PERFORMER
Owner/User Manual MTS Performer rev. 01
Features & Functions: continued
Noise: continued.
More on pre-amps. Specs are important, but your ears and the word of mouth
referrals from friends are the most valuable ways to make a decision as to what
to buy and use. Understanding specs and how they are derived and what they
mean is not a simple exercise. Raw numbers can be misleading.
A critical factor in the real world performance of a pre-amp is again the
relationship of a number of factors, meaning that a really good EIN number may
not translate into lower noise in use. If that device clips hard and immediately
it sees even a fraction too much signal, then you would need to use a lower
setting and add gain later in the chain, and with that gain you add noise. Being
able to push a signal harder into the pre-amp whilst maintaining its musicality
and integrity, results in readily apparent benefits. Other factors contribute to
noise, given you are using a high quality pre-amp, and regardless of cost and
you are happy with it, let’s discuss microphones. Small mic’ elements
compared to large mic’ elements are inherently noisier. The air, in pressure
waves, transfers energy to a microphone‘s diaphragm moving it back and forth.
How efficiently that movement is converted, ‘transduced’ into electrical energy,
- a signal, relates to the noise of the mic and more importantly to how much
gain (and noise) you have to add to get the levels you require in the mix. The
bigger the diaphragm, all things being equal, the more efficient the conversion
of air motion - energy, typically measured in Pascals. However, large element
mics, have a directivity factor to consider. The larger the diaphragm, the more
directional it will become at higher frequencies. Some like this character in a
mic, calling it “reach” or an increased directivity with increasing frequency.
Because, the directivity increases at higher frequencies, the mic inherently
‘hears’ less off axis sound. This effect is often seen as beneficial, - euphonic,
meaning a pleasant or desirable sonic result. These may or may not be
negatives depending on your taste or application, but large element mics have
one advantage, they are more efficient at converting sound which means you’ll
need less gain and with that, lower noise. Check out some of the small, lavalier
type mics specifically designed for close drum mic’ing. They mostly have poor
noise performance, which for their application is not a problem, since they are
going to be inches away from a drum skin with a wild man beating on it. Hence,
little need for gain, and inherently low noise recordings. In truth, most of
today’s music and recording does not use high gain settings where noise is a
real concern. Again, as with all sound, understanding your goals, the choices
you have to make and what compromises are acceptable to get a great sound
is a huge part of the “art”.
Page 8