All microphones are transducers and their sole purpose is to turn acoustic energy into electrical energy in the form of an alternating current. As guitarists, we use microphones to capture the sounds of our acoustic and electric instruments for recording onto hard drives – or tape, if you’re so inclined. In this issue’s feature we’ll be discussing how the various types of microphone work, as well as their pros and cons for guitar recording applications.
Ribbon Microphones
The term ‘dynamic microphone’ has become synonymous with moving coil types, but ribbons are dynamic mics, too. While both rely on electrodynamics, the way moving coil and ribbon microphones operate is quite different. Invented during the 1920s by an RCA engineer called Harry F Olson, the ribbon was the first high-fidelity microphone and it revolutionised music and movie soundtrack recording.
A very thin length of corrugated aluminium foil is suspended in the space between two magnetically charged polepieces. The ribbon moves freely in response to changes in atmospheric pressure, namely sound waves. This induces an electric current
