OMNI, Figure 8 & Cardiod

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Bob's Mods

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I'm guessing that the Cardiod polar pattern is the defacto standard. Probably used in 85% - 90% of the typical recording situations? Please correct me without mercy if I'm wrong.

Will someone(s) in the know please inform me as to common situations where the OMNI and Figure 8 polar patterns shine? Are there default OMNI and Figure 8 scenerios?

thanks,
Bob
 
Omnis are often used when you want to close mic a source with a lot of bass, and you want to avoid proximity effect- example- piano in a not so good room. It's paradoxical. You'd thing you would want a more directional mic to point *at* the piano, but omni allows you to get real close to the source and turn down the gain, reducing ambient noise. It is also often used for acoustic guitar, and for drum overheads (as in Behringer ECM8000). Figure of 8 has multiple uses- First, for mid-side stereo recording in conjunction with a cardioid, or a pair of figure 8's, as in Blumlein. I find it's good for a backing pair of vocalists playing bass and guitar in a live studio situation, so they can sing into the same mic and face each other, without guitars bumping into each other. I usually use a ribbon for this, as it is less sensitive than a condenser, producing less bleed from other sources. Figure 8's also produce *a lot* of proximity effect, which can be good if you want to bring out what bass there is in a high, thin, voice.-Richie
 
i tend to use onis in a room to accent the tones of the room. works good as overheads if you can content bleed from other sources, acoustics, voxi n conjunction with aanother more direct source mic.

figure 8 is a very fun and creative pattern to work with. works good as a single overhead, amp mic or about anything. placement with it is key. another thing is the rejection from the side of the patern can be huge enabling the ability to aim it and cancel things that are outside of the 8. great for doing a single take of multiple sources. kicking out some things yet still giving the source and room ambiance plenty of character
 
I have used omni on acou guit as one of a spaced pair either as the mic over the right shoulder pointing down at the bout or right in front of the bout to pick up the woody tone without getting the boominess from the sound hole.

I have used fig-8 as a single mic on an acou guit straight out from the neck joint about 18" - 24" with excellent results. This config produces a full, balanced sound because one lobe picks up the base and the wood from the body and the other lobe picks up the treble and the shimmer from the neck. Also, because the mic is a little further from the guit, you don't get the boominess from the sound hole but you do get a more natural sound as there is some space between the mic and the guit, wich I think allows the mic to pick up more of the natural resonances and complex overtones that an acou guit produces.

Of course, this could be just a bunch of bs, but this method--which, BTW, I think I invented as I have never heard anybody else ever mention it--sure sounds good to me.

Note: I have heard people use a fig-8 turned 45 degrees so the top lobe picks up voice and the bottom lobe picks up guit for someone who sings and plays at the same time but only has one mic that happens to be a multi-pattern.
 
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