You sit in a darkened room pondering the moonlight flowing in through the silhouetted window like a crack in the night sky. Watching, waiting, hoping for that elusive sound – the one that you will not hear – the one that will show up as an EVP on your recording device. The resounding sound of silence in the darkness is all about you like a thick veil concealing the shuffling movement of the shadows playing on the wall – the clock and its monotonous tick-tock rhythm is quietly laughing at you and somewhere in the oily black of night a sound stirs, shattering the void like 1000 shards of broken glass.

            So, how to capture the sounds that the silhouettes of the living cast out into the lonely pool of the shaded night? Maybe a traditional analog cassette recorder, perhaps a digital voice recorder or possibly even a camcorder or DVR – any and all have worked in previous attempts to record EVP, but what is the real difference maker – how can I get an edge? If you are still reading this article, which you obviously are, you have probably worked with just about all of the above devices at one time or another and have discovered that the standard microphone device set up from the factory is in fact, sub-standard.   

            All name dropping aside, I have several friends who have worked in both the production and post production phases of cinematography, so I decided to tap their experience and understanding of the cinematographic audio equipment field to see what devices would measure up to the task of recording class A EVPs at a reasonable price without sacrificing quality, of course. But, why focus an entire article on this-mic-is-better-than-that-mic? Because the simple fact is that if you are working with a factory mic set up, you’re probably missing a lot. The first thing I was told when I began research for this article is that “…the quality of your recording equipment is directly and proportionally related to the quality of your soundtrack (or, in this case, quality of your EVP) and the soundtrack quality is one of the greatest quantifiers of your work with your audience.” In essence, the concept is simple: attempts at recording anomalous EVP sounds with low-grade or substandard equipment equals poor quality, amateur sounding recordings that can be easily dismissed by skeptics at worst and difficult to understand and decipher at best.

            I know some of you are thinking “Why should I spend money that I don’t have on more audio equipment when I get EVPs with the hardware I that own right now?” Sure, you may get some EVPs with the basic hardware set up provided by the factory on your recording equipment but with the obvious limitations of that hardware I have to ask you how good is the sound reproduction quality on the equipment and what is the vocal range of these EVPs when compared to equipment that has been upgraded beyond factory specs? It is here that we stumble upon a fundamental and fairly universal truth: You get what you pay for. Yes, sometimes bigger is better and although the latter certainly applies to microphones and recording equipment we can also see that, in a converse manner, the Law of Diminishing Returns applies: meaning that as the price on your audio equipment goes up, the quality of the product and the performance of the product goes up, but in incrementally smaller steps as the price range rises. Basically, what this means is that all mics are not created equal and that leads into the real question: which mic should I choose?

Which Mic is Which?

            The first of three primary aspects we should consider when choosing a mic for recording EVP is the many types of mics to be found in the consumer marketplace. Without taking this information to an extraneous level we will only cover the five most common forms of mics that are found within the consumer marketplace: Carbon, Condenser, Crystal, Dynamic, Ribbon and Parabolic.

            Carbon mics are one of the original, old fashioned mic designs used on some of the first telecommunication devices. Basically, in this type of mic there is a disc of compressed carbon particles that are strategically placed in the center of the mic diaphragm. When sound penetrates the carbon disc, the disc vibrates creating a mechanical action that is converted into electrical pulses that are a sent over a line, received and converted back into sound on the other end.

            Condenser mics contain a diaphragm that is separated by carbon fibers, which, in this instance, acts as a capacitor. Since capacitors store electrical energy the condenser mic can build, store and release energy as the sound energy vibrates the diaphragm as it passes through the mic. Condenser mics tend to be very sensitive and are usually used in recording speech, vocal tracks and other sounds where the sound needs to be replicated as closely to reality as possible.

            Crystal mics, especially those of a quartz type, produce minute amounts of voltage when the internal crystals expand and contract as pressure (in the form of sound waves) is applied to them. Aside from this primary difference to the other mics the crystal mic tends to be comparatively similar to the condenser mic in many other aspects of both form and function.

            Dynamic mics are equipped with a thin metallic diaphragm that is suspended over the condenser with thin pieces of wire. This type of mic is not as sensitive as the others and, due to its construction, can create a great deal of distortion, or may potentially cease functioning, should one of the suspension wires become damaged or break.

