7
Operating the Shield
Powering the Shield (48V)
The Shield is a condenser microphone and therefore needs to be operated by
connecting a phantom power supply. Phantom power is standard on most quality
mixers, outboard MIC pre-amplifiers and hard disk recorders. If necessary an
external phantom power supply can also be used. The Shield receives the phantom
power directly from a MIC cable when connected to a mixer or other microphone
input that includes a phantom supply. The power is actually sent OUT of the
microphone INPUT, riding silently along with the audio signal. Most mixers have a
switch to engage the phantom power so be sure to check that the phantom power is
on
.
Setting up the signal level
When connecting the Shield to a mixer or recorder input, be sure that the input is
at an acceptable level. Also, be sure that the 48V phantom power is engaged as
explained at the previous section. Most mixers and recorders of reasonable quality
will offer a microphone input with MIC trim (usually called Trim or Gain) control.
The purpose of the MIC trim control is to optimize the amount of good signal to
any noise associated with the mixers electronics. A good MIC pre with trim also will
have a Peak or Clip LED. To set a good level on the MIC, set the Shield up in front
of the desired sound source and slowly raise the MIC trim control until you see the
Peak LED light up. Then, turn the mix trim control down until the LED no longer
illuminates. On most mixers, the ideal setting is that the trim control is turned up as
much as possible without lighting the Peak LED.
Microphone Placement
In order to maximize the sound quality, you must pay careful attention to the
placement of your Shield and how it is positioned for the instrument or vocalist that
you are miking. All microphones, especially unidirectional or cardioids microphones,
exhibit a phenomenon know as the “proximity effect”. Very simply put, proximity
effect is a resulting change in the frequency response of a microphone based on the
position of the microphone capsule relative to the sound source. Specifically, when
you point a cardioid MIC directly at the sound source (on-axis) you will get the best
frequency response, however, when you start pointing the microphone slightly away
(off-axis) you will notice the low frequency dropping off and the microphone will start
to sound thinner.
For most vocal applications you’ll want to position the microphone directly in front
of the artist. The same may be true for miking instruments. However, you can make
some pretty amazing equalization adjustments by slightly changing the angle of
the capsule to the sound source. This can be a very useful technique in capturing
the optimum sound of a drum kit, acoustic guitar, piano or other instruments in a
