What are Polar Patterns?

Polar patterns describe how a microphone picks up sound. Specifically, it is a standardized measurement that describes the sensitivity of the microphone from all directions. The polar pattern is one of the most important specifications for a microphone and can be helpful determining the right microphone for the job as well as achieving optimal performance.

Each microphone has it’s own polar pattern which is unique to its design and characteristics. However, most polar patterns can be placed into 5 different categories of microphones. Although there are many other poplar pickup patterns found in microphones I will only cover what I feel is the most common and can still be applied to microphones that you might sometimes place in a different category of polar pattern. I’ll describe the five most common microphone polar patterns found in the industry today.

Omni-Direction

Omni microphone pick up from all directions equally. The pattern is usually represented by a full circle. Commonly found in lavalier and lapel microphones for TV and film as well as hi fidelity studio situations and measurement tools.

Bi-Directional

Bi-Directional microphones are also sometimes called figure 8 microphones. Sound pickup is equally sensitive in the front and back of the microphones. The sides of the microphone will generally have a high rejection of audio which makes this style of microphone perfect for precise application. The polar patter resembles an 8 and shows equal pickup on opposite poles of the microphone. Most ribbon microphones are bi-directional and almost only used exclusively in the recording studio environment.

Cardioid

The most common pickup pattern is undoubtedly the cardioid microphone. Strong presence in the front of the microphone with a -6db drop at 90 and 270 degrees respectively. This is an ideal pattern for any broad use microphone and can be used in any situation and has excellent gain before feedback. The polar pattern is represented by a heart shape and is one of the most common styles for microphones.

Super-Cardioid

These microphones usually have a specific use in film and TV. They are more directional than cardioid microphones but also pickup directly behind the microphone at 180 degrees while having a steep roll-off of sensitivity on the sides. Commonly found in shotgun microphones and the pattern tends to look like a mushroom.

Lobar

Lobar pattern is also commonly called shotgun pattern because you generally only see this polar pickup pattern in shotgun microphones. These microphones are as unidirectional as it gets and are intended to block as much background noise as possible. The polar pattern is represented by what looks like a stick and is much thinner than a figure 8 polar pattern.