Microphone Pick Up Patterns - Cardioid Microphone

We all know what a microphone is and we all know that we want to be stars. But as artists and musicians, do we know what microphone is going to help us achieve stardom and showcase our talents the most?

There are different types of microphones and different pickup patterns. When recording yourself or performing in front of an audience, it's important that you use the right type of microphone that's going to showcase your talents the most. This article deals with the cardioid pick up pattern.

What does the term cardioid mean?

If a microphone is a cardioid, it picks up sound from its' front. Some of the sounds from the side will be picked up, but really nothing will be picked up from the back end. As the sounds move from the front to the back of the mic, the quality and loudness of the sound will decrease.

When to use a cardioid microphone

Cardioid microphones are the most commonly used microphones in the recording studio due to the fact that they don't pick up sounds from their back end. This is extremely useful because when using this type of pick up pattern, you are recording only the sound you want to record while capturing a little of the ambience around it because of what the sides of the microphone pick up. Cardioids are popular when using multiple micing situations too because again, the lack of sound coming from the back end of the microphone cuts down on the feedback supplied from all of the ruckus happening around it.

Popular cardioid microphones

Many microphones have multiple settings for different pick up patterns, but some of the more commonly used microphones that implement the cardioid pick up pattern are the Shure SM 57, Shure SM 81, Shure KSM 32, Neumann U-87ai, Neumann M147, AKG D112, and the Sennheiser 421.

Copyright 2010 Dan Rozak