User's Manual

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8.2 Microphone Tips and Tricks
Revelator
Owner’s Manual
Step 3: Setting Your Mix—The Unity Myth
There is an unfortunate rumor that persists in the darker corners of the
audio-nerd Internet. It states that all your faders should be set to unity (that
bold line in the middle of the fader markings at 0 dB). But if you do this, you
will limit the dynamic range of your signals—and not in a good way.
That bold mark next to your faders means just one thing:
The channel and output mix level controls are not adding or
removing any amplitude (volume) to or from your signal.
Why do you need to know this? For input gain staging and
dialing in your EQ and dynamics, of course!
With the channel and the main faders at unity, you can listen to an individual channel
unadulterated while you’re setting your input gain level and adjusting your EQ and
dynamics to sculpt the sound. Once that’s done, the fat line in the middle of the
channel has largely served its purpose. Are you getting too much of your animated
guest caller in your headphones? By all means, go ahead and lower it. Need to give
your own channel a little gas to compete? That’s what that 10 dB above unity is for.
Like everything in audio, however, these rules aren’t absolute, especially
in a live sound situation. If you are gaining up a channel well above
unity just for it to be heard in your mix, maybe your other channels
are too loud. Try lowering the levels of the rest of your mix.
8.2 Microphone Tips and Tricks
Like any tool, a microphone must be used properly to get the best result.
Professional broadcasters or vocalists will tell you that good microphone technique
is crucial to getting a good recording. How many times have you listened to a
podcast where it sounded like there was a wall between the on-air talent and
their microphone? Or the microphone was so close you could hear each breathe
and every popping ‘P’ sounded like a mini explosion in your headphones?
Proximity to the microphone is the most common issue when anyone
begins the process of learning proper mic technique, but other issues, like
background noise and improper gain staging, will exacerbate a poorly
positioned microphone. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there, and PreSonus has
put together this tutorial to help you mitigate the most common mistakes
people make when getting started recording their voice with a microphone.
8.2.1 Handling Noise
Microphones are designed with different polar patterns. A polar pattern
represents the particular areas around the microphone’s capsule
where it is most sensitive to sound. The most common pattern for
vocal and broadcast microphones is called Cardioid, because it’s heart-
shaped—and this is the default pattern for your Revelator:
When looking at the shape of this polar pattern, it quickly becomes apparent
why holding a microphone too close to the capsule will create problematic
handling noise. While this is fine for a stage performance where the sheer
volume of the instruments on stage will mask this noise, in an audio