Cheshire, M., Stables, R., Hockman, J., 2019.

Microphone comparison: Spectral feature mapping for snare drum recording

Microphones are known to exhibit sonic differences and microphone selection is integral in achieving desired tonal qualities of recordings. In this paper, an initial multi-stimuli listening test is used to categorise microphones based on user preference when recording snare drums. A spectral modification technique is then applied to recordings made with a microphone from the least preferred category, such that they take on the frequency characteristics of recordings from the most preferred category. To assess the success of the audio transformation, a second experiment is undertaken with expert listeners to gauge pre- and post-transformation preferences. Results indicate spectral transformation dramatically improves listener preference for recordings from the least preferred category, placing them on par with those of the most preferred.