What does cardioid polar pattern mean?

Cardioid (kar-dee-oid) is the most common directional polar pattern, with the highest sensitivity to sound coming in from directly in front of the microphone capsule (0º), practically no sensitivity to sound coming directly from behind (180º), and a reduced sensitivity to sound coming in from the sides (90º/270º).

What are the 4 different polar patterns?

Microphone Polar Patterns: Cardioid, Omnidirectional, Figure-8.

What are the most common microphone polar patterns?

A polar pattern graph shows the variation in sensitivity as you move 360 degrees around the microphone. There are a number of different directional patterns available. The three most common patterns are omnidirectional, unidirectional, and bidirectional. Omnidirectional microphones have equal response at all angles.

Why do microphones have polar patterns?

The polar pattern of a microphone determines the sensitivity at different angles. A polar pattern defines how much of the signal will be picked up by the microphone from different directions.

Which polar pattern is best for vocals?

cardioid
The most commonly used polar pattern for recording vocals is cardioid, which is more sensitive to sound arriving from the front of the mic than the back. Cardioid mics have the advantage of reducing ambient noise; however, they will also colour the sound more than an omni-directional design.

What are the three basic polar patterns?

Before we get into some specific benefits for the stage and studio, let’s review the basic polar (or pickup) patterns. There are three basic types: omnidirectional, unidirectional and bidirectional (also called figure-of-eight).

What polar pattern is best for vocals?

Which polar patterns have the most front to back discrimination from 0 to 180 degrees?

Cardioid. Cardioid is by far the most commonly used directional polar pattern. They have a wide on-axis pick-up area and maximum rejection at 180 degrees off-axis – resulting in high gain before feedback when stage monitors are placed directly behind.

How do polar patterns work?

Polar patterns refer to the sensitivity of any given microphone to sounds arriving from different angles, to its central axis. As we can see, the shape of the polar pattern touches the outermost circle at zero degrees, falling below -5 dB at the 90 and 270 decibel points.

How are cardioid polar patterns made more directional?

The next major advancement came when someone realized that cardioid patterns could be made even MORE directional by mixing MORE figure-8 signal with LESS omni. As a side effect, this would also create a small bulb of sensitivity emerging from the rear. This new pattern became known as supercardioid, and the narrower version known as hypercardioid.

Which is the most sensitive polar pattern in a microphone?

The most common of all microphone polar patterns, the cardioid pattern is found in both condensers and dynamic microphones. They tend to be the most sensitive from the front and the least sensitive from the rear.

How is subcardioid pattern different from front sensitivity?

They are most easily distinguished by their rear sensitivity, which is 3-10 dB lower compared to their front sensitivity. The subcardioid pattern allows wide, even, natural pickup and can capture a group of instruments or vocalists with very little proximity effect. They are, however, prone to feedback.

What does off axis coloration on a cardioid mic mean?

Off-axis coloration – With most cardioid mics, you see a drop in high frequency sensitivity as sounds move further off-axis. This could be bad, for instance, with an inexperienced singer unconscious of his head movements.