Microphone: cardioid or omnidirectional - the differences
Sound engineers know: Different occasions require different microphones. Two of the most common types are the kidney and the ball. The difference is particularly evident in how the shapes pick up sound from different directions. In technical jargon, this property is called "directional characteristic".
Ball microphones - the all-round audio stars
The sphere is the only microphone characteristic that records audio sources evenly from all directions. It is therefore undirected.
- Since omnidirectional omnidirectional microphones can be attached without much effort and hardly pay attention to the orientation. Therefore, these microphones are well suited for the stage - for example as clip-on microphones.
- Caution: Since the spherical characteristic picks up sound from all directions, it tends to feed back quickly.
Cardioid microphones - the stars in live recording
The cardioid characteristic is a mixture of omnidirectional and eight microphones.
- In contrast to the omnidirectional characteristic, a kidney absorbs more sound from the front and less from the rear: it is therefore directed towards the front.
- This means that a cardioid microphone has significantly less feedback and is often used for live recordings.
- The supercardioid is a special form. It is even more feedback-resistant than the cardioid characteristic. However, this type of microphone is far more sensitive to interference from the rear.
After recording, you can still cut audio files on the PC. A popular program for this is Audacity. This link leads you to the free download.