Cortado MkIII Contact Mic: Instrument Demo at Tone Zone Recording Studio

00:00 Introduction to Cortado MkIII Contact Mic
01:18 Background Info
02:35 Piano
03:12 Strings
04:27 Percussion
05:12 Guitars of All Sorts
07:38 Reeds & Brass
Introduction
Brach and Glen of Zeppelin Design Labs demo the Cortado MkIII contact microphone at Tone Zone Recording in Chicago, IL.
All instrument tracks were recorded with only the Cortado MkIII contact microphone. The instrument tracks were not processed with any effects or EQ...you are only hearing what the mic picked up. Only limiting was added to the instrument tracks during post processing.
The Cortado MkIII is a versatile, robust, easy-to-use contact microphone suitable for sound design, live venue reinforcement, and studio recording. In this demo video, we explore the Cortado's uses in the recording studio.
Background
Most microphones respond to changes in air pressure, which is how our ears work. Contact microphones, by contrast, are not sensitive to air pressure at all, but only to vibrations inside a solid surface. This results in a different way to hear familiar instruments.
The Cortado MkIII uses a sensitive piezo transducer encased in a proprietary enclosure which you stick or clamp to the vibrating surface. The Cortado MkIII includes a phantom-powered preamp circuit that balances and buffers the signal from the piezo, matching its impedance to the line level input of your recording console. The result is flat response over a very wide bandwidth (23 Hz - 43 kHz). How the mic actually sounds depends heavily on placement, and how securely you attach (couple) the sensor to the vibrating surface.
Applications:
Piano: Two Cortados are attached to the sound board of a grand piano.
Violin: Two microphones, one directly below the bridge, the second on the underside directly below the sound post.
Cello: Miked similarly to the violin, with one sensor below the bridge towards the bass side, and the second on the back. The two mics thus vibrate out of phase, resulting in a slight chorusing effect.
Snare: One sensor is placed directly on the drum head. The mic picks up the texture of brushes on the head with tremendous resolution and intimacy.
Djembe: One mic on the drum head picks up the attack and other surface effects, but not the BOOM characteristic of this instrument. You might still want to use a traditional bottom mic as well.
Banjo: The sensor is placed on the back of the head, directly below the bridge.
Electric Bass: The sensor is clamped to the headstock, revealing how much music is happening inside the instrument even when unpowered.
Kalimba: The Cortado sounds great on kalimba, cajon and handpan.
Electric Guitar: We stick two mikes onto an amp cabinet: one on the bell of the speaker magnet, and another on the side of the cabinet for a completely unique electric guitar sound.
Acoustic Guitar: One mic placed just below the bridge. Small changes in placement from the treble to bass side of the instrument will yield significant differences in EQ.
Dobro: Another placement-sensitive instrument.
Harmonica: The sensor is stuck directly to the back of the instrument.
Saxophone: A mic on the bell of the instrument captures an unusual tone, and a lot of internal clacking from the valves.
Accordion: Two mics on the outer shell of the instrument yield a rich sound. Some inner clacking is audible, which could be reduced by removing the covers and placing the sensors directly on the reed banks.
Trumpet: A sensor on the bell captures a unique and haunting tone, but also a bit of the valve movement.
More Information
Visit cortadomic.com for specs, samples and dealer network.
Sound samples (field recordings): / cortado-mkiii-contact-...
Other Cortado Videos: • Cortado Videos
More from Zeppelin Design Labs: zeppelindesignlabs.com
Credits:
Video Production: nine3nine Creative, nine3nine.com
Videography, editing: Nathan Cameron & Mikey Borden
Audio: Brach Siemens
Hosts: Brach Siemens and Glen van Alkemade
Location: Tone Zone Recording, Chicago, Illinois, tonezonerecording.net
Piano, Violin, Accordion, Saxophone: David Baumgartner
Cello: Hilde Bialach of The Crossing, grrrrecords.com/crossing
Snare: Ed Bialach, Glenn Kaiser Band, grrrrecords.com/gkb
Djembe: Colleen Davick, Leper, grrrrecords.com/leper
Banjo: Teel Short, grrrrecords.com/teel-short
Electric Bass: Brach Siemens
Kalimba: Glen van Alkemade
Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Dobro, Harmonica: Glenn Kaiser, grrrrecords.com/glenn-kaiser
Trumpet: Nolan Baumgartner