Microphone Pick Up Patterns - Omni Directional 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 omni directional microphone.

What does omni directional mean?

It means that if a microphone is omni directional, it picks up sound from all directions, 360 degrees. It doesn't matter what direction the sound is coming from, the microphone will pick up all of the sounds equally.

When to Use an omni directional microphone

Use it whenever you want to pick up the ambiance of a room like if you're recording for a film or use it to pick up the general sound of the room from a distance when recording your song. If you are recording a chorus of singers or a larger group of musicians performing at one time, you can use an omni directional microphone up above to capture the overall sound.

Types of Popular Omni Directional Microphones

Many microphones have multiple settings for different pick up patterns, but some of the most commonly used microphones for omni directional recording are the Shure 520DX (Green Bullet), Shure KSM141, Earthworks M30, Neumann U 87, Audio-Technica AT4022, and the Neumann KM 183.

Copyright 2010 Dan Rozak