WITNESSES OF WORDS How 20th Century Microphones Made History by Marco C. van der Hoeven

When Lord Heseltine seized the House of Commons mace it was an act of mischievousness but when Boris Johnson PM lifted his AKG D222 vintage microphone, installed by the BBC, onto the dispatch box to make himself heard it was an act of compensation for lack of side tone see link below.

If the vocalist can't hear themselves above background sound then they tend to shout. This applies to indoor PA Public Address systems e.g. UK Parliament, radio studios & through to stadium rock music venues. Adolph Hitler used his microphones with aggression that included a swift kick to another microphone discreetly placed near his foot for emphasis while Frank Sinatra was the first to use his as a musical instrument with dramatic dynamic control.

Marketing advantages extend to the AKG D230 microphone that has an extended body to aid placement of station flags without usual handling difficulties. (Shades of Betamax versus VHS video recording. Sony VHS purchased all the Disney film rights proving you don't have to make the best product to win the marketing war.)

If this wets your appetite for more then get yourself the WITNESSES OF WORDS How 20th Century Microphones Made History which documents significant microphones of the period. I purchased mine from www.ebay.nl Netherlands seemingly much cheaper than UK sources. At £40 incl p&p it may seem expensive but it is a well thought out coffee table book with interesting information and colour photographs. I use it to complement my teaching of guitar & ukulele to teenagers by illustrating the typical microphones used by stage & recording artistes.

Quote: Stephen Fleay (Voice-Over and ex-BBC and NBC News presenter): It is so beautifully put together and well illustrated. This book will provide an almost endless trove of valuable information about an essential part of our communications.

The 2nd website link is that of author Marco C. van der Hoeven where you will harvest even more mic related info and the 3rd is a video preview.

tinyurl.com/yajx2oer

www.witnessesofwords.com/en/

Video preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBTQ3qGGWyw

Snare drums require special consideration when two microphones are used for live or recording. The beater skin microphone registers sound in retreat but the resonant snare skin has the sound approach into the second microphone. This results in an antiphase situation detrimental to the sound. Apply a phase inverter (merely XLR pins 2 & 3 reversed) to achieve an enhanced sound. This could be an adapter from eBay for a few pounds or make one with 10 cm cable and XLRF & XLRM.

Guitar & ukulele lessons St Albans

73 Bob Houlston G4PVB