Which microphones will you find on Micpedia?

The use and diffusion of microphones in the past two decades have grown to reach a wider range of applications besides the traditional studio and sound reinforcement environments. Podcasting is now as present as broadcasting while the conferencing sector uses architecturally designed, complex microphone arrays in conjunction with noise-rejecting and zone-controlling technology controlled over I.P. The move from traditional camcorders to compact devices and the use of mobile devices for news gathering has produced a blossoming of technologically advanced miniature transducers for on-the-go audio recording. Measurement microphones are also included as noise standards compliance, acoustic design, and room analysis and correction now play a bigger role in audio than ever before. Their ultra-wide frequency response and exceptional transient response have found use with field recordists, foley artists, sound designers and classical engineers.

Besides traditional microphones, both current and vintage models intended for studio, television, film, live sound and theatre, Micpedia also includes most of those newer offerings specifically created for today’s ever-evolving audio capturing applications. You will find boutique microphones from manufacturers with small workshops who produce every part of the design themselves, ones where capsules and electronics are bought in and assembled into completed microphones, and even ones where the manufacturer has done nothing more than arrange for a logo to be added to a mass-produced product. Micpedia attempts to treat all these even-handedly and invites you to make your own judgments about each of them.

Given the impossibility of providing data for every microphone that exists, this website nonetheless tries to provide as close to a complete picture as possible. Micpedia is a reference for microphones, not a sales brochure, so in some cases, microphones that are technically or commercially obsolete are shown (and listed as no longer available), especially those that have shaped the landscape of audio recording historical heritage.

The inclusion of any microphone is not an endorsement. Likewise, exclusion is not a criticism of a microphone’s performance. It may be that we simply do not know that it exists – in which case please let us know.

Riccardo Ricci – Editor, Micpedia