Episode 46: Dont Cup the Mic | MIDWEEK SERVICE

Prentiss Thompson breaks down the mistake of mic cupping . Most microphones have a cardioid pick up pattern which means they take in sound from mostly the front part and reject from the sides and the back parts of the microphone. This type of pattern helps in preventing other sounds from the ambient environment from being picked up, and especially from monitor speakers in front of the performer.

If enough of the same sound that the performer makes gets in from the monitor speakers, you start a feedback loop and that's when you hear the loud squelches and high pitched ear destroying screeches in speakers.

When you cup a microphone, you're essentially changing the pick up pattern and making it what's called omnidirectional. Since you have the cup at the back of mic, you get reflections of the performer and the sound gets pushed back into the mic instead of being rejected, easily creating a feedback loop. No good.