output is mono, that’s an indication that you need to make
phase adjustments.
Different types of stereo microphone techniques.
There are over a dozen techniques to record an instrument
in stereo. Let’s look at a few of them which can make
recordings creative and enjoyable for us.
You should be well versed with the different polar patterns
of a microphone. If not please familiarize yourself for better
understanding.
1. Spaced Pair (Also known as A-B pair)
If you are looking for the simplest way to record in stereo,
this is probably the first configuration one would try. The
microphones are positioned similar to how our ears hear
an instrument.
Two cardioid microphones need to be positioned at right
angles. The front of the capsules need to be aligned.
You do not need to be concerned regarding phase issues as
much, because the capsules are positioned close to
each other.
You can increase the angle of the microphones greater than
90 degrees if you want more width in sound. Keep in mind
doing this would reduce the focus on the center.
3. Middle and Side Technique (Mid – Side or M/S
technique)
Image Courtesy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound
If you are looking for a wide stereo spread, one must try
this configuration.
The microphones are ideally placed 50 cm apart from each
other facing the sound source in the same direction. Having
said that one must consider the size of the sound source
being captured. This technique can face a lot of phase
issues and to counter that one can follow the 3 :1 rule.
Place the second microphone 3 times as far as the first
microphone from the sound source
If we are recording the guitar, and the first microphone is
kept 10 meters away from the guitar the second microphone
should be kept 10 meters away from the guitar but 30
meters apart from the first microphone. Image Courtesy – Los Senderos Studio : https://goo.gl/images/3ArN6k
The important factor here is centering and deciding
what sits in the middle of the imaging. If you are recording
drums, one would ideally keep the kick drum in the center. This configuration gives you more control over the width
of the stereo imaging than any other recording technique.
You normally would use matched microphone pairs for
this configuration. It allows you to make adjustment even in the post
production process. This makes it a popular one.
2. X Y Technique (Also known as Coincident Pair) You often use two completely different microphones and
don’t need to opt for a matched pair.
Typically, a cardioid/ hypercardiod microphone is placed
in the center of the sound source.
The Side Microphone must be a figure of 8 microphone and
must be 90 degrees off axis from the sound source.
Both microphones are kept one above the other and and as
close as possible.
The mid microphone acts as a center of the channel
while the side channel picks up information (ambient
and reverberation sound) coming from the sides of the
sound stage.
Image Courtesy – Sweetwater.com : https://goo.gl/images/ai5ZxM
You can start by trying out the above essential techniques
and if recording in stereo does excite you there are some
more techniques we can learn in the time to come!
The
Score Magazine
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