What causes a microphone to distort?

The most common reason for distortion is an input overload like the microphone overload mentioned above. Mic’ing an instrument, or even a vocal, is more than sticking a microphone right up to the sound source. A distorted sound can be resolved by placing a greater distance between the sound source and the microphone.

What causes sound to be distorted?

Audio distortion is caused by any non-linear behaviour of electronic components and by power supply limitations. Specific causes of audio distortion include: EQ, frequency response and crossover networks (linear distortion). Overloading electrical components especially amplifiers (non-linear saturation distortion).

Why does my mic cut out when I yell?

This is caused by one of two things… either your going past the sound pressure your mic can handle, or you’re clipping at some point (usually on the computer). A) As suggested, you can step away from the mic or reposition the mic. An alternative is to simply look away from the mic a bit when you scream.

What is microphone overload?

Often when someone says, “The microphone is distorting,” it is the preamp input (mixer/amplifier/ recorder) that is overloading and distorting. If high-level sound is creating distortion, before assuming that something is wrong with the microphone, try inserting an attenuator between the microphone and its input.

What is microphone saturation?

The signal is still changed with analog distortion, but there is much less sharpness in the alteration of the audio signal with analog distortion. Saturation is an intrinsic part of distortion. Saturation of a signal means harmonics are either created in the signal and/or the existing harmonics are increased in level.

What is a blown speaker?

A “blown speaker” is one that doesn’t work right or doesn’t work at all. It’s an umbrella phrase that encompasses several problems that could cause a speaker to sound unpleasant or go silent, but suffice it to say that a blown speaker makes either bad sound or no sound.

What is microphone clipping?

Clipping audio is when an audio signal is amplified past the maximum allowed limit, whether in a digital or analog system. This is called ‘overdrive’ and just like the guitar pedals with the same name, it leads to distortion and a lowering of audio quality.

Does screaming into your mic damage it?

Can you break a microphone by yelling into it? Mics are very resistant to high sound pressure levels and would not break due to yelling. Although yelling is very unlikely to break a mic, plosives (which are common with yelling) may damage the mic.