            Ribbon mics utilize a tiny piece of metal “ribbon” that is suspended in a magnetic field within the mic housing. When sound energy passes through the magnetic field the “ribbon” vibrates which creates electrical pulses that are picked up by the condenser. The ribbon mic is very sensitive and is generally used for specialized recordings. The down side to the ribbon mic is that they are very fragile and are not well suited to field use as they tend to get damaged very easily when dropped.

            Parabolic mics utilize a parabolic reflector to collect and focus sound waves onto a mic; thusly a parabola is not a true style of pick up pattern. These types of microphone set ups have been seen by many on paranormal “reality” TV series and, although paranormal investigation is a misguided use for this type of mic, it is worth mentioning as to why this type of mic is not suited for EVP recording purposes.

            Generally the parabolic mic is used for military, law enforcement, field audio and sports broadcasting purposes. The reason that this type of mic set up is not suited to EVP recording is that they have a very poor low-frequency response due primarily to their design which has a high front-focused sensitivity. The front-focused sensitivity of the parabola only allows it to focus on sound waves that are directly in front of the device which are smaller than the diameter of the parabola.

            This low-frequency “dumping” means that in order to receive sounds that are near the lower end of the human hearing spectrum (around the 20 Hz range, which travels at approximately 342 m/s in average air pressure situations) the parabola would have to be approximately 17m (51 ft.) in diameter which, obviously, would be more than unwieldy in mobile investigation situations or indoor environments – not to mention the issue of logistics and transportation from one place to another. When all is said and done both the poor frequency response and the relative size of the parabola make this mic unsuitable for EVP recording.

            From the information presented up to this point it would appear that the condenser mic and crystal mic are the front runners for the mic we would want to use for recording EVP. Why? The condenser mic is both sensitive enough to record EVP as well as durable enough to be used in the field, the crystal mic being similar to the condenser mic is also chosen because of its sensitivity and durability but also because of its sympathetic nature to vibratory energies and low pressure / intensity sound waves of EVPs (for more on the mechanics of this natural crystal voltage production phenomenon see HTM Volume 2, Issue 3 Summer 2007 pp. 32 in the article Sound Recording Technique & EVP Analysis for Paranormal Investigators by Brian Schill under the subheading The Stone Tape Theory.)

Picking Up the Pattern

            Now that we have eliminated three of the six types of mics we have to choose from we should consider the second but equally important aspect in choosing a mic for EVP recording: the pick up pattern. In the most simple of terms, the pick up pattern is pretty self explanatory in that it is a description of how the microphone receives sound patterns from the external environment. Of the major types of pick up patterns that are available on the consumer market we can find commonly available patterns such as: Unidirectional, Stereo, Shotgun, Omnidirectional, Lavaliere, Cardioid and Super Cardioid. 

            Cardioid pick up patterns receive sounds in a “tear drop” shaped pattern, meaning that the primary area of sound reception is in front of and on the sides of the mic. Mics with the cardioid type of pick up pattern receive very little sound from the areas to the rear of the mic and tend to focus a minimal amount of their potential pick up pattern in this area. Cardioid pick up patterns are acceptable for recording EVP with, but it must be kept in mind that the mic must be aimed in the direction that the investigator wishes to record in.

            Lavaliere pick up patterns, generally found in lapel mics and other types of “miniature” mics are very similar to the function of the stereo mic in that the lavaliere mic has a high-frequency boost that is created in the resonant cavity of the mic itself. This type of pick up pattern however, is not suitable for recording EVP due to the very close proximity that the mic pattern records in as well as the limited physical distance that the mic can pick up.

            Omnidirectional pick up patterns allow the mic to receive sounds from 360 degrees, which means that the mic does not have to be pointed at the source of the sound in order to pick it up. This is a great feature for recording EVP, especially since the investigator generally does not know in which direction to point the mic anyway, unless he or she is performing an “interview” type EVP recording. The down side to this feature is that although the mic does not have a specific focal pattern in which it receives sound by it has a much smaller pick up radius to record in.

            Shotgun pick up pattern microphones tend to have a long “barrel” with a relatively narrow angle of sound focus. This type of pick up pattern is sharply focused on the forward angle of sound with almost none of the pick up pattern being dedicated to the rear or sides of the mic. The sensitivity of these mics are great for recording EVP, however the down side to this particular pattern is that is has a narrowly focused sound pick up angle.

