on the position of the MIC capsule relative to the sound
source. Specifically, when you point a cardioid MIC directly at the sound source
(on-axis) you will get the best frequency response, however, when you start
pointing the microphone slightly away (off-axis) you will notice the low frequency
dropping off and the microphone will start to sound thinner.
For most vocal applications you'll want to position the microphone directly in
front of the artist. The same may be true for miking instruments. However, you
can make some pretty amazing equalization adjustments by slightly changing
the angle of the capsule to the sound source. This can be a very useful
technique in capturing the optimum sound of drum set, acoustic guitar, piano or
other instruments in a live room or sound stage. Experimentation and experience
are the best teachers in getting good sounds, so plug in!
4. P-Poping
P-Poping is that annoying pop that you can get when the microphone diaphragm
gets a blast of air from a vocalist pronouncing words with the letter "P" included.
The U24 is provided with a metal pop filter, which eliminates the popping
problem mostly. Install the provided pop filter as per illustration below.