Can a microphone be damaged by noise (specifically, drums)?
It ain’t the SPL that causes havoc with condenser and ribbon mics on kick drums up close – it’s the big puff of air that is generated when you whack that big piece of plastic with a beater. That puff of air can pop a sensitve ribbon mic or stretch a condenser diaphragm considerably. When you bottom out a condenser mic, you can lose some of the charge, or some of the mic’s capacitance. In most cases, the mylar, or ribbon, won’t spring back to it’s original tension. IF it does survive the blasts from a session, it won’t ever sound the same again, since you’ve stretched the ribbon, or stretched the mylar (in a condenser mic). Some solutions: Use a pop filter, just as you would for a vocalist, or anything that will prevent the blast from directly hitting the diaphragm. Put a sock on it. Yeah, you’ll lose some top end, but it might save the mic. Stretch a couple of pair of panty hose over the mic – same reason. You want to basically divert or lower the wind part of the signal. Whispering in
