Microphones / Miking

What are your thoughts on recording stereo ambience on location (such as in a forest, supermarket, office, or restaurant) for use in movies, podcasts and so on?

I keep reading that some microphones' figure-8 behaviour is not equal. Does this apply to capacitor mics like the AKG C414 or Rode NT2-A?

Can you recommend a mid-range (in terms of price) mic with a good off-axis response, for recording acoustic instruments?

I couldn't use the Neumann TLM103 as my 'kicksnare' mic, as it couldn't handle the sound level produced by the drummer. Even with zero gain at the preamp this mic produced a distorted signal. What was I doing wrong?

My Sterling Audio ST66 tube condenser mic has a mains AC power supply. Am I right in thinking therefore that I shouldn't use the 48V phantom power from my Audient iD4?

My Rode NT3 mic was producing a nasty medium‑frequency buzz, and I eventually discovered that it was caused by a cheap battery. Taking the battery out and switching on my audio interface’s phantom power solved the problem...

For some live recordings I’m doing later this year I will have to place the mic on the stage front and I need to ensure that vibrations up to the mic are minimised...

I don’t use my [Electro-Voice] RE20 mic all that much, but when I do I find it needs the preamps turned up an awful lot to capture usable audio, and consequently there’s often a hum in the recording...

A ribbon mic would be a very welcome addition to my collection, but would its figure-of-eight pattern mean I pick up more of the room tone compared with a cardioid condenser?

Loads of people recommend putting up an SM57 on the snare drum, but it just sounds dull and lifeless when I try to do that. Any tips?

I’m soon going to be doing my first recording of live drums and it occurred to me that I don’t know the answer to this question...

I’d like to get a mic for sound-design work. Specifically, I wish to record quiet sounds, amplify them and mangle them...

Your article about matching mic and preamp impedances in the May 2014 edition of Sound On Sound...

I recently acquired a Blue Rocket Stage 2 with cardioid B8 capsule, and although I really like the sound it seems a bit ‘stiff’ — in the same way that a speaker can sound ‘stiff’ until it’s been ‘burned in’. Do mic capsules ‘relax’ over time or will that stiffness persist?

I mostly record vocals and acoustic guitars, but sometimes harmony vocals with groups of two or three singers. However, as my skills improve I’d like to try small folk line-ups too...

I would just like to ask if it’s important to use shockmounts on my microphones and how effective they are?

I use an ART S8 eight-channel mic splitter, a passive device, to send mic signals to two separate recording systems...

I’m looking for extremely detailed and natural omnidirectional microphones for two-channel small ensemble recordings on location.

I get the impression that manufacturing tolerances for mid-range and cheaper microphones are not always as tight as one would desire. If I found a mic I liked, and were then to go out and buy that model of mic, might the one I tested and the one I bought sound significantly different?

I often wonder exactly what gets matched when microphones with interchangeable capsules are bought as a stereo pair. Is it the bodies, the capsules, or both?

I have to record a vocal track in a fairly live–sounding room. I’ve got a couple of reasonable condensers,...