            Stereo pick up patterns offer a couple of advantages over the factory installed unidirectional model microphones. The most obvious of these advantages is the ability to record the investigation environment in stereo, which as a general rule, has two channels instead of the singular channel that the investigator would be stuck with if he or she was using a unidirectional unit. Mics with the stereo pick up pattern are generally a consumer level item and are one step above the factory installed unidirectional mic found in most voice recorders.

            Super Cardioid pick up patterns tend to have a smaller forward pick up pattern than regular cardioid microphones. Unlike the cardioid mics the super cardioid mics offer a bit more forward distance and a bit of rear sound pick up, but it is a trade off for sacrificing forward sound pick up angle. These are slightly better than the cardioid mics for recording EVP, but the financial investment expense in a super cardioid mic is not necessary for recording EVP.

            Unidirectional mics are generally unit mounted, meaning they are directly mounted onto or into the recording equipment. This type of mounting can be a serious drawback since it creates a high noise transfer ratio from either internal mechanical noise (if the recorder is of the cassette type) or case transferred noise (in the case of digital equipment) when something contacts the outer shell of the recording equipment. Additionally there are other drawbacks to this type of mic such as mono-only recording, limited Hz (Hertz, cycles per second) range, limited effective recording range (distance) and the obvious fact that it is unidirectional – meaning that although it gathers other ambient sounds from the environment it primarily records sounds from the direction that the mic is pointed in.

The Powers That Be

            As the final aspect of the trio of mic considerations that was mentioned in the opening sentence of “Which Mic is Which?” we must decide upon a power source of the mic. Basically there are three alternatives, each with pros and cons of their own respective types. The three types of power sources for the various mics are AC, DC and dual power source (both AC and DC).

            AC power sources usually require a wall adapter and cord which limits the range of mobility that the mic will have should you choose to record in different areas of the investigation, in an outdoors environment, etc. This “limitation” is not so critical if you are recording in one or two locations where long samples of EVP recording will be taking place.

            DC power is great for mobility and outdoor recording as it allows the researcher total freedom of movement without the restrictions of wires or the necessity of power outlets in the immediate vicinity. The drawback to this type of power source is that the DC power source (batteries) only last so long and on some models there is no power indicator light to allow the investigator to see if the mic is still powered up – which may result in lost EVPs if the batteries go dead and the investigator does not know it.

            Dual Source power source mics are as the name implies – they allow the investigator to work with either an AC or DC power source and combine the best of both worlds as far as the power sources go. A dual source power supply gives the investigator both the longevity of an AC power source and the mobility of a DC power source as well as the ability to choose when to use which one.

Other Considerations

            Some other influential factors to consider before making a decision on the type of mic you may potentially purchase is the range and the effective range of the mic. Although the two terms sound fairly similar, the difference between range and effective range is vast and should not be overlooked. Range is understood as the range of the mic in Hz and the larger the Hz range is the better your chances are at getting clear EVP. In an entirely different sense of things the effective range of the mic refers to the physical distance that the mic can effectively pick up sounds from. Both the range and effective range can vary widely from one mic to the next even if they have been manufactured by the same company so be sure to always check the spec sheet that comes with the mic before you make your decision.

            Also, as secondary considerations, you may want to inquire if the mic you are considering to purchase has a mic stand, wind screen, case and power supply that are included in the package. Use of a mic stand is recommended over just laying a mic down on a surface for a number of reasons that would include reduction of interference from the surface it is laid upon, the ability to hold the mic steady and the serious reduction of the mic potentially rolling off of the surface and being dropped onto the floor. A wind screen is an inexpensive item that can usually be purchased separately if your mic does not come provided with one. These pieces of foam rubber can greatly reduce environmental noise such as air flow across the surface of the mic and can help alleviate other nuisance sounds without affecting the quality of your EVP, the range or the effective range of your mic. Finally, if your mic does not come with a case you may want to consider investing in one so that your mic will be protected when it is being transported to and from field investigations as well as when it is in storage.

            Hopefully the information that has been provided in this article will help you assemble a good quality, relatively low cost field audio kit for your paranormal field investigations. As a final thought, several viable models of microphones have been researched and the results indicate that the Azden SGM-2X microphone system is one of the best all around set ups to be found on the market currently.

Mic Model: Azden SGM-2X

Configuration: short barrel & long barrel shotgun type

Mic: condenser

Pattern: omni directional & cardioid

Power Source: dual

Other: windscreen, shock mount camera adapter

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