Is Omnidirectional worth it?

[QuickLick6927]

I have read many things about which microphones are used for most common recordngs and discovered that most people suggest using cardioid mics. But, lately, I have been reading that because of the way a cardioid mic is designed you get some signal loss if the mic is not pointed in an absolute perfect straight line to what's causing the signal. Matching up with this idea is that an omnidirectional mic gets the exact same amount of signal no matter where (within reason) the thing creating the signal is in front of it. My questions are a) does anyone know if there's much of a difference if any and b) if there is a difference, does it matter?

 

[tdukex]

There are other differences. Omnis don't have proximity effect. Omnis bring your recording space into the recording (good space = good sound, bad space = bad sound).

Everybody's needs are different. For me, having a multi-pattern mic adds versatility that I wouldn't want to be without.

 

[QuickLick6927]

tdukex...
thanx for the reply. what other kind of mics are out there besides omnidirectional and cardioid? I have heard of super-cardioid but that's about it.

 

[Marik]

<what other kind of mics are out there besides omnidirectional and cardioid? I have heard of super-cardioid but that's about it.>

QuickLick,

May I suggest you to go to the sticky Harvey Gerst's thread on the top. He explains all these things explicitely, including theory, history, gives graphs, etc. I am sure you will learn a lot. Also, fun reading.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27030