Switches on Microphones

On some microphones there are physical switches which affect the sound of the microphone.

It’s good to know what switches are present on the microphone you’re using so you can adjust them if necessary, especially if a switch somehow ends up in the wrong position making the audio sound bad or not audible at all.

Some common microphone switches:

• Bass roll-off (attenuates the very low frequencies)
• Pickup pattern (or polar pattern, which determines from which direction the mic will pickup sound)
• Presence boost (boosts the upper mid frequencies)
• Attenuator Pad (which lowers the output of the microphone for use when recording loud sources)
• Headphone jack and volume control
• Mute switch

So, if you’ve never really looked closely at the microphones you’re using, perhaps inspecting them will enlighten you in some say 😉

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