On paper, this mic is better than this one in pretty much every way. So why am I likely to see a mic that looks like this on stage? Wouldnât I just use the good one?
Good engineers live and die by their ability to manage resources. Even in studios with seemingly limitless resources, the best engineers are making choices that donât boil down to something as simple as a stat sheet. I mean, first of all, what do I mean when I say this oneâs better?
Itâs more sensitive, itâs more flexible, it has lots of polar patterns, it probably has a wider frequency response, itâs more expensive, but these are just trade-offs. Itâs also more fragile, and fragile and expensive donât always make a great combination. In fact, I probably donât want to pick up everything in a live environment.
And when youâre watching me perform, you probably donât want this in front of my face. Most of us donât have access to unlimited great vintage microphones, and even those of us who do find that one specific thing really wants to be paired with one other specific thing, which means now youâve got to figure out where to put all the other stuff. Good engineering often comes down to good resource management.
Understanding the big picture, this microphone does something, this one doesnât. Understanding what that is means you can deploy the resources where theyâre needed and not squander them on where theyâre not just because this one costs more.
