Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
|||
Line 18:
[[File:Singer Signal Flow Example.png|thumb|center|550px|Singer Signal Flow Example]]
The first element in the signal flow is the vocalist, which produces the signal. This signal propagates acoustically to the microphone according to the [[Inverse-square law]], where it is converted by a transducer into an electrical signal. Other objects may also produce sound in the acoustical environment, such as [[HVAC]] systems, computer fans, traffic noise, elevators, plumbing, etc. These noise sources are also be picked up by the microphone. It is therefore important to optimize the acoustical signal/noise ratio at the microphone. This can be accomplished by reducing the amplitude of unwanted noise (for example, turning off the HVAC system while recording), or by taking advantage of the inverse-square law; by moving the microphone closer to the signal source and farther away from any noise sources, the signal/noise ratio is increased.
After the microphone, the signal passes down a cable to the microphone preamplifier, which amplifies the microphone signal to line level. This is important because a line-level signal is necessary to drive the input circuitry of any further processing equipment down the chain, which will generally not be able to accept the extremely low-voltage signal produced by a typical microphone.
| |||