Podcasts, known as audio blogs, are in trend these days. With the advancement in the broadcast Internet and portable audio devices, they got a boom in late 2004. As for now, it has reached up to 115,000 users who are doing podcasts. A wireless mic is essential for a podcast as it provides phenomenal voice quality. Now you don’t get tangled up in all the mess of wire. By using this, you can start the podcast anywhere and everywhere. Podcasts are a great way to connect to the audience, and the techniques have been revolutionized with the invention of wireless mics.
Types of Microphones
The following are some of the types of wireless microphones which are widely used during podcasts and filming:
Wireless Microphone
Wireless microphones use small lavalier microphones, and one can easily clip a lav mic to the clothes. It reduces visibility and avoids noises as placed inside the clothing. They are an excellent option for podcasts, interviews, and other hosting events. They are also called radio microphones. It’s easy to use in host sessions when the host is speaking and is moving around while the microphone is clipped to their clothes. Being wireless, they provide ease while using them.
Lavalier Microphone
These microphones are used when a long extension wire directly attaches them to the camera or the mixer. They use a long extension wire, which enables the distance between the person using the microphone and the camera. This also enables excellent sound-quality audio signals. They come as both the wireless lavalier microphone and the wired one.
Handheld Microphone
Handheld microphones are portable, and being wireless makes them easy to carry anywhere. They are also called stick microphones. People can easily carry them when in hand during long lectures.
Dynamic Microphone
Dynamic microphones convert sound waves into electrical signals through the air pressure that is available by the coil moving inside the magnetic field.
Condenser Microphone
Condenser microphones are used to voiceover or narrate audiobooks. They do provide a larger diaphragm than the dynamic microscope. The good central aspect they have is their sensitivity to amplitude and tone, which results in more high-quality audio intensity levels.
Ribbon Microphone
Ribbon microphones are strips of metal that are used for capturing sound signals.
All these works for the generation of audio waves, but there are some differences between them. Condensers works on the principle of electrostatic forces. As for the transducers, the ribbon and dynamic microscopes work on the same principle as electromagnetic induction. The transducers’ elements are very different, i.e., the capsules and diaphragms.
Shotgun Microphone
Shotgun microphones are elongated small diaphragm condenser microphones mounted on the camera or held close to the microphone stand or the audio source. They have a lobar pattern with an oval shape whose reach extends in front of the microphone, which extrudes the sounds to the rear and sides. They provide the best solution while considering the long distances of directional sounds. They are very versatile, and podcasters and musicians use the primary cardioid microphone in their daily use. These microphones tend to cut off the noise from surroundings while giving a charming and ambiance effect to the sounds that need to be captured. They are waterproof, so you don’t need to worry, and they can easily be placed anywhere you want. They are highly durable and robust.
Shotgun microphones usually operate at 48V and therefore require phantom power. This could be provided either by the portable field mixer or the direction from the camera. One good option is to use the wireless transmitter block attached to a shotgun microphone.
While the polar pattern, which is highly crucial when selecting the best microphones, includes the following:
Cardioid Microphone
They include both super-cardioid and hyper-cardioid microphones, giving unidirectional patterns. They are the lobar shotgun microphones that isolate single sound levels.
Bidirectional Microphone
When you need to mix comprehensive sound pictures, use directional microphones with cardioid microphones. Or else, you need to position the mic in front and capture the sound from the sides. In all these cases, directional microphones work best when different sides are involved, and sound can be captured from any direction.
Omnidirectional Microphone
Omnidirectional microphones are commonly used for capturing the musical ensemble or are placed above the orchestra. It is used when many people are gathered around one single microphone, and every sound is important to be captured.
Factors While Choosing the Microphone for Your Podcast
Several factors depend directly on which type of microphone you are using. It depends on the following:
What Do You Need to Record?
The type of sounds you need to record depends on the microphone you will use for your podcast, as the frequency spectrum will differ for different sounds.
Where Are You Recording?
The distance or the environment where you are recording is important. Some antennas are directional (cardioid), while the others are omnidirectional.
Impedance
A microphone is a transducer making it convert from one energy to another. While choosing the microphone, it is essential to consider its impedance with a device that will receive the microphone signal. The output impedance should be of ratio 1:5 with a preamplifier.
Dynamic or Condenser
Dynamic microphones come with a broad range of frequencies that don’t require separate microphones. At the same time, a condenser microphone is more delicate and more sensitive to sound levels.
Connections
The wireless mic comes up with the limitation of one channel. It has USB connections, making it easy to use and providing good-quality podcasts.
Conclusion
A wireless mic is one of the best options for podcast recording due to its various functionalities. The Hollyland Lark M1 is considered one of the best options for the podcast. With high-quality voice recording and noise cancellation effects, the Lark M1 wireless microphone has good-quality audio. It is easy to use and affordable. So, invest in it for a long-term best sound quality for your podcasts!