Fav Pro Mics for the DIYer: Part 4

Piezo microphones are one of the more unique designs of microphone you could choose to use at home! Also called contact mics, these pick up sound through mechanical vibration, rather than through the air. These can be a great creative tool for the DIYer, though they’re not for capturing the most accurate sounds.

Advantages of using contact mics in the DIY home music studio

-a very affordable tool, like well under $30.

-these can be used in situations that a normal mic can’t-like underwater!

-a great, cheap tool for creative experimentation, particularly when combined with a sampler!

They look like this:

Simply place that round black end in direct physical contact with what you’d like to pick up.

If you’re into electronic music, or sampling, or beat making, try grabbing one of these and start making your own sample library! It’ll be a heck of a lot more interesting than anything you can purchase.

This design of mic also tends to be low output and a bit noisy, so make sure you’re not trying to capture anything too subtle. If you’re looking for something that sounds obviously “DIY”, this could be a great tool for that.

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A classic recording studio trick is to tape a contact mic onto a piece of glass, and then play something very loud at the glass.

You’ll capture the sound, but it will be filtered through the glass medium the mic is physically connected to. This won’t sound very much like the original source material, but it will be an interesting version of it! This technique is a great way to generate some new creative material that sounds totally unique!