Owners Manual

6
Using the Polar Patterns
Perhaps the most important aspect of using your C7e, or any other microphone, is to understand its available polar pick
up patterns. Every microphone has a characteristic polar pattern that determines how well it accepts or rejects signal
coming from various areas around the microphone capsule. You can use the C7e’s polar pattern switch to select one of
the three available polar patterns. While there are many types and variations of polar patterns, the C7e provides the
three most important; omnidirectional, bi-directional or figure-eight and unidirectional or cardioid. The Omnidirectional
pattern produces a linear response regardless of where the sound source originates (in front of the mic, behind it, to the
side, etc.). When the C7e is set to the figure-eight pattern the microphone picks up sound directly from the front and
back while rejecting the sound at the sides. When set to Cardioid, the C7e will accept the sound coming from directly in
front, and reject sound coming from behind or from the sides.
While Omni and Bi-directional microphones are very useful for a variety of applications, many miking situations in
recording and live sound applications require uni-directional or cardioid microphones. The cardioid pick-up pattern
allows for better separation of instruments in the studio and more control over feedback in live sound reinforcement.
When positioned correctly, the cardioid pattern allows you to pick up more of the sound you want and less of the sound
you don’t want. In live sound situations, the polar pattern also determines how prone a particular microphone is to
inducing feedback. Feedback is that nasty howling sound that occurs when a mic is placed too close to a loudspeaker—
the signal from the loudspeaker is fed into the mic, then into the loudspeaker, then into the mic, over and over again
until an oscillating tone is generated. The cardioid pattern utilized by the C7e is so good at rejecting signal not coming
from directly in front of the microphone, you’ll find that use of the C7e greatly minimizes feedback problems when used
in live sound applications.
Operating the C7e