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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: lynchie on April 15, 2026, 09:47:53 AM
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interested in possibly buying a set. What's the best kinda room for omni's?
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I have made a ton of omni recordings. I can point you to some shows. I think they work best in smaller rooms, where you can get reasonably close to the stage. Also, it is good if you can go high with them, to reduce the crowd influence. You'll need a pretty wide bar. I have also used two clamps (or small stand bases) with two extension poles to get good spacing. Obviously, that means more gear; I should buy stock in Manfrotto...
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thinking about buying a set of 4052's. Price is really good. Just not sure how much I'd run them.
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interested in possibly buying a set. What's the best kinda room for omni's?
Kyle likes to use his dpas a lot. so a nice compliment to another pair type thing. I cant recall the last time we only ran omnis. onstage with aboard feed probably
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thinking about buying a set of 4052's. Price is really good. Just not sure how much I'd run them.
4052- DPA? I am bad with these numbers at times.
Yes, I use a DPA SK 4060 set and truly dig them. As aaronji says, you should be prepared to run them a bit wider than on a standard mic bar. Three feet/30" at least.
As kindms says, lately we rarely run them by themselves, typically as a outside pair with another set of cards/hypers in PAS or XY
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I'd say the placement is more important than the room. I use a pair on stage lip as side fill, from further back - spread them out and go high.
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Personally, I really like the sound of omnis. The more open the pattern, the better they sound, in my opinion. In a shitty sounding room with an obnoxious crowd, especially if you can't get close, they are probably not the best option...
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The sound of omnis is amazing. The rest of the challenges make me more likely to grab wide cards.
If you are in an amazing location and can place your mics where you want them, definitely roll Omni.
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they work well in rooms with no walls (or people) ;D
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Agreed with most everything above.
Best in good sounding spaces where a relaxed natural sounding recording with full frequency range works well. Great outdoors when the sound is clear. Outstanding for acoustic / classical music in dedicated halls. Stagelip/onstage almost always works, farther back the quality of room and patrons becomes more influential on the result.
Hard to beat combined with directional mics (or SBD) - can lean harder on the omnis when the acoustics allow, more strongly on the directionals when needed, but almost always end up including at least a bit of both as they tend to complement the each other well and address the other's deficiencies. Provides good bottom extension, 3d "air" and naturalness the directionals often lack on their own. For that reason I run them for everything along with directional mics, even in situations where omnis would ordinarily not be a go-to choice. When it works they are the foundation and often the largest contributor to my mic mix. Omnis in combination with a highly directional pair in the center provides an overall collective pickup pattern similar to wide-cards, variable to taste via mix ratio. The situations in which I tend to use the least from them are small clubs from a recording position midway back in the audience or from the SBD, in which case they might only contribute a little, and on some occasions none at all. I don't tend to like those situations, but its a good option to have.
They tend to sound more relaxed, and less "up front and direct" than directional mics. They take EQ well and a bit of a midrange bump can enhance the sense of proximity and clarity when used on their own, similar to what combining with a directional pair does. If EQing you can manipulate excessive bottom as necessary.
Spacing: 2 feet is my minimum. 3 feet is a good go to and almost always works well. Used in combination with a directional pair in the middle try for 4 feet, 5-6 feet even better great If you can arrange for it. Sufficient spacing improves the feel of the recording and quality of the bass. Good to increase width when recording from farther away. Sufficient width also helps diffuse the portrayal of nearby audience pickup, but as Aaron mentions, hoisting high is usually the best way to deal with audience noise. Classical and studio situations will recommend less spacing, but there's a magic from sufficient omni spacing for live concert taping.
Angling: Why not? Use that little bit of top end directionally they have to advantage. With very tiny lavs it won't matter, but with standard pencil mics it can.
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thanks to all for the input. Still unsure if I'll purchase them, good price, $1500.
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thanks to all for the input. Still unsure if I'll purchase them, good price, $1500.
GREAT price
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someone beat me to them. Oh well. The amount I tape these days, I can find better things to do with $1500.
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they work well in rooms with no walls (or people) ;D
This. I only use omnis outdoors since very few of my recording opportunities are in nice sounding rooms.
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I came in to say a living room, where the people know to shut the heck up.
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:lol:
I came in to say a living room, where the people know to shut the heck up.