MAKING SOUND

How the gear in a recording studio
actually works. Open it, run it, read how it's examined.

FIG.002 — MOVING-COIL DYNAMIC MICROPHONE · EXPLODED ASSEMBLY

The microphone that turns moving
air into a moving signal.

Sound is just air pressure on the move. It pushes a thin diaphragm back and forth; a voice coil glued to that diaphragm rides up and down through a fixed magnetic field. A coil moving through a field generates a voltage — so the coil hands a tiny electrical copy of the sound out through the XLR. It is, in effect, a loudspeaker run in reverse.

DRAWN IN TRUE ISOMETRIC · ONE ACCENT FILL MARKS THE MAGNET · WOVEN-MESH GRILLE, WOUND COIL & STIPPLED FILTER FROM A SINGLE PROJECTION ENGINE

hover a part for its job · click it (or press 1–6) to read how it's examined · or speak, and the drawing follows YOUR voice

Select any part of the drawing — or press 1–6 — and this card explains what it is, how it works, and what the exam wants you to say about it. E expands, L runs it live.

IN THE EXAM

The four-step answer

When the paper asks how a moving-coil dynamic microphone works, the chain is the mark scheme:

  1. Sound waves vary the air pressure at the diaphragm
  2. The diaphragm moves the voice coil glued to it
  3. The coil moves through a fixed magnetic field → a voltage is induced (electromagnetic induction)
  4. The signal leaves on a balanced XLR

Asked in real papers

  • “Describe recording methods you would use for a bass guitar with an amplifier… Microphone type, Microphone position.” The mark scheme credits a dynamic / cardioid mic, close to the cone, using proximity for the deep low end. AS 2024, Q3b — this mic, on that amp, is the answer
  • “Identify the unwanted noise on the bass guitar” — hum, hiss, interference. Capture-stage listening: what the mic picks up is in the mix forever. A-Level 2019, Q1a — the same skill the Fault Spotter drills
  • Why choose a dynamic here at all? Rugged, handles very high SPL (drums, guitar amps), and needs no phantom power — the permanent magnet does the work. Spec 1.2 — operating principles & microphone choice

Say it like the mark scheme

moving-coil electromagnetic induction diaphragm magnetic field cardioid proximity effect no phantom power high SPL handling windshield / plosives
The trapA dynamic is not a condenser: no capacitor plates, no 48 V phantom power, and a heavier diaphragm-plus-coil — which is exactly why a condenser wins on fine high-frequency detail. Swap the words and you lose the mark.
⚙ DESIGN CONSOLE
OPEN SPEED 2.3s
SLOW · 3.0s0.3s · FAST
COMPONENTS — WHAT EXPANDS
PLAYBACK