C02 Characteristics - Samson C02 Owner's Manual

C02 Characteristics

Every microphone has a characteristic polar pattern that determines how well it
accepts or rejects signal coming from various areas around the microphone. For
example, omnidirectional mics accept all signals regardless of where those sig-
nals originate (in front of the mic, behind it, to the side, etc.).
In contrast, directional cardioid mics are specifically designed to accept mostly
signal coming from directly in front, and to reject signal coming from behind or
from the side. The cardioid pattern is utilized by the C02 (as shown in the illustra-
tion below). For this reason, the C02 excels in environments where there is a
good deal of unwanted ambient sound—it delivers those signals originating
directly in front of the mic capsule itself while rejecting those that originate from
behind.
The polar pattern also determines how prone a particular mic is to inducing feed-
back. Feedback is that characteristic 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. Because the cardioid pattern utilized by the C02 is
so good at rejecting signal not coming from directly in front of the mic, you'll find
that use of the C02 greatly minimizes feedback problems.
C02 Polar Pattern
The C02 can be mounted to any standard microphone stand (using the included
mic clip) or can be handheld. If handheld, take care not to cover the any part of the
head grille with your hand. Be aware of a phenomenon called the proximity effect
which causes a noticeable increase in low frequencies (bass response) when a
microphone is close to the audio source. This can have positive impact—for exam-
ple, it will cause your instrument or voice to sound much fuller when you sing close
to the mic than when you mic it at a distance. The key to developing the best mic
technique is experimentation, along with awareness of the general principle that,
the closer your C02 is to a signal source, the greater the bass response.
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