User`s manual

Realistic Expectations

• Transient Response One of the key characteristics of various

types of microphones is their transient response (i.e., the way

that their diaphragms respond to extremely rapid amplitude

fluctuations, typically during a sound’s attack phase).

Intuition would suggest that modeling changes in transient

response between mics would be next to impossible — particu-

larly changing a source mic with a slow response to a modeled

mic with a fast response. Amazingly, that turns out not to be the

case. The Microphone Modeler’s models do model variations in

transient response in both directions.

Rather than explain how this is done (which we are disinclined

to do, anyway), we suggest that you demonstrate it to yourself

with the following experiment:

1. In your waveform editor, use the Pencil Tool (or equivalent

waveform drawing tool) to create a single high-amplitude spike.

2. Process this file through the Microphone Modeler with the

Source Mic set to Bypass (so the spike is passed through the

Source section unchanged) and the Modeled Mic set to the

ATM31.

3. Examine the processed signal in the waveform editor. You

should see obvious evidence of the smeared transient.