Part V–Effects
TASCAM SX-1
Reference Manual
115
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Proximity Effect is a boost in bass frequencies resulting
from placing a directional mic in close proximity to a
signal source. The amount of the effect varies from mic
to mic, and is inversely proportional to the distance
from the mic to the source (for example, the smaller the
distance, the greater the bass boost).
Modeled Mic Section
Here’s where the magic
really starts. The
Modeled Mic
section is where you
select the mic (and its settings) whose characteristics
you want to apply to your audio.
Modeled Mic Menu
The
Modeled Mic
pop-up
menu is used to select your desired mic. In some
cases a mic will have a second listing with
(w)
appended to the mic’s name. This indicates that the
mic modeled was supplied with a windscreen and
this is the model of the mic with the windscreen
attached. If you wish to simulate the use of the wind-
screen, you should select this version of the model.
Additionally, the menu offers a selection called
Bypass
. When
Bypass
is selected, no mic model is
applied. The net sonic effect of selecting
Bypass
here
depends on the setting of the
Source Mic
menu:
• If the correct source mic is selected in the
Source Mic
menu, and
Bypass
is selected in the
Modeled Mic
menu, the final output of the Microphone Modeler
will be stripped of the characteristics of the source
mic. This results in a signal that would have been
recorded by an ideal instrumentation microphone
with no proximity effect.
• If
Bypass
is selected in the
Source Mic
menu and
Bypass
is selected in the Modeled Mic menu, the
final output of the Microphone Modeler will be
identical to the original input signal (with the
exception of any added tube saturation).
Low-Cut Menu
If the mic you select in the
Modeled Mic
menu is equipped with a user-selectable
low-cut filter, the
Low-Cut
pop-up menu will allow
you to select from among the filter settings available
on that mic. (If the selected mic does not have a low-
cut filter, the menu will be grayed out.) If the mod-
eled mic does include a low-cut filter, selecting a
low-cut setting will reproduce the same effect that
selecting that setting would have on the actual mod-
eled mic.
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The setting labels that appear in the menu are those
that appear on the physical mic. In some cases, the label
is the cut-off frequency of the low-cut filter as specified
by the mic’s manufacturer. However, the Microphone
Modeler does not simply apply a generic low-cut filter
at the stated frequency, but instead models the actual
filter performance of each modeled mic. In other words,
a stated cut-off frequency is only as accurate as the fil-
ter on the actual mic.
Pattern
If the mic you select in the
Modeled Mic
menu is equipped with user-selectable pick-up pat-
terns (e.g., omni, cardioid, hypercardioid, etc.), the
Pattern
pop-up menu will allow you to select from the
actual pattern settings available on that mic. (If the
modeled mic does not have selectable patterns, the
menu will be grayed out.) If the modeled mic does
include multiple patterns, select the pattern whose
characteristics produce the effect you desire.
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The purpose of the Pattern selection is to model the
varying frequency characteristics that result from each
of the available pattern settings, with the assumption
that the audio was recorded on axis (that is, from the
front of the microphone). Since the Microphone Mod-
eler has no way of knowing the actual placement of the
signal source, it does not attempt to simulate off-axis
performance.
Proximity
The
Proximity
knob in the
Modeled Mic
sec-
tion can be used to select a desired amount of prox-
imity effect. Using the
Proximity
knob to set a
particular distance will result in the amount of prox-
imity effect that would be produced by the actual
modeled mic when placed at that distance from the
signal source.
The effect of the
Proximity
control is unique for each
model of microphone. The Microphone Modeler
does not use a generalized approximation of proxim-
ity effect. Each model reflects the specific physical
properties that create the individual proximity effect
for that mic.
Mics operating in omnidirectional mode do not
exhibit a proximity effect. Consequently, if the mod-
eled mic is an omni mic, or the modeled mic has
selectable patterns and omni is chosen, the Proximity
control will be disabled.
NOTE
A secondary effect of mic-to-source distance is the
extent to which environmental ambience is picked up
by a mic. For example, as a mic is moved away from the
source, the proximity effect decreases, but the amount
of “room tone” increases (assuming that you are not in
an anechoic chamber). The Micro-hone Modeler does
not model this effect. However, judicious use of the
