Chapter 4 Tutorial: Proximity Effect

Another low-frequency phenomenon that occurs in most directional mics is known as proximity effect. This effect causes an increase in bass response whenever a directional mic is brought within 1′ of the sound source. This bass boost (which is often most noticeable on vocals) proportionately increases as the distance decreases. This effect can be beneficial on certain sound sources, however, if you want to compensate for this effect (which is somewhat greater for bidirectional mics than for cardioids), a low-frequency roll-off filter switch can be used. This switch is often located on the microphone body. If none exists, an external roll-off or equalizer can be used to reduce the low end.

Do It Yourself Tutorial: Proximity Effect
  1. Download the Proximity Effect.ZIP file, which contains the mp3 audio file for this tutorial. Or listen to the file by clicking on the link below.
  2. If you’d like to Do-It-Yourself, then...
  3. Pull out a cardioid condenser and/or dynamic mic, and have someone stand in the studio. If you’re on your own, put on a pair of headphones. Now, let the talking begin. First, stand at a distance of approximately 6 feet from the mic. Begin walking towards it. Does the bass balance begin to change as you move to within a foot? Now, get even closer (watch your levels!)... how does it sound?
  4. If you’d like to experiment further, try this with an omnidirectional mic. Is there any difference?

Sound files courtesy of ArtistPro/CoursePTR, courseptr.com/artistpro (Professional Microphone Techniques, David Miles Huber & Philip Williams)