Samson CO1U Owner's Manual

Samson CO1U Owner's Manual Manual pdf 9 page image

7ENGLISHOperating the C01UPowering the C01UThe C01U is a condenser microphone, and like all condenser microphones, it hasinternal electronics that require an active power supply. Traditional studio condensersare almost always powered by a Phantom Power supply which is usually derived fromthe mixing console. The C01U receives its power from the USB bus. Simply connectthe microphone to the computers USB port and the microphone is ready to operate.The C01U features a power on LED, which will illuminate when USB power is present.Polar PatternThe most important characteristic of any microphone is its directionality or “pick-uppattern”. There are three basic categories of pick up patterns; omni, bi and uni-direc-tional. Omni mics pick up sound from all directions, bi-directional (figure 8) mics pickup the sound directly in front and back of the microphone while rejecting the soundon the left and right sides, and uni-directional (cardioid) mics pick up the sound infront of the microphone.While omni and bi-directional microphones are very useful for a variety of applica-tions, the majority of “miking” situations in recording and live sound require uni-directional or cardioid microphones. The uni-directional nature allows for betterseparation of instruments in the studio and more control over feedback in live soundreinforcement. The C01U condenser’s pick-up pattern is hyper-cardioid, which offerseven more side-to-side rejection. When positioned correctly the hyper-cardioid pick-up pattern allows you to pick up more of the sound you want and less of the soundyou don’t want.Microphone PlacementIn order to maximize the sound quality, you must pay careful attention to the place-ment of your C01U and how it is positioned for the instrument or vocalist that you aremiking. All microphones, especially uni-directional or cardioid microphones, exhibit aphenomenon known as “proximity effect.” Very simply put, proximity effect is a result-ing change in the frequency response of a microphone based on the position of themic capsule relative to the sound source. Specifically, when you point a cardioid micdirectly at the sound source (on axis) you will get the best frequency response, how-ever when you start pointing the microphone slightly away (off axis) you will noticethe low frequency response dropping off and the microphone will start to soundthinner.For most vocal applications you’ll want to position the microphone directly in front ofthe artist. The same may be true for miking instruments, however, you