Understanding Polar Patterns: Which One Do You Need?

When shopping for microphones, you'll encounter terms like "cardioid," "omnidirectional," and "figure-8" describing polar patterns. While these specifications might seem technical, understanding them is crucial for achieving professional recordings. A microphone's polar pattern determines which directions it picks up sound from—and more importantly, which directions it ignores. Choosing the right pattern for your specific use case can make the difference between clean, professional audio and frustrating background noise problems.

What Exactly Is a Polar Pattern?

A polar pattern is a graphical representation of a microphone's sensitivity to sound arriving from different directions. Imagine looking down at your microphone from above—the polar pattern shows you how well the mic picks up sound from the front, sides, and rear. Some patterns focus tightly on sounds directly in front, while others capture everything around them equally.

Understanding these patterns helps you position your microphone correctly and choose the right mic for your recording environment. Let's explore each common pattern and when to use them.

Cardioid: The Most Popular Choice

Cardioid microphones are named for their heart-shaped pickup pattern. They're most sensitive to sounds directly in front, moderately sensitive to the sides, and largely reject sounds from behind. This makes them the most versatile and popular choice for most recording applications.

Advantages of cardioid:

• Rejects room noise and reflections from behind
• Reduces feedback in live sound situations
• Focuses on a single sound source effectively
• Forgiving of imperfect acoustic environments

Considerations:

• Exhibits proximity effect (bass boost when very close)
• Sounds can "colour" differently when moving off-axis
• Not ideal when you need to capture room ambience

Supercardioid and Hypercardioid Variants

Some microphones offer tighter versions of the cardioid pattern. Supercardioid patterns have a narrower front pickup (115 degrees) but allow some sound through from directly behind. Hypercardioid patterns are even tighter (105 degrees) with slightly more rear pickup. These patterns offer greater rejection of side sounds but require more precise positioning.

Omnidirectional: Capturing Everything Equally

Omnidirectional microphones pick up sound equally from all directions—a full 360-degree sphere of sensitivity. While this might seem counterintuitive for recording, omni patterns have distinct advantages in certain situations.

Best uses for omnidirectional:

• Recording room ambience or environmental sound
• Capturing multiple speakers in a group discussion
• Lavalier microphones for natural movement
• Orchestral and choir recording (as part of larger setups)
• Situations requiring very natural, uncoloured sound

Not recommended for:

• Noisy environments or untreated rooms
• Situations requiring isolation of a single sound source
• Live sound where feedback is a concern

Figure-8 (Bidirectional): Front and Back

Figure-8 patterns, also called bidirectional, pick up sound equally from the front and back while rejecting sounds from the sides. The pattern resembles the number 8 when viewed from above. This unique characteristic makes figure-8 invaluable for specific recording scenarios.

Ideal applications:

• Face-to-face interviews with two people sharing one microphone
• Recording a singer and acoustic guitarist sitting opposite each other
• Mid-side stereo recording techniques
• Blumlein stereo pairs for orchestral recording

Key characteristics:

• Excellent side rejection (sounds from 90 and 270 degrees are almost completely rejected)
• Exhibits proximity effect on both front and rear
• Equal sensitivity front and back (important for balanced recording)

Multi-Pattern Microphones

Some microphones offer switchable polar patterns, giving you flexibility to adapt to different recording situations. Popular options like the Blue Yeti and Rode NT2-A feature multiple patterns selectable via a switch or dial.

Multi-pattern microphones typically achieve this through dual diaphragm designs, combining signals from front and back capsules in different ways. While convenient, multi-pattern mics often compromise slightly compared to dedicated single-pattern designs—each pattern may not perform quite as well as a microphone designed specifically for that pattern.

That said, for content creators who record various types of content (solo podcasts, interviews, music), a quality multi-pattern microphone offers excellent versatility without owning multiple mics.

Practical Pattern Selection for Common Scenarios

Podcasting

For solo podcasting, cardioid is almost always the right choice. It focuses on your voice while rejecting keyboard clicks, computer fan noise, and room reflections. If you interview guests in person, either use two cardioid microphones or a single figure-8 pattern with both speakers positioned on opposite sides.

Streaming and Gaming

Cardioid dominates streaming setups. Streamers need to capture clear voice while rejecting mechanical keyboards, mouse clicks, and game audio bleeding from headphones. The rear rejection of cardioid patterns is essential here. Supercardioid can work even better if you maintain consistent positioning.

Music Recording

Pattern choice for music depends entirely on what you're recording. Vocals typically use cardioid for isolation, though some engineers prefer omni for its natural sound when recording in well-treated rooms. Acoustic instruments might use any pattern depending on the desired sound—omni for natural room tone, cardioid for isolation, or figure-8 for mid-side stereo techniques.

Conference Calls and Meetings

For group calls with multiple participants around a table, omnidirectional or multi-pattern microphones work well. Boundary microphones (which sit flat on the table and typically feature omnidirectional or half-cardioid patterns) are specifically designed for this application.

Understanding Off-Axis Response

A microphone's polar pattern tells only part of the story. Equally important is how the sound changes when sources are off-axis (not directly in front). Some microphones maintain consistent tonal quality across their pickup pattern, while others sound noticeably different—often duller or more nasal—as you move to the sides.

High-quality microphones typically exhibit smooth off-axis response, meaning sounds arriving from the sides still sound natural, just quieter. Budget microphones may exhibit harsh or unnatural off-axis colouration, which can cause problems when recording multiple sources or when room reflections reach the microphone from various angles.

The Proximity Effect

Directional patterns (cardioid, figure-8, and their variants) exhibit the proximity effect—an increase in bass frequencies as the sound source moves closer to the microphone. This can add warmth and intimacy to vocals but can also cause problematic boominess if not managed properly.

Many voice artists and podcasters use proximity effect creatively, speaking close to the microphone for a rich, broadcast-quality sound. If you find your recordings too bass-heavy, simply increase the distance between yourself and the microphone, or use your audio software's high-pass filter to reduce low frequencies.

Omnidirectional microphones don't exhibit proximity effect, which can be advantageous when you want a consistent, natural sound regardless of distance—particularly useful for lavalier microphones where distance varies with body movement.

Understanding polar patterns empowers you to choose the right microphone for your needs and position it correctly for optimal results. For most Australian content creators starting out, a quality cardioid microphone covers the vast majority of use cases. As your recording needs grow more complex, understanding these patterns helps you make informed decisions about expanding your microphone collection.

Explore microphones with different polar patterns using our comparison tool, or learn more about USB vs XLR connections.