Symetrix 601, Owner'S Manual

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2-5
Rev 2.2, 10/31/94
RE38N/D or ND series) or a ribbon microphone such as the RCA 77DX. The built-in bass boost
caused by close talking a single-D microphone (proximity effect) can be tailored or tamed with
careful equalization, which also reduces room rumble at the same time. Last, since the
proximity effect increases with decreasing source-microphone distance, a skilled user can
substantially change their sound simply by moving in or out from the microphone.
If clarity is your goal, then a variable-D microphone such as the EV RE-20 or RE-18 or an
omnidirectional type such as the EV RE50 or AKG414 (with the pattern set to omni) is a good
choice as these types do not emphasize the bass frequencies when you close-talk them. On the
negative side, any room rumble present with the microphone will be boosted along with the
voice if you try to equalize at the lower frequencies.
Next, add or remove low frequencies in the 100-300 Hz range until you get a weight or fullness
that is pleasing. Next add midrange boost in the 2.5 kHz to 5 kHz range to add punch and
presence (experiment with the bandwidth control!), and finally add or remove frequencies in the
10000+ Hz range to get the sense of brilliance that you want.
It’s sometimes difficult to translate what you are hearing into the numbers that make
equalizers happy. Seeing the frequencies associated with a voice or instrument can be helpful
in deciding where equalization may be needed. The chart shown in Figure 2-1 shows the
relationships of many different instruments, and a piano keyboard along with the frequencies
involved.