Why Hang A Microphone Upside Down?

[@randyrektor]

We're having a baby this week. I've been busy, but I'm back! :) 👍

[@olgagr7136]

God bless your little baby and your sweet family ! Merry Christmas, my friends !!

[@randyrektor]

@@olgagr7136 thank you so much. Merry Christmas to you as wel

[@olgagr7136]

This man - Randy Rektor - has a fantastic singing voice, I just don't understand why he is not showing us his Talent. To listen to his singing is a real - real ENJOYMENT.

[@randyrektor]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I’ll have to post some more music! :)

[@baileypelkman]

What a great video! I’ve also always thought it’s looked cooler upside down 😎 also… as a performer, I prefer singing into an upside down mic from above. Don’t really know why exactly. It just feels better. 👌 probably what you said about the angle while singing.

[@randyrektor]

Everyone deserves to feel like a diva once in a while 💁‍♂️

[@goodwill_hunting]

I'm a voice actor and I hang my marantz mpm-1000 upside down because it allows me to raise the mic up and out of the way. I move my upper body alot when I'm recording because it helps me get a more realistic read. We typically speak with our hands as well as our mouths when we speak so having the boom up and out of the way while still being able to have the mic at head level helps a ton. Great video sir, I really do enjoy your content

[@JasonLorette]

Cool info dude...and good luck with the baby!!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks Jason! Much appreciated, as always!

[@zuider77]

FWIW I think that the mic sounded a tad richer with the tubes warmed up 90 minutes as opposed to two minutes, and with the mic below the singer I though that the sound was ever so slightly brighter than when it was above her. Great video!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks for the comment. I'm totally with you, I could definitely hear the warm tubes as well!

[@Plasmafox]

I'm a casual user who switched to a "real" mic in order to ditch gaming headsets, and have my mic boomed in from above purely for reason #5. I've often wondered about how to best orient it. So this was an interesting video. I expected the answer to mainly be, "it doesn't matter", but you showed(and I can hear) how it matters a little bit. I'll think about this video whenever I adjust my mic setup; keeping my mic slightly above me to dodge plosives and encourage better posture, and aimed down slightly to capture my chest instead of just my head.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks so much for the comment! I'm glad that this video was helpful in some way! I feel like in music recording, it's the sum of a bunch of small improvements.

[@loganschexnayder1587]

I'm very much enjoying your content! Keep up the creative work - also I believe that I hear a difference in the vocals. Upside down is a bit warmer wheras the latter has more definition in the highs. Just my thoughts.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks so much for the kind words, and for your thoughts. I totally agree!

[@rakastavasydan]

Thanks for the breakdown! I wasn't sure if there were downsides to having the mic upside down, and it seems there aren't. I'll have the stand arm reach me over the computer. Otherwise I'll be off the mic axis, or will need to move the computer.

[@randyrektor]

Yesssss good luck with the setup!

[@richfish_media]

Nice video, I like your sensible and thoughtful content. I only listened on phone speaker but I’m sure I heard a slight difference in that the upright mic sounded slightly thinner , and upside down a bit fuller, maybe because hearing the body resonating and not hearing reflections from the ceiling ? 👍

[@randyrektor]

Thank you so much for the kind words. That’s interesting to hear! I need to have another listen now

[@richfish_media]

@@randyrektor I’m ashamed to admit I was lazy and only listened on phone speaker, but if I can hear it from that it’s a kinda good test as many people might do the same. Anyway I will enjoy going through your content now I’ve found you👍

[@randyrektor]

Yea that’s a great point. Thanks and I hope you enjoy! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@tonilangdon9609]

Great video Randy and Bailey! I didn’t hear a difference!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks aunt Toni! I’m in the same boat :)

[@earlgreybeard]

Nice one. I am looking at getting a large diaphram for voiceover video, so my main concern would be whether it would fall out of the cradle mounted upside down 😂. But just another good reason is if you are doing like a KZbin piece to camera and want your mic mounted either just out out of shot or else right next to you and masked out in post. Either way, with the mic coming down from a boom above to achieve that, it looks a lot easier to mount the mic upside down in that configuration.

[@randyrektor]

That’s a solid point!!

[@leonardobaldez5533]

Excellent tips! Thank you!

[@randyrektor]

Thanks for watching :) 👌🏻👌🏻

[@beckyfountain1366]

I’m changing my mic to upside down this afternoon for exactly reason number 5! It’s been bugging me for months. Finally sorting it today! 🎙️

[@randyrektor]

Ahhh the freedom to move around. I'm debating mounting mics to the wall to have no stands altogether.

[@AiMXIII]

dad walked in on the talking example and thought id got someone pregnant and was looking up stuff abt it 💀

[@randyrektor]

Hahah nope, just my super pregnant wife helping me with audio review lol

[@AiMXIII]

@@randyrektor Haha. Congrats dude!

