and diffraction effect offset each other somewhat.
Proximity Effect & Working Distance
The Sound that Is “More Real than Real”
Ribbon microphones have long been renowned for “rich bass.”
This effect is largely due to the fact that ribbon microphones
generally have excellent bass response to begin with, and at the
same time exhibit an effect known as “proximity effect” or
“bass tip-up.”
As illustrated in the following graph, a typical bi-directional
ribbon microphone will have a flat frequency response at a dis-
tance of about six feet from the microphone, but at shorter dis-
tances the bass response is boosted; the effect becomes increas-
ingly pronounced as the distance between the microphone and
the sound source is reduced.
This bass-boosting characteristic can become quite intense and,
if desired, can be corrected by equalization. However, for a
multiple microphone setup, the pronounced bass boosting (due
to proximity effect) can be turned to an advantage. If an instru-
ment, such as a trumpet, is extremely close-miked and the bass
is cut to restore flat response, unwanted low-frequency sounds
are cut back by upwards of 20dB compared to an unequalized
microphone with a flat response. This discrimination is
inde-
pendent
of the microphone’s polar response.
Another area where proximity effect can be turned to an advan-
tage is to make things sound more “real than real.” For exam-
ple, many voices and certain musical instruments produce fun-
damental frequencies within the bass range (below 150Hz or
so) but the fundamentals are weak. If a microphone which has
no proximity effect and a rising high frequency response is used
on an upright piano, or on a person with a thin, weak voice, the
recorded sound is likely to sound even thinner than it was in
11
Summary of Contents for R-121
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