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7
Operating the UB1
Powering the UB1
The UB1 is a condenser microphone, and like all condenser microphones, it has inter-
nal electronics that require an active power supply. Traditional studio condensers are
almost always powered by a Phantom Power supply which is usually derived from
the mixing console. The UB1 receives its power from the USB bus. Simply connect the
microphone to the computers USB port and the microphone is ready to operate. The
UB1 features a power on LED, which will illuminate when USB power is present.
Polar Pattern
Every microphone has a characteristic polar pattern that determines how well it
accepts or rejects signal coming from various areas around the microphone. For
example, unidirectional, or cardioid, mics are specifically designed to accept mostly
signal coming from directly in front, and to reject signal coming from behind or from
the side. In contrast, omnidirectional mics accept all signals regardless of where
those signals originate (in front of the mic, behind it, to the side, etc.). The pickup pat-
tern utilized by the UB1 is omnidirectional (as shown on page 9). For this reason, the
UB1 excels in environments where capturing the sound from all directions around
the microphone is desired. The UB1 will pick up the sound in a 360-degree pattern,
which makes it ideal for placing in the center of a conference table to record a meet-
ing. The polar pattern also determines how prone a particular mic is to inducing
feedback. Feedback is that characteristic nasty howling sound that occurs when a mic
is placed too close to a loudspeaker—the signal from the loudspeaker is fed into the
mic, then into the loudspeaker, then into the mic, over and over again until an oscil-
lating tone is generated. Because the UB1 is omnidirectional, special attention to the
microphone and speaker placement should be considered in live sound applications.
Microphone Placement
The UB1 was designed primarily for use on a flat surface like a conference table,
hanging on a wall, or in a house of worship, on the alter. In order to maximize the
sound quality, you must pay careful attention to the placement of your UB1 and how
it is positioned for the instrument or vocalist that you are miking. Since the UB1 is
a omnidirectional the microphone will pick-up the sound in a 360 degree pattern,
essentially picking up in every direction. This is often a good solution in a conference
situation since the UB1 will pick up all around the table. All microphones, especially
uni-directional or cardioid microphones, exhibit a phenomenon known as “proxim-
ity effect.” Very simply put, proximity effect is a resulting change in the frequency
response of a microphone based on the position of the mic capsule relative to the
sound source. Generally, you will get a bass boost when miking in close. When you
point a cardioid mic directly at the sound source (on axis) you will get the best fre-
quency response, however when you start pointing the microphone slightly away (off
axis) you will notice the low frequency response dropping off and the microphone
will start to sound thinner. However, since the UB1 is omni directional it exhibits very
little proximity effect.