[@randyrektor]

@AiMXIII thank youuu! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@TimmyP1955]

Mic sounded better cold - surprising. Speech and singing sounded better with the mic above.

[@lamarcraven2314]

I appreciate your video. It is very educational. Plus it doesn’t hurt at the lady can really sing great choice good singer.

[@randyrektor]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I’ll pass that along to Bailey :)

[@descargamusicalny]

I use the mic upside down because it leaves more room for a music stand to read music or a scrip.

[@randyrektor]

1000% this is a great tip

[@zoonal-gg]

Awesome video thank you!

[@randyrektor]

My pleasure!

[@condar419]

Sounded like a good analysis to this complete layman. Honestly, I couldn't hear any difference between the two positions, but I'm 62 and my sense of hearing has never been that great/refined. Also, I'm pleased that you're giving work to singers who are in witness protection programs; it's tough for them to make a living.

[@randyrektor]

Hahahahah!! That comment had me in stitches. I was thinking the same thing with the dark shot, but it felt like a good idea to draw focus to the sound and not the visuals :p To be fair, I don’t hear much of a difference either.

[@unusedTV]

Your microphone position is pretty different when micing from above and below, so obviously that changes the sound. Just look at 5:49 and 5:52. From below it's slightly tilting away way from the singer, from above it's tilted towards. And the diaphragm also isn't in the same position. If you want to comment on above/below, the other variables need to be identical.

[@randyrektor]

This is a KZbin demonstration, not a scientific experiment. The anecdotes are based on thousands of hours of recording studio experience. There are other channels that do these tests in controlled environments. This is meant to be a practical demo

[@tehchi]

Were the last two examples after the mic was given time to warm up? Or cold on both the upside down and upright orientations?

[@randyrektor]

Great question. It had been plugged in for at least 20 minutes by the time we were ready to record, so I would say they were at full temperature in all of these. In the cold examples earlier, I literally flicked it on and pressed record right away to capture it at it's coldest point. Not very realistic as far as scenarios go, but I was interested to hear the results and thought other might be as well :)

[@imark7777777]

Older tube microphones with older components would be more affected by temperature differences versus newer circuit designs and components.

[@LaurenLanzaretta]

Yeah but how do you do it

[@randyrektor]

Almost always upside down for vocalists so they have more floor space and room to move their arms 🙌🏻

[@rodsrecords]

She’s not speaking directly into the capsule when it’s upside down and off axis. Not a fair comparison but it depends on what you want. Up close and up front or off axis and less plosives. Nice not having a mic all up in your grill though. But still, upright sounds fuller.

[@streno6712]

bro what is the thing that’s supporting the microphone called? like the big tripod i mean

[@randyrektor]

It's a c-stand. They are used primarily in film and tv for lighting, but they make awesome mic stands!

[@streno6712]

@ thanks a lot man. any cheaper recommendations for a home studio? i’m trynna place the mic upside down and im a lil lost. thank u for your time btw🙏

[@randyrektor]

Totally! You can do this with any old mic stand. I just have this massive thing kicking around so I used it for the video. But normal mic stands work perfectly! I’d recommend Hercules stands! They are beasts

[@streno6712]

@ i appreciate u man. thank u for your time. god bless u

[@randyrektor]

@streno6712 anytime! Thanks for watching :)

[@MisterDivineAdVenture]

DEF better UpSiDe DoWn but - the acoustics are radically different. So not sure if the reason is matching your theory - could be both!

[@derjungelias]

hey👋 which Mic stand is that at 4:00? Looks very good

[@randyrektor]

Ahh that’s a C Stand. They are meant more for holding big lights but they are so nice for mics!

[@firasfx]

Hi. What stand are you using at 5:10?

[@randyrektor]

It's a C-Stand from Amazon :) I think it's from Neewer, but I could be wrong.

[@GE0WAND2]

What's the tube?

[@randyrektor]

Not too sure! It’s a Peluso P12, replica of an AKG C12.

[@yungskitzo_661]

I think it's probably pointless in your video she sounded good with the mic right side up

[@randyrektor]

Sounds good both ways. Practically works better one way over the other.

[@fidrewe99]

The height of the microphone and its tilt have nothing to do with whether or not it's upside down. You can have it at any height or angle in both orientations. When you tilt the mircophone away from the singer, you lessen the risk of plosives and siblance, but you capture less of the high frequency details and clarity of the voice, which is undesired for many styles of music and voice types. On the other hand, plosives and siblance can be well controlled by a singer who's been working on their pronounciation of consonants. If vocal coaches gave the topic the attention it needs, it wouldn't need nearly as much attention from the engineers trying to fix it...

[@davidgale1150]

Why do these “pro” audio guys do comparisons on YY knowing we’re all listening on our smart phones or laptops. You really we have the proper reference speakers to hear the true tonality differences?

[@randyrektor]

Because a lot of people use KZbin to learn tips about things they are interested in I guess