Samson 7KIT User Manual

Page 8

7KIT Microphone Characteristics

Polar Pick-up Pattern

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 wherever those

signals originate (in front of the mic, behind it, to the side, etc.). In contrast, direc-

tional 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

super cardioid pattern is utilized by the QKICK, QSNARE and QTOM (as shown

in the illustrations on the following page). The supper cardioid is a slight variation

of the standard cardioid pattern with a slightly tighter pick-up pattern, which helps

increase the side-to-side rejection giving better isolation from drum to drum. For

this reason, the QKICK, QSNARE and QTOM excel in environments where there

is a good deal of unwanted ambient sound (like a live sound stage)—they deliver

those signals originating directly in front of the mic capsule itself while rejecting

those that originate from behind.

The C02 has a standard cardioid pattern offering good rear rejection, but with a

wider pick-up pattern which make them ideal for miking the cymbals and entire

kit when use as overhead mics.

In addition, the polar pattern also determines how prone a particular mic is to

inducing feedback. 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 pat-

tern utilized by the QKICK, QSNARE, QTOM and C02 is so good at rejecting sig-

nal not coming from directly in front of the mic, you’ll find that using these mics

will greatly minimize feedback problems.

Frequency Response

Each of the QKICK, QSNARE and QTOM microphones have been designed with

a custom frequency response which is ideally tailored for the specific drum it is

going to be place on. The response is created by the careful consideration of the

microphone element and the design of rear porting. The C02 has been designed

to have a flat frequency response with just a slight lift in the highs making it great

for overhead cymbals and hi-hat. You can see the individual frequency response

of each mic included in the 7Kit on the following page.