Topic: Church Audio ST11 Cardioid

[carlito1980]

Hi everybody. I just would like to know if the silver part on the side of the mic has to be free or is it ok to put the capsules into a cap and just the front of the cap is popping out.
Or does the silver thing needs to pop out of the cap too?

Thx alot!

[HarpDoc]

Not quite sure if I understand the question. The mics have holes on the sides that need to be uncovered.

[carlito1980]

exactly that what i wanted to know  But why do they have to be uncovered?
They are cards and should record just from the front?! 

[powermonkey]

Not quite sure if I understand the question. The mics have holes on the sides that need to be uncovered.

Does this mean that keeping the croakie over the sides of my STC-11's (when the mics are fixed to my glasses) is in some way effecting the sound? Didn't occur to me that it might.

[HarpDoc]

I'm no expert on mics. I've noticed that cardioid mics have the vent holes and omni mics don't. Someone with an understanding on all of this can explain why this needs to be the case. I've had great luck recording with the Croakies with ST-11's. The material allows the sound to pass through just fine. Sticking them in a metal or plastic tube, however, probably wouldn't work so well. Of course, you can try it and let us know what it sounds like.

[vanark]

HarpDoc is right, as far as I can tell at least.  The holes need to receive sound - this is actually what gives the mic its directionality.  Chris Church advises they should always be covered by a wind screen, so covering them with the croakie material seems like it should be okay as well.

[carlito1980]

So do you think that the card hidden in a cappy would still work, even if the holes are inside of the cap at the height of my forehead? There, the material of the cap is a little thiner...

[Ziggz]

Oops, I've had mine under my collar with just the tips poking out. I guess there's a bit of breathing space like that though?

Here's a sample:
http://download.yousendit.com/28BFEEC868A14AF1

This was an outdoor show and it was a bit windy - blowing directly in my face:
http://download.yousendit.com/254B83FC23C851B6

[Dede2002]

Not quite sure if I understand the question. The mics have holes on the sides that need to be uncovered.

I'm not an expert, but I'm going to share with you fine people what I've learned so far ( and maybe I didn't get it right...)
Those holes are called "vents" for a good reason.  As far I know, they were not projected to receive sound. It has more to do with air ( so the name "vents").
That's why it's OK to use them inside your hat or with some fabric around them. As long as they are not inside any kind of air tight cover ( adhesive tape, for example) you should be OK.
It would be great to hear about that from more educated members

[Javier Cinakowski]

Not quite sure if I understand the question. The mics have holes on the sides that need to be uncovered.

I'm not an expert, but I'm going to share with you fine people what I've learned so far ( and maybe I didn't get it right...)
Those holes are called "vents" for a good reason.  As far I know, they were not projected to receive sound. It has more to do with air ( so the name "vents").
That's why it's OK to use them inside your hat or with some fabric around them. As long as they are not inside any kind of air tight cover ( adhesive tape, for example) you should be OK.
It would be great to hear about that from more educated members

Sound is vibrating air.  So yes, you are right, the "vents" as you call them are intended to recieve air, but not wind, the vibrating kind of air, called sound.  Those vents ARE intended to recieve sound arriving from the back of the capsule and to "cancel" out or reduce those sounds.  That is what makes a directional microphone.  Sound arriving from the back of the microphone is reduced by going through those holes and arriving at a different time compared to the sound arriving from the front.  Without those holes all of the sound from any direction reaches the capsule at the same time, hence a omnidirectional design.  The holes are not the only thing that is different about a card vs omni mic, so don't go trying to tape up your cards and expect to get an omni.   

Sound makes it through most fabric quite well, so putting them in a hat or croakie is not a problem.  Fortunatly wind does not pass through fabric as well.....

[Dede2002]

Not quite sure if I understand the question. The mics have holes on the sides that need to be uncovered.

I'm not an expert, but I'm going to share with you fine people what I've learned so far ( and maybe I didn't get it right...)
Those holes are called "vents" for a good reason.  As far I know, they were not projected to receive sound. It has more to do with air ( so the name "vents").
That's why it's OK to use them inside your hat or with some fabric around them. As long as they are not inside any kind of air tight cover ( adhesive tape, for example) you should be OK.
It would be great to hear about that from more educated members

Sound is vibrating air.  So yes, you are right, the "vents" as you call them are intended to recieve air, but not wind, the vibrating kind of air, called sound.  Those vents ARE intended to recieve sound arriving from the back of the capsule and to "cancel" out or reduce those sounds.  That is what makes a directional microphone.  Sound arriving from the back of the microphone is reduced by going through those holes and arriving at a different time compared to the sound arriving from the front.  Without those holes all of the sound from any direction reaches the capsule at the same time, hence a omnidirectional design.  The holes are not the only thing that is different about a card vs omni mic, so don't go trying to tape up your cards and expect to get an omni.   

Sound makes it through most fabric quite well, so putting them in a hat or croakie is not a problem.  Fortunatly wind does not pass through fabric as well.....

Thanks . As usual, I'm here to learn.

[Jeremy Lykins]

Those vents ARE intended to recieve sound arriving from the back of the capsule and to "cancel" out or reduce those sounds.  That is what makes a directional microphone.  Sound arriving from the back of the microphone is reduced by going through those holes and arriving at a different time compared to the sound arriving from the front.  Without those holes all of the sound from any direction reaches the capsule at the same time, hence a omnidirectional design.

Ah, ha!  Thank you, sir.   

[Church-Audio]

There are no issues with covering the vents with fabric. One test I do is the breath test.. Good acoustically transparent material can be tested simply by breathing through it the less resistance to your breath the better the windscreen or fabric will be for letting sound through.

Chris

[symfan]

Thanks for the info. I received my Church cards today and I was wondering about the holes too. This makes a lot clear.

Marcel

[Hahninator]

I have the ST11's and I have stealthed a good number of shows with them. These are definitely my favorite mics.

I always have them uncovered fully and clipped to my hat....I've had no problems with them at all. Always a good sound. Omni caps for these are great (and cheap) for these mics too....I've had some good pulls with those. I like the ST11s because I always get a really clear sound, which is exactly how I like my recordings. I'm not a fan of covering them, but do what you want. Try and run a show without covering the sides and see how it sounds.