There's a mic you've probably seen both singers and actors alike use in studios. It's well-established for the "warmth" it gives the human voice, but what else is it good for?
Large-diaphragm condenser microphones, like my Townsend Sphere L22 you see above, have a lot of practical applications for sound designers.
Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphones Are Great For Recording:
Sharp transients, such as drums and impacts
Creature sounds made with your voice
Heavy low-end sounds
Really quiet sounds
Voiceover
I’ve used my recordings of building materials from Home Depot, captured with my Townsend L22, to create the Building Placement sounds in Airborne Empire. They’ve also been used to record glass breaks for Letterhead and more.
What to Look Out for When Recording
With how bulky and sensitive they tend to be, they're rarely found outdoors. Even indoors though, you may run into these issues:
Problem: Plosives (bursts of air from breaths or wind)
Fix: Use a pop filter or bring your source material farther away from the mic
Problem: Mic could fall over from its rig not being sturdy enough
Fix: Get a stand with a weighted back or a weighted arm Problem: Background noise
Fix: While supercardioid pickup patterns block a lot of sounds coming from the sides of the mic, you'll still hear a bit of noise coming from the back of the mic and especially what's in front of it. Acoustic treatment would be ideal in the space you record with this microphone.
In Closing
Large-diaphragm condenser microphones tend not to be cheap, but they can really bring out the subtleties of the human voice or the source you're recording. Try it on impacts, drums, breaks, and you pretending to be an ogre. As always, reach out to me if you have any questions or have sound design needs.
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