What is a cardioid polar pattern used for?

Cardioid polar pattern It is most sensitive to sounds coming from in front of the mic and least sensitive directly behind the mic. A cardioid mic has a useful pickup angle of 131 degrees, so it can accommodate one or two singers and is forgiving enough to still pick up a vocalist with a wandering mic technique.

Why is a cardioid polar pattern good?

A cardioid mic is a lot better at excluding background noise and room reflection than an omni mic. Its most common use is actually in music production and live sound reinforcement.

What is a cardioid used for?

Cardioid mics capture everything in front and block everything else. This front-focused pattern will let you point the mic to a sound source and isolate it from unwanted ambient sound, making it ideal for live performance and other situations where noise reduction and feedback suppression are needed.

What are polar patterns used for?

A polar pattern defines how much of the signal will be picked up by the microphone from different directions. By selecting the right pattern, you can avoid unwanted sound sources to bleed into your signal, adjust the mix between dry and room sound, or change the frequency response, and influence the proximity effect.

When to use cardioid polar patterns in microphones?

Microphones with cardioid polar patterns are perfect for a single sound source, like one singer or speaker. They work especially well in these situations: studio recording (singing, rapping or talking) public speaking.

Which is the most sensitive cardioid or polar pattern?

A cardioid polar pattern has most of its sound sensitivity at the front and the least at the back. The pickup angle is typically 131°, which makes it quite wide. That’s useful as it can accommodate two people using the same device. Backing singers who share a single mic are singing into a cardioid pattern.

How did the cardioid polar pattern get its name?

Cardioid Polar Pattern The name cardioid polar pattern was obtained due to its characteristic heart shape. This polar pattern also has three subcategories, which are the supercardioid, subcardioid, and hypercardioid. The cardioid polar pattern is known to have most of its sensitivity to sound in the front and the least sensitivity at the back.

Are there any downsides to a subcardioid polar pattern?

The most significant downside of the subcardioid polar pattern is that it’s susceptible to feedback. The supercardioid is like the cardioid above, with the difference being more side rejection. It also has a slightly tighter pickup angle at the front. One of the key advantages is its ability to isolate the polar area from unwanted room noise.