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What Is A Cardioid Microphone? The Singer’s Microphone!
ByAnna Bonilla- Read Time6 mins
What Is A Cardioid Microphone?
If you’re recording audio with a microphone, chances are that it’s a cardioid mic. The word “cardioid” refers to the heart-shaped pattern of pickup that these mics create, but when placed in front of someone speaking or singing, they’ll pick up only their voice from the front and reject sound from behind them. That might sound like a bad thing at first glance, but there are plenty of situations where picking up everything equally well from all directions would be problematic.
A cardioid microphone is the most commonly used type of microphone. It’s also called a unidirectional microphone because it picks up sounds that come from directly in front of it. What does this mean? Well, let’s say you’re recording someone singing into a cardioid EV RE20 (a classic vocal microphone). If they’re standing next to that mic, their voice will be picked up by it and recorded cleanly; but if they move around the room while they’re singing, their voice won’t be picked up as well by the cardioid microphone because only sounds coming from directly in front will be picked up. Now let’s take a look at what cardioid microphones are all about.
How Does A Cardioid Microphone Work?
A cardioid microphone is a transducer that converts sound waves into an electrical signal. It’s known as a dynamic microphone, which means it has a diaphragm with a permanent magnet and electromagnetic coil system it simply applies to every microphone out there. The only difference is their pick-up pattern. It only picks up at least half of the microphone “dome.” This type of dynamic cardioid microphone is common in many applications because it’s easy to use, rugged, reliable, and inexpensive. To understand how this type of mic works, let’s take a look at how the components work together:
A microphone is a transducer that converts sound waves into an electrical signal. It does so by using a diaphragm with a vibrating membrane that’s placed in front of the source of sound and connected to a coil suspended in the magnetic field (voice coil). When the diaphragm vibrates due to the sound pressure, it creates fluctuations in air pressure which cause vibrations on the membrane. These vibrations are picked up by the voice coil as an electrical current and processed by an amplifier. The resulting amplified output is sent back through another wire to drive your headphones/loudspeakers/earphones when needed. The cardioid microphone then only picks up whatever sound is in front of it; it only focuses there.
Features Of A Cardioid Microphone
Cardioid microphones are designed to pick up sounds that come from directly in front of them. They are unidirectional microphones, meaning that they will only pick up sounds from one direction (the front). Cardioid microphones are the most commonly used type of microphone and can be found in most recording studios or on stage at music venues.
And as said, cardioid microphones and unidirectional microphones are the same; “cardioid” refers to a heart-shaped curve. However, the cardioid microphone’s pickup pattern looks more like a kidney bean than a heart. This is because both sound waves and light waves travel in straight lines from their sources at all times — and therefore, your eyes can see straight lines (for example, if you’re looking down at this text), but your ears cannot hear them. While the name “unidirectional” comes from the fact that only sound coming from one direction can be picked up by these microphones; hence they are called unidirectional mics. Both terms are basically the same, which is why this microphone has the best features, as it can accommodate two types of settings.
Uses Of A Cardioid Microphone
The cardioid microphone is the most commonly used type of microphone. The word cardioid comes from the term cephalad, which means “head-on.” The directional pattern of this type of mic is intended to pick up sound from one direction, rejecting noise from other directions. This makes it perfect for recording vocals or instruments like acoustic guitar or piano.
Cardioid microphones are unidirectional; they will only pick up sound that’s coming from directly in front of them and reject everything else to either side and behind them. This makes them ideal if you’re recording live performances where there will be plenty of room sound (ambient noise) coming in all around you — but not so great if you want something that can record quiet sounds with less background noise pollution.
Cardioid mics are the best choice for on-camera interviews and general recording situations where single sources need to be picked up while sounds from other directions need to be rejected. They’re also suitable for recording a single instrument or voice, where you only want the source being recorded, with no extraneous noises.
Average Price For A Cardioid Microphone
If you’re looking for the best cardioid microphone, you can expect to pay between $100 and $300. The average price of a cardioid microphone runs from about $100-300. You can get a decent cardioid microphone for under $100 if you shop around or splurge on something more expensive if you need something better.
The most popular model of cardioid microphone is the Shure SM57 Dynamic Microphone which has been used by artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, and Joe Satriani and has been used in many recordings over its history, including recordings by Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrap Up
It’s important to remember that your microphone’s sound quality is dependent on its pickup pattern and your own voice. If you are speaking loudly and clearly enough, then a cardioid microphone will do just fine for most recording situations. However, if you have an accent or speak softly, then consider whether there might be other types of microphones that would work better for your situation.
