royer R-122V, Operation Instructions Manual & User Manual

Page: 17 / 33

to proximity effect) can be turned to an advantage. If an instrument,
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 independent of the
microphone’s polar response.
Typical relationship of
microphone distance to
frequency response for
ribbon-velocity bidirectional
microphone.
Another area where proximity effect can be turned to an advantage
is to make things sound more “real than real.” For example, many
voices and certain musical instruments produce fundamental
frequencies within the bass range (below 150Hz or so) but the
fundamentals are weak. If a microphone that 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 real life. In contrast,
using a microphone with strong proximity effect on such sound
sources can deliver a “better than real” sound, since the boosted
bass response will compensate for the weak fundamentals in the
sound source. Since the fundamentals are present, but weakened,
boosting them by several dB will sound natural, even though the
sound has been sweetened.
Radio and television announcers have long relied on proximity
effect to give a full, rich, authoritative quality to their voices. By
knowing how to work with the proximity effect, the engineer can
get several useful effects without resorting to an outboard unit.
16