omni, cardioid, figure 8 - explain differences?

[kalil]

hello,

I was thinking of purchasing a Studio Projects C1 or the C3. Is the extra $$ worth having the different patterns, considering I don't even know the difference between them soundwise. I mainly record vocals and acoustic guitar and micing a cabinet into Logic Pro. Honestly, my voice is kind of high and my mic now (MXL 1006) really isn't flattering. Any advice?

thanks

[ubertar]

Omni means it picks up sound equally from all directions. Cardioid (literally, heart-shaped) picks up sound primarily from one direction. Figure 8 picks up equally from front and back, not from the sides.

How does your room sound? Are you recording your vocals as an overdub, or at the same time as the guitar?
The more directional your mic is, the less bleed you'll get from the guitar getting onto your vocal track, and the less room sound you'll get.

Are you trying to record everything at the same time with one mic? Go with the omni. Are you recording everything at the same time onto separate tracks with different mics? Go with cardioid. Are you recording each part separately, one at a time? Depends on what your room sounds like and how much of the room you want on the track.

This is probably over-simplistic-- I'm sure there are others here who could do better, but I hope this helps.

[ubertar]

Why these Studio Projects mics? Have you tried them and you like the way they sound?
If your voice is high and you dont like how it sounds with the MXL, maybe try a dynamic instead of a condenser. At least try a 57 or 58 before jumping into buying another condenser.

[kalil]

thanks for the reply...

I have a 57 but haven't tried it on my voice yet, so that's next. The studio projects seem to get a great response by people here and I can't find anyone in NYC that sells them to try out, I want to upgrade my condenser and just thought this was a logical choice considering the price vs. performance reviews from the fine folks here. Do the different settings color the sound differently or is it just the direction it picks up, but I guess picking up the room will color the sounds....I record everything separately as overdubs, so I would just be using one mic at a time per instrument. thanks for your help...

[bamse]

There's a place in Brooklyn that sells them. Check the Studio Projects page.

[E-cue]

It's a common method in LA for engineers to switch the polar patterns on mic's for the different frequency response they get. A lot of cats use the live room with gobos and packing blankets instead of a vocal booth, so if your room sucks, this might not be a good option.

[kalil]

what do you mean? I know my room isn't the best at all, but if I can choose which pattern, I can cancel some of the room out, right? If I was going to use only one setting all the time then the multi-pattern seems kind of pointless. I'm just curious if I sing into each pattern, would I get a different response (brighter, darker, etc.) in general. Thanks for the brooklyn connection, I missed that on their website...

[E-cue]

Basically, what I mean is this: A lot of engineers think the Sony 800G sounds flatter on vocals in OMNI mode (instead of the more commonly used Cardiod pattern). The problem is if you are in a small vocal booth, you'll probably get a lot of reflection from the glass in front of the vocalist, assuming your vocal booth has a window. Same thing if you are using a mic stand, walls, and anything else reflective.

Somethhing else to consider is MS micing, if that tickles your fancy (do a search for explaination of this- I believe it's covered in the "Best of" thread).

[Professor]

A multi-pattern microphone will exhibit slightly different frequency responses on the various patterns, but can also be useful in the variety of 'rejection patterns' available. For example, a figure 8 mic picks up sound from the front and rear, yes, but more importantly it rejects sound from the side - all the way around in a plane that is 90? offset from the front of the mic. That could be useful if you are singing and playing guitar simultaneously as you could pickup your voice but position the mic to reject most of the immediate guitar sound.
The multiple patterns may also prove useful later as you become more familiar with them and start recording other things.
Click on this link which is the frequency response charts and the polar plots of the Studio Projects C3 microphone.
From the top down, you have cardioid, omni, figure 8. The frequency charts show the relative bumps and dips from the lowest frequencies at the left to the highest at the right. (The double line on the left of the top is with the 'low cut' switch engaged.) The polar pattern charts are showing the pickup oriented with the top of the graph being the front of the mic, and they show the response at various frequencies since it will change slightly at different frequencies. Each 1/2 curve should be rotated around the top-bottom axis because the pattern is 3-dimensional.
You'll notice that the frequency response does indeed change a bit from pattern to pattern. Not like having 3 different mics, but enough to change the sound a bit.

-Jeremy

[Ryan Silva]

Not to discount the advice of others before me. But maybe you should spend some time in your room with headphones and try to find some sweet spots. While knowing mic's, and the polar patterns that comes with them, is very important. Don't forget to let your ears make some of these choices. You might find somthing that you may have missed otherwise. Try finding your own answers in the begining, and have fun.