Getting the Most from a Microphone or Instrument Pickup
(mostly for performers)
It all starts with the microphone. When I do sound for a performance, I get to hear exactly what the microphone or instrument pickup hears. All I have to do is put on my headphones and press the (SOLO) button. Performers seldom get to hear exactly what they sound like from the microphone's point of view. What the microphone hears may surprise you, and not always in a good way. What the performer hears is a combination of direct sound, sound from the monitors, sound from the mains, plus all the ambient noise of the audience.
Even the direct (acoustic) sound the performer hears is different from the acoustic sound heard by the audience or the microphone. The performer is in the near field, the audience is in the far field. Depending on how an instrument is mic'd, it can be in the very near field or more in the far field. The sound in the far field really is different. And as for the sound from the monitors and the FOH, it is often somewhat wet (processed). The house itself can change the sound via echoes and reverberation.
What is import is what the microphone hears. It should be as close to what you want to sound like as possible. Particularly for instrument clip on mics, the sound can be very different depending on the mic and its position. This is very critical for violins and even banjos. I know of one very good fiddler whose clip on mic sounded very different than he intended. What his fiddle mic heard was very screechy. When he replaced his mic, the screechy-ness was gone and what the microphone now hears is his excellent playing.
For vocals, be it a singer or dance caller, what the microphone hears can also be very different. Most live sound mics have a proximity effect... the closer they are to the sound source the more the bass boost. But frequency distortion does not stop there. If you are singing or talking into a cardioid or supercardioid mic off axis, even by as little as 15 degrees, many microphones will show frequency distortion... in general, the more off axis you are the more the high frequency loss.
A service I offer at my location is to try different microphones, including any you own. Would you sound better with an omni condenser mic, or a cardioid dynamic mic, or a large diaphragm condenser mic or...? There is only one way to find out. Try it. For instruments, I have a kit that allows me to attach my mic to most instruments without any damage and you can hear what different placements of the mic sound like, and even if having 2 pickups will help. You may find out you sound best using a clip on mic, or a mic that is six inches from the instrument, or even a few feet away.
We can record what you sound like, and then you can hear what the microphone really hears. We can also work with EQ and compression and FX to find out how you sound best.
Getting the most out of your mic will make you sound your best.