3 Reasons Why You Should Use SDCs (Small Diaphragm Condensers)

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What are some good uses for small diaphragm condenser microphones in the recording studio? I've been doing some recording and some testing with a pair of Soyuz SU-013 and I have three cool benefits to using SDCs in the recording studio.

It's easy to overlook the small diaphragm condenser microphone when reaching for a microphone in your studio mic locker. Large diaphragm microphones are visually impressive, and it would seem that they can capture a "Better" sound because of the size of the body (And contained electronics, and transformer) or capsule.

While the size of the capsule will actually help the microphone capture acoustic sound in a room (And this does indeed give LDCs less noise), the small diaphragm mic is ideal for many applications because of it's small size.

For starters, they are able to capture a sound in a very natural way. They are the top mic of choice when you need a true-to-life sound. This can be important for orchestral recordings, acoustic instrument recordings, drum overheads, and even toms as long as your SDC has a pad by at least 10dB. The AKG C414 is a very common tom mic in recording studios, as it is a very flat mic with high SPL abilities. Compare this to the snare drum, where an sm57 is commonplace.

Secondly, the small diaphragm condenser microphone is great a capturing fast transients, or the attack of sounds such as drums or acoustic picking. You will first notice how quick a mic is by how much detail is able to be heard at the attack of most sounds, and it doesn't mean the sound is a "Bright" sound either. Ribbon mics are also a fast microphone. For fast transient sounds such as acoustic guitar and drum overheads, SDC and ribbons are your best bet.

SDC mics also have the advantage of great top end. If you need that kind of top then, then great. - You can let the mic do the "Boosting" and avoid using EQ to make those boosts. EQ can often sound pretty poor when making boosts, and the high frequencies are an area that I try to avoid adjusting with EQ. SDC mics will let you get clear top end with the phase artifacts of EQ.

Thirdly is the small diaphragm condenser off-axis coloration. This means that the sounds coming in from the sides won't sound bad.

This is because the cardioid polar pattern (If it's cardioid) will remain very true across most frequencies. Sounds from the front will sound very close to the result if the mic was angled slightly.

This is great for rejection of sounds, as the cardioid polar pattern has a null at the back of the mic, and we can reject sounds in a room we don't want to record.

We can also have smoother and more pleasing sounding bleed from cymbals if we used SDC mics on toms.

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