I am building a studio and have these gorgeous high ceilings with a couple chandeliers. I want to install permanent ceiling mics that capture the reverb of the room so I can add natural reverb to my mix. Is there any microphone that rejects direct sound? Or will I just have to EQ the microphone signal coming into the console?

SOS Forum post

SOS Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: You don’t need mics that reject direct sound, you just need to place your mics beyond what we call the Critical Distance (Dc) in the room — that way, your ‘room reverb’ mics will capture the diffuse sound you seek.

I’d recommend using omnis in the first instance...

Assuming you can place your mics beyond the Dc, I’d recommend using omnis in the first instance, as this will avoid the slightly coloured sound that cardioids typically give in that situation. Option two would be figure‑8 capsules side‑on (so the side null faces the source), although with decent‑quality mics, that’s probably a more expensive solution. My third choice would be cardioids facing away from the direct sound. But in my experience, unless the room is very large indeed, the ‘lovely acoustic’ rarely turns out to be very useful or usable as a mix reverb.