What is a supercardioid microphone?
Web agency » Digital news » What is a supercardioid microphone?

What is a supercardioid microphone?

Supercardioid microphones have a narrower directivity than typical cardioid microphones, meaning they only pick up what's directly in front of them. This makes them great for recording vocals, but poor for capturing audio from a moving source.

If you're looking for a new microphone, you may have noticed the term "supercardioid" being used to describe some microphones. What does this mean and how are these microphones different from other types of microphones?

Microphone Polar Patterns Explained

Supercardioid microphones get their name from their unique "polar pattern" (also known as the "pickup pattern"). A microphone's polar pattern determines how much sound it will pick up from any direction. There are many variations of these polar patterns, but the most common are omnidirectional, figure-8, cardioid, supercardioid, and hypercardioid.

As the name suggests, an omnidirectional microphone will theoretically pick up sound from all directions. The microphone body can interfere with sounds coming from the back of the microphone, but these mics essentially pick up sound equally from every direction. A figure-8 microphone picks up sound from the front and back, but not from either side.

Cardioid microphones pick up sound in front of the microphone and actively reject sound from the sides. Imagine you're speaking into a microphone and then stepping away to either side. With a cardioid mic, your voice volume would drop pretty quickly as you moved sideways.

Due to their design, cardioid microphones are the most sensitive microphones. This makes them popular for vocals and other relatively quiet sources. However, the supercardioid and hypercadioid pickups go even further.

Cardioid or supercardioid microphones

Supercardioid microphones have a narrower polar pattern than a standard cardioid design, which means they pick up even less sound from the sides. This design is even more focused on what's directly in front of the microphone than a cardioid design.

The angle at which a microphone picks up the most sound is called the “acceptance angle”. The acceptance angle of a cardioid microphone is usually around 180 degrees, while supercardioid microphones have a narrower angle of around 150 degrees. Another cardioid variety, hypercardioid microphones, have an even narrower acceptance angle.

Going back to the previous example, if you were speaking into a supercardioid microphone and veered off to one side, your voice would decay even faster. That said, this increased directivity isn't the only difference between cardioid and supercardioid microphones.

Supercardioid microphones have tonal differences from cardioid microphones. This isn't always the case, but supercardioid microphones often have a slightly brighter tone than a standard cardioid microphone, with more treble.

If you've ever spoken into a microphone, you may have noticed that your voice sounds heavier the closer you get to the microphone. This increase in bass as you get closer is known as proximity effect, and it's a problem in cardioid mics as well as their supercardioid and hypercardioid variants.

Due to the increased directivity, the proximity effect is even more noticeable in supercardioid microphones. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it's worth pointing out.

Supercardioid mics are found both in the standard XLR variety and sometimes as USB microphones.

When to use a super cardioid microphone?

There are many instances where you might want to go with a supercardioid microphone over a cardioid one. Specifically, supercardioid microphones make sense anywhere directionality matters.

If you're a vocalist or providing sound for a live band, supercardioid microphones are great for ensuring that only the vocalist's voice is picked up. This keeps other instruments on stage out of the vocal microphone. That said, this directionality is also useful if you're streaming on Twitch and don't want to pick up on your housemates' conversations.

Essential supercardioid vocal mic

Shure Beta 58A

The Shure Beta 58A has a similar look to the company's other iconic vocal microphone, but the supercardioid capsule means it rejects other instruments on stage even better. It's also as rugged as Shure's reputation suggests.

Many microphones used in video production are supercardioid for the same reason. These types of microphones excel at picking up a single person's voice while minimizing background noise.

When should you avoid supercardioid microphones?

One of the main reasons to avoid super-cardioid mics is the proximity effect mentioned above. Not only can this make your voice too bass-heavy, but sensitivity to vocal plosives (think popping sounds like words that end in the letter "p") can be a problem with supercardioid mics.

Second, the directionality means you don't want to use a supercardioid microphone in a situation where the mic is stationary, but the subject is not. A super cardioid microphone will only pick up what's directly in front of it, and any variation in that will make an audible difference.

Finally, supercardioid microphones excel for many uses, but capturing the ambience of a room is not one of them. For any situation where you're trying to pick up the natural reverberation of a room, you're much better off with an omnidirectional mic like the Electro-Voice 635A or even a pair of matched cardioid mics like the Lewitt LCT 040.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★