Stereo Mic Techniques

11811

Just wondering which stereo mic techniques do you guys use? Or which ones you find you get the best results from?

For any sort of recording really, Drum overheads, location recording, Choirs etc...

SeanHurley

For a very quick and phase accurate result you can't go far wrong with X/Y. It does lack the width of other techniques but it is simple to set up and get great results from.

That being said, it really does depend on what you are recording and more importantly the material you are recording.

counterpointaud

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studiorat

Drum overheads is a very different kettle of worms to other stereo techniques like choir and orchestra etc.

I've always found the x/y technique to be more accurate with a better focus than spaced techniques. Spaced techniques are more diffuse, for a choir for instance I'd usually use spaced because you are less likely to pick out specific voices in the choir than with x/y. For small groups I'd use x/y because that's what you want to hear, each instrument distinctly, larger ensembles usually need to be heard as more of an ensemble than a group of players if you know what I mean.

With over heads I usually mic over the cymbals and use mono ambiences and pan the stereo.

ZV Yoda

studiorat wrote: »

Drum overheads is a very different kettle of worms to other stereo techniques like choir and orchestra etc.

......

With over heads I usually mic over the cymbals and use mono ambiences and pan the stereo.

Can you explain that a bit more?... always interested in anything related to improving overhead sounds...

Bluebirdstudios

It's not easy to say which technique is best suited to stereo recording the examples you've given - too many variables !All will work well if done correct but equally be poor if executed badly the trick is to try all and get to know their imaging.
Its always good to have this technics well practiced.

But to give some sort of helpfull answer .On mix sessions I get sometimes the stereo recordings are almost too wide with very little focus on the centre material.
The technical terms would be that the difference material (wide field) are well captured and the sumed ( mono ) is sort off cloudy not focused.

PS note the pan pot can't really rectify this problem I say this because when I bring it to the original engineer attention they nearly always suggest using the pan pots to bring the summed material back into focus - doesn't really work for a number of reasons.

So I suppose my tip is try and anticipate as close as posible the image and position you want for final mix ex.( 40% left 20% right ) ( 100% left 100% right ) (60% left 0% right) etc .that will guide you better to which technique is the best choice // not easy I know !!
- Declan Lonergan

studiorat

@YODAHoping not to go too OT.
i and i usually try and get cymbal sounds in terms of timbre instead of stereo image. So if I can I use a mic with a hypercardioid pattern as the pattern is narrower. I just pan them on the desk then, they are never too loud anyway. so they don't usually sound too weird. This could be bollocks but it seems to work. I've got good results stereo micing the kit from behind too, one mic about a foot back from the floor tom pointing at the snare and rack tom and another about the same height on the hi hat side too.

Don't forget mono overheads are really great too, you can spot mics for the cymbals but there's usually enough spill from the toms etc to give you a feel of the width of the kit.

ZV Yoda

studiorat wrote: »

@YODAHoping not to go too OT.
i and i usually try and get cymbal sounds in terms of timbre instead of stereo image. So if I can I use a mic with a hypercardioid pattern as the pattern is narrower. I just pan them on the desk then, they are never too loud anyway. so they don't usually sound too weird. This could be bollocks but it seems to work. I've got good results stereo micing the kit from behind too, one mic about a foot back from the floor tom pointing at the snare and rack tom and another about the same height on the hi hat side too.

Don't forget mono overheads are really great too, you can spot mics for the cymbals but there's usually enough spill from the toms etc to give you a feel of the width of the kit.

Cheers for that... when you say mono mics, you mean treating each cymbal as an individual instrument (as opposed to using 2 mics to get a stereo picture of the kit?)... if so, that might be an interesting approach for me - since my room doesn't have great acoustics. I imagine it might make life easier for using Drumagog etc too.

Jeez, this stuff never stops! DaDumTish could be on the money with the VDrums option..

studiorat

ZV Yoda wrote: »

when you say mono mics, you mean treating each cymbal as an individual instrument (as opposed to using 2 mics to get a stereo picture of the kit?)...

I guess so. But I still have to bear in mind the stereo thing, but not too much. No bits of string or any of that carry on. None of the mics are really a single instrument there's always phase and a certain amount of the stereo image to look out for. But I am looking for timbre first and stereo shiznit second.

Try a mono overhead about 3 drumsticks height over the snare, then if possible change the pattern and listen to the difference. A good ribbon is ideal for this kind of technique.

Has anyone tried Mid Side over the kit?

Funnily enough for choirs I'd probably start with four across the front, SATB. And stereo for some ambience. Though I believe middle and side works really well for choral recording but I have not had the nerve to try it out in anger in case it doesn't work at all!!

Ronan Murphy

I often use spaced pairs for drum overheads and pianos, but beyond that I usually use XY pairs. They are not the most dramatic sounding, but has very stable imaging and great mono compatibility.

madtheory

studiorat wrote: »

Has anyone tried Mid Side over the kit?

Funnily enough for choirs I'd probably start with four across the front, SATB. And stereo for some ambience. Though I believe middle and side works really well for choral recording but I have not had the nerve to try it out in anger in case it doesn't work at all!!

I've occasionally re arranged the choir to get a better balance, usually when they're short of basses and/ or tenors, which is a common enough problem.

I love the sound of a Decca Tree on big ensembles, it sounds expensive. M/S is nice too.

I tried M/S once on a kit- Coles 4038 and an Audio Technica MB3000L dynamic. Didn't like it. Same thing sounds super on upright pianos though. Before I knew what I was doing, I got a great "old" sound with a pair of Coles 4038 as a spaced pair. Doesn't make sense technically. Gave a godo tone, slightly weird image though if you listened closely.