The Figure 8.... its particular qualities?

[rasputin1963]

I've never sung into a Figure-8 mic, just cardioids and omnis and those Madonna/Britney "headgear lavalier" efforts.

 

What happens with a Figure-8 mic? The output is still mono, right?

 

You get some direct signal (say, a vox) and then some room sound...

 

I would think that only the room sound of a good, treated studio or orchestral hall would sound excellent, no?, in which there could be some delicious natural reverb happening, that would actually be ever-so-slightly delayed, creating a mild chorusing effect with the direct vox signal...

 

If the room in question were entirely dead... or if one were singing in a noisy, populated nightclub, then the effect would kinda be nullified, and there'd be little use for a Figure 8, am I correct?

 

Comments?

[MikeRivers]

 

What happens with a Figure-8 mic? The output is still mono, right?

 

Of course. There's only one output, unless it's a stereo mic, in which case it's two figure-8s.

 

You get some direct signal (say, a vox) and then some room sound...

 

Yup, so the room has to sound good, or at least shouldn't sound bad. And you'll also get some direct sound from anything pointed at the back side of the mic. That's one of its useful, as well as dangerous qualities. You really have to be cognizant of placement in two directions.

 

If the room in question were entirely dead... or if one were singing in a noisy, populated nightclub, then the effect would kinda be nullified, and there'd be little use for a Figure 8, am I correct?

 

Remember, the pattern isn't like a two-dimensional 8, it's like two beach balls touching with the mic in the middle. One of the most useful characteristics of a true bi-directional mic is its almost complete null in the plane of the mic where the two virtual beach balls are kissing it. By taking advantage of the null, you can reduce leakage, or reduce an annoying reflection by pointing the null at it. If I'm recording a singer with an acoustic guitar, I'll often try using a ribbon mic on the guitar, angled so that the voice is mostly in the null, and vice versa for the voice. Sometimes you can get good enough isolation so that you can punch in the vocal without having the vocal leakage on the guitar mic get in the way.

[Dean Roddey]

One important consideration is that some mics might have really strong proximity effect in cardiod modes, but the effect might be much reduced in Omni or F8. So it might be best to use a mode that doesn't give you a huge low end boost if you are going to be singing really close (and not doing a whispery type thing that might benefit from it.)

[claveslave]

John ? Paul. One remarkable use.