Does the directional characteristic make a difference in the sound of the mic?
Absolutely! Mics that hear equally from all directions (omnidirectional) have an open and natural sound. They’re used frequently in the studio any time the engineer wants to include the sound of the room in the recording. The danger in using an omnidirectional mic is that any room sound (ambience) that is recorded is there to stay. For most people it’s safer to record with a more directional microphone (cardioid or hypercardioid) and add any ambient sound artificially during mixdown. Proximity effect is the cause of the boomy, bass-heavy sound we hear when a voice or instrument is close to the mic (within less than a couple inches or so). Omnidirectional mics don’t suffer from the proximity effect like cardioid and hypercardioid mics do. Therefore, in the studio we often use an omnidirectional mic to record a lead vocal at close distance. Using this technique, we can capture a clean and open sound without the overwhelming low end that’s caused by the proximity effect. The KSM44 is an e
