By: Kavita Mistry
Carleton University
Shaping Sounds: Innovative Microphone Designs and How They Function
5 m
Jan 24, 2025
Media
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Microphone technology has revolutionized the ways in which sound is captured and shared. At its core, a microphone is a transducer that converts sound waves into electrical signals.
We experience the influence of microphone technology every day: while listening to music, watching TV, participating in Zoom calls, or even talking on the phone. All of these involve the “micing” of people, and often of places and things. Yet, we never really give microphones much thought.
This summer, I had the opportunity to spend time in Ingenium’s artifact collection examining and documenting historical microphones, many of which have not been seen or heard from in decades. These included some of the most iconic microphones in broadcasting and music history, like the RCA 44 and 77 series, the Shure 55 series, and others that have contributed significantly to the advancements in microphone technology over time.
With some research, I was able to understand how the internal structure of different microphones affects sound sensitivity, amplification, and transmission; but as I searched through vintage radio catalogues and microphone brand advertisements, I quickly learned that external design features – such as size, shape, and materials – also matter more than we might think.
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Examples of historical microphones in Ingenium’s artifact collection.
The Influence of Ancient Acoustic Designs
Ingenium’s collection of microphones is extensive, with examples going back to the late 1800s. These microphones come in different sizes, colours, shapes, and types: from carbon to condenser, ribbon to dynamic, and wired to wireless. When I first started this project, I had little knowledge of what many of these terms meant, but after carefully engaging with the history of this technology, I learned that microphones vary dramatically in terms of their internal pick-up patterns, sensitivity, and how they can be handled, making different microphone types better suited for different applications.
Looking at the broad range of examples of microphones in Ingenium’s collection, I also noticed how they differed in both shape and design. This made me wonder how these physical attributes might also contribute to the way that sound is captured.
One microphone in particular reminded me of the Colosseum in Rome, which then got me thinking more about the relationship between acoustics and design.
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Colosseum in Rome compared to the Dan Gibson Parabolic Microphone (discussed further below).
While microphones did not exist in the ancient world, this technology does have deep roots in the acoustical ingenuity of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Before the modern microphone, certain structures like theatres and amphitheatres were carefully designed in circular and semi-circular shapes to enhance the audience’s acoustic experience. The strategic use of the natural slopes that they were built on, the concave formation of the seating, and the choice of building materials like stone, all helped to reflect sound from the centre and amplify it across the theatre where even those sitting at the very back or top could still hear the performance on stage. While the design of acoustic environments like the Colosseum is not exactly the same as the design of modern microphones, the fundamental principle remains similar: by arranging materials in specific designs, we can influence the way that sound behaves, the ways we use it, and how we perceive it.
Let’s now take a look at a few examples from the Ingenium collection to demonstrate this point.
Shapes that Shape Sound
The Dan Gibson Parabolic Microphone
The Dan Gibson parabolic microphone is well known as a durable microphone capable of capturing the details of natural sounds with incredible clarity, even from great distances. It uses a hard plastic parabolic reflector, similar in shape to an ancient amphitheatre, but operating in reverse. Rather than projecting sound outward, the curved shape of the reflector serves to gather incoming sound waves and focuses them toward a central microphone. This design allows the microphone to precisely capture faint and distant sounds, which makes it ideal for recording wildlife and certain sports events. The directional design of the parabolic reflector also helps to minimize unwanted background noise, ensuring that desired sounds are captured with focus and clarity.
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Dan Gibson parabolic microphone (1976).
Shotgun Microphone
Shotgun microphones are one of the most identifiable microphone shapes and can range in size from 23 cm (9 inches) to 2.13 metres (7 feet)! Like the Dan Gibson parabolic microphone, shotgun microphones are engineered to pick up sound primarily from one direction, reducing noise from the sides and from behind. As the name suggests, the microphone features a long narrow interference tube, often made of metal, and features strategically placed slots that help cancel sounds that are not coming from the focused direction. This discriminatory design allows the microphone to be hidden on stage or on screen, while still ensuring precise sound pick-up of a desired sound source. Because of these attributes, this microphone is widely used for capturing sounds in film and television production, field sports broadcasting, live events, interviews and commentary, and for capturing dialogue between performers on stage – pretty much whenever it is desirable for ambient sound to be excluded.
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Electro-Voice Model 642 Cardiline Microphone with boom mount (ca. 1963).
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Shotgun microphones from top to bottom: Electro-Voice Model 642 Cardiline (ca. 1963), Electro-Voice Model 644 “Sound Spot” (1960), Sennheiser Model MK 415T (ca. 1960).
Lip Microphone
The lip microphone might be my personal favourite. While the microphone itself functions as a regular ribbon microphone, it is the curved “lip” attachment that makes this particular design unique. This microphone is meant to be held in close proximity to the mouth, thus ensuring maximum sensitivity to a speaker’s voice, while reducing interference from background noise. The signature protruding attachment is designed to be rested just above the upper lip, essentially “telling” the speaker exactly where to place the microphone for optimal sound capture. This style of microphone is used in field broadcasting, which explains its other nickname: the “commentator’s lip” microphone.
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
Close-up of the lip attachment on the STC 4104 “Lip” Microphone.
Photo Credit
Kavita Mistry
STC 4104 “Lip” Microphone (ca. 1961).
Aesthetically Functional
As the above examples demonstrate, the external shape, build, and design of a microphone are not just a matter of aesthetics, but also play a crucial role in the functionality and suitability of that microphone for certain applications. Whether used for capturing the sounds of people or wildlife, up close or at a distance, or in quiet or noisy settings, the physical design of microphones can help provide clues to their intended uses, users, and environments. So, the next time you see a microphone on screen or in person, take a moment to notice its shape, and ask yourself how – like the ancient audiences of the Roman Colosseum – this particular design might too be influencing your sound experience in unique and important ways.
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Kavita Mistry
Kavita Mistry is researching the collections at Ingenium. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Public History program at Carleton University. Her research discusses the ethical uses of digital technology to enhance sensory engagement with archaeological materials within museums.
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