With a regular microphone set up, it is aimed at a sound source, be that voice or instrument, and it would normally be a short distance away. The super cardioid pattern lends itself to rejecting sound coming from the sides which is great for reducing feedback issues and overspill from other sources.

Integral`s capsule is sited within the cone and aimed towards the edge of the speaker, not a short distance away as is the norm in the traditional way of close miking. It also sits behind a domed “pepper pot” which acts like a sonic diffuser. This means that the sound coming off the speaker hits the diffuser and is bounced around within the cone. The position of the capsule being within the cone is thus receiving sound from the 360 degrees within the cone.

The capsule is mounted centrally but is aimed towards the edge of the speaker. If you look carefully at the outline of the “pepper pot” you will see a teardrop shape in the moulding which facilitates the capsule being positioned sideways on towards the centre of the speaker cone. Because it is sideways on, it can withstand very high sound pressure levels without clipping.

Currently it is not possible to have a dynamic mic capsule small enough to be able to move it without fouling and restricting the movement of the speaker cone. This is particularly relevant when using it with very shallow speakers. During the development of INTEGRAL, miniature condenser mic capsules were evaluated because of their size but were very quickly rejected because of their inability to handle the sound pressure. In addition, of course there were other issues such as having to provide phantom power, which were eliminated at the same time.

The aim with Integral is to be totally transparent of any mic characteristics and not to capture any ambient or room sound. In other words to give complete separation and only capture the true sound of the speaker. If compared with other mics it will be different because of its transparency. When sound checking, there are known EQ settings for the various brands of regular microphones but in the majority of cases the settings for Integral are with the desk EQ set flat.

Yes, and very successfully. A lot of Bass cabs have front loaded speakers and so INTEGRAL would be surface mounted on the speaker. A little extra care is needed during installation not to deform the Integral Ring. This is best achieved by using “Penny Washers” under the screw heads to spread the loading on the ring.

Many bass players are enjoying great success particularly with the IM10 ( 10” INTEGRAL).

INTEGRAL will work on virtually any speaker and so an amp being used for acoustic instruments is no different in this regard. It can be extremely beneficial when dealing with the feedback issues that acoustic guitars are prone to.