Microphone placements

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Mic placement tips and hints Harvey Gerst says: I've said a million times, mic placement is much more critical than mic selection. My dad said: "I've told you a million times, never exaggerate".

Vocals This is where the art lies (forgetting, for a moment, the somewhat critical role of the vocalist). A good beginning point is to position the mic so that the diaphragm is slightly above and facing the singer's mouth. This not only helps keep the singer's throat open, it also lessens sibilance and plosives. Start with a distance of about 6-12 inches between singer and mic, and adjust to taste. If you've got a quiet or breathy singer, having the mic too far away will rob the sound of presence, with the added risk of too much room tone. Bring the mic in close for a present, intimate sound. Conversely, the singer who really belts it out can make close miking a real challenge - plosives, excess sibilance, and overload could ruin an otherwise-excellent take. Move the talent back or pad the mic for a better overall sound. Drum kit mics Bass/kick drum General principles: The closer you place a mic to the beater, the less bass you will have. Also, avoid getting too extreme with the EQ knobs on the board channel. Many drummers max out the bass knob, to get a big, punchy sound, but turning the bass knob beyond 3 o'clock is asking for trouble. With a mic designed for bass drum frequencies, such extreme board EQ settings will not be necessary. bass drum with a hole in the head great for getting an open, contemporary sound. Placement: 1-12" inside the sound hole Position: Parallel to the floor Angle: Aimed off center. Do not point at the beater   with front head off good for a general purpose drum sound with plenty of attack. Placement: Midway between the beater and the bottom of the drum Position: Parallel to the floor Angle Aimed off center. Do not point at beater   with the front head on perfect for the classic traditional sound. Especially good for jazz. Placement: 10-14" in front of drum, off center, 6-8" high Position: 11 o'clock or 1 o'clock Angle: 90 degrees, parallel to the ground Obscure Marshall info Stereo Mic techniques I really like Stereo recording (as opposed to close micing and mixing). It sounds great, if you have great singers/muscians. Common Stereo setups include: Coincident: Microphone diaphragms are located within the same vertical plane. Sound waves reach both capsules at the same time, so direction cues are limited to intensity. Blumlein (Blumlein Crossed Figure-Eights Technique): Two bidirectional (figure-8,bi-polar) microphones crossed at 90 degrees, aimed toward 45 degrees left and right of the sound source. 2 figure-8 (bi-polar) X-Y: Two cardioid mics placed facing each other at 90 degrees. The center of the sound source situated at the apex of this angle. 2 cardioids with heads nearly touching 90 degrees included angle for cardiods 110 degrees (hyper-cardioids) M-S (middle-side): Stereo mic placement technique. Stereo spread can be adjusted after the tracks are recorded. Pretty cool, eh? Cardiod mic is placed toward the sound source (M, Mid, Middle, Mono). Figure-8 mic is positioned so that the two lobes of this pattern are directed towared the sides (S,Side,Stereo). Near-Coincident: Microphones positioned within the same horizontal plane. Timing difference in when signal reaches each mic provides the spacial placement clues. ORTF ( Office de Radiodiffusion Television Francaise): Developed by the French national broadcasting system. 2 cardiods aimed apart Heads 17 cm apart 110 degrees included angle Overall coverage = 180 degrees NOS: Dutch Broadcasting System. two cardiods 90 degrees included angle 30 cm apart Overall coverage = 160 degrees . Spaced Micing Techniques: Two or more microphones spaced several feet apart. A-B Technique: Spaced technique utilizing omni-directional microphones. Creates a center phantom image. Good presence and ambient space reproduction. Often used to record large ensembles particularly in jazz and classical music. Poor mono compatibility, lots of potential for comb filtering and other phase problems.