which microphone is better for recording at home , unidirectional or omni directional

[singh.rajd]

which microphone is better for recording at home , unidirectional or omni directional keeping price factor in mind??

 

[Bobbsy]

Unidirectional (cardioid) would be the most versatile, especially in a home setting where acoustic treatment is likely be be basic or non-existent.

If you have a room that sounds lovely, an omni can do a great job of giving you that lovely sound--but most typical houses will just sound boxy and echoey. It'll also give you no way to control extraneous noise like computer fans while, with a cardioid, you can put the noise source in the null and greatly reduce (if not eliminate totally) any pick up.

 

[John Willett]

which microphone is better for recording at home , unidirectional or omni directional keeping price factor in mind??

It's impossible to answer this question.

What do you mean by "price factor"? It says nothing at all.

Please....................

Tell us what you want to do with the microphone - what do you want it for? what are you going to do with it?

We really need this information to be able to advise you properly.

And - please - tell us roughly how much you want to pay.

One person's "expensive" is another person's "cheap" - personally I have very few microphones under £1,000 and £500 I consider cheap. To someone else £500 is expensive and wants to spend under £100.

So - please - let us know what you want to pay.

BUT - a good microphone is mature technology - and money spent on a good mic. can last you the rest of your life - it's not like anything with computer technology that you have to replace every couple of years or so.

I still have microphones that I bought in the mid 1980s that I can still buy new today - only today they are five times the price I originally paid for them.

I also still have a mic. that I bought second-hand in the mid 1970s that I can still buy new today.

 

[Bobbsy]

With respect, John, I think you're just going to confuse the poor OP. For an entry level mic to be used in a home environment, a cardioid is the only choice with enough controlability to be useful. Using an omni in a typical untreated domestic room is simply asking for disappointment.

Yes, we need more info before anyone can suggest specific mics but the uni/omni question should be a no brainer (unless the OP lives in St. Albans Cathedral of course).

 

[Xaaron1377]

Get a unidirectional (cardioid) condenser mic. That's gonna be much more versatile and useful in general.

 

[John Willett]

With respect, John, I think you're just going to confuse the poor OP. For an entry level mic to be used in a home environment, a cardioid is the only choice with enough controlability to be useful. Using an omni in a typical untreated domestic room is simply asking for disappointment.

Yes, we need more info before anyone can suggest specific mics but the uni/omni question should be a no brainer (unless the OP lives in St. Albans Cathedral of course).

Yes and no.

The unidirectional / omnidirectional question will not give a really helpful answer - though cardioid is probably best.

Unidirectional can be anything from a wide-cardioid to long-gun with everything in-between.

Knowing what the OP wants to do and the budget he has will enable the knowledgeable here to direct him to the choice of the best microphones available at his budget level.


And I *have* recorded in St. Albans cathedral, so I know what it sounds like

 

[Bobbsy]

And I *have* recorded in St. Albans cathedral, so I know what it sounds like

Me too! Though it was a frighteningly long time ago now--in the mid/late 1980s.