Xy microphone placement books

Position the microphones so that each one is at a 45degree angle, pointed down at the drum kit, approximately 7 or 8 feet above the floor or drum riser. The 3to1 rule is another guide for microphone placement. Nos belgium radio technique is 90 degrees pattern but spread apart 30cm. A pair of dpa 2011c small disphragm cardioid condenser mikes arranged as an xy stereo pair figure 2. Im a big fan of ortf for more intricate ambience recordings although, as nathan said, it can be a bit distracting. It produces an honest, not overly hyped stereo image. There are several classes of microphone placement for recording and amplification. So lets dive into the three most common stereo techniques for recording acoustic guitar. Mic placement outdoors is a lot more difficult because you have nothing to hang microphones from to get enough distance over the crowd. The articulating design of the mba28 provides a maximum horizontalvertical arm reach of 28, giving users convenient flexibility with their mic placement. If you dont like the resultant sound, then move the mic or swap it with another.

Mic placement has arguably the largest impact on your recorded guitar sound. Blumlein stereo miking involves placing two figure8 microphones at right angles to one another with the diaphragms as close together as possible. The builtin xy microphones capture sound with beautiful stereo imaging. Ambient miking can really make your drum sound even when youre not blessed with the greatest of spaces. Correct microphone positioning is one of the most important ways to enhance recognition accuracy. Microphone sensitivity is a physical characteristic of a microphone. As a general disclaimer, every instrument, musician, and room is different. Microphone selection, placement, and setup starleaf. Xy stereo tends to pick up less of the room than the previously described techniques, and so can be useful in smaller rooms, or for discriminating against audience pickup in live concert performances. Discover the industry secrets to recording crisp, rich instrument tracks and vocals in any type of recording environment. And the 160degree wideangle lens excels in an array of lighting conditionswhether youre filming at home, in. Professional microphone techniques mix pro audio david mileshuber, philip williams on.

It also looks prettier than xy in my book, if that counts for anything. Youll get tips on what type of mics to use, how far from the guitar to place the mics, and where to angle them for the best sound. Next to microphone placement and distance considerations, the type of microphone you choose for miking the choir can be the most important decision you make. This mic placement was something which paul white mentioned might be worth experimenting with in his pianorecording article back in sos october 1994, the idea being that it picks up a more mellow sound from the soundboard.

A quick introduction to common mic placement techniques. It is intended to prevent destructive combfiltering from occurring. If your recording involves multiple instruments, you may want to record the guitar in mono, using a single mic. Quickly finding the optimum position for a mic is perhaps the single most useful talent an engineer can have.

You should always trust your ears and begin by listening to how the instrument sounds, find the sweet spot, and begin your microphone placement there. Spaced pair stereo microphone considerations dummies. The easiest way to set these patterns up quickly is to have some poster board with a pattern drawn out. The microphone ill be speaking to in these examples is the warm audio wa87. Tascam tm2x stereo plugin microphone has many useful and convenient functions for high quality recording straight to your dslr camera. How to record heavy drums xy overhead technique a basic instructional video on how to mic your overheads with the xy technique. Using stereo overhead miking techniques to supplement a. Nov 16, 2010 eliminate micplacement guesswork with the shavering technique.

The gain setting in the dsp input block defines the amount of analog preamp gain or input gain which is applied to the mic input channel. My favorite single point microphone is the sanken css5. To do this place a matched pair of microphones at a 90 degree angle about 3 feet above the kit, with the diaphragms almost touching. Xy coincident stereo miking consists of using two microphones that are placed right next to each other so that the diaphragms are as close together as possible without touching one another. This article breaks down mic placement to the individual drum pieces. Close miking is when you use your microphone, you guessed it, close to the instrument. Learning how to use the gear you own is essential, so lets dig into some of the most commonly used mic placement techniques for vocals, acoustic guitars and drums. The starleaf telepresence microphone 0155 effectively picks up participants of all volumes from a circle with radius 1. It should be centered in front of the choir and aimed at the last row. This allows for a greater spread than the xy technique while still yielding a fairly monocompatible signal. Home recording for musicians for dummies, 4th edition. Experiment with distances and microphone placement.

With up to 24bit96k recording and onboard highfidelity ad conversion, your ixy recordings are rich, smooth and accurate. One of the confusing things about stereo microphone techniques is the extent of alternative nomenclature used for the various techniques. Posted on october 31, 2012 by admin under how to mic pianos. A good starting point is to aim the mic at the point where the neck meets the body.

How to mic a symphony orchestra with ab stereo recording. Professional studio condenser microphone computer pc microphone kit with 3. This book tries not only to preserve for history the techniques and methods of the recording. The capsules are spaced about 17cm, or just over 6. Popular microphone techniques for vocals, guitars and. These placement tips can help you get started but there are multiple ways to mike any instrument, and the mics you select will affect the optimal placement for a given application. Eliminate micplacement guesswork with the shavering technique. This one is extremely simple to set up just position two cardioid mics usually smalldiaphragm condensers at right angles, aligning the front of the capsules, and youre good to go. And it would take a lot of talent to mess up the 90 degree placement. The mba38 provides 38 of horizontalvertical arm reach and gives users flexibility to achieve optimal microphone placement.

Place the microphone element to the side of your mouth to avoid noise from breathing. While xy recording requires a matched pair of microphones to create a consistent image, ms recording often uses two completely different mics, or uses similar microphones set to different pickup patterns. Once here was a very good experience of brass quintet recording with a microphone three xy, when the musicians were placed around it. This clip holds two neumann km184 microphones in an 90 degree xy micing formation.

While you should always experiment with placement and mic choice, generally speaking you will want to use a pair of unidirectional condenser mics placed close to the instrument approximately 6 to 12 inches away. Overhead mic placement left to right you could start by simply centering the overhead mics over the drum kit using an xy or ortf pair note. Zoom meetings will go better with these 6 tips to look. Xy micing is a coincident stereo micing technique that relies on directionality of audio source over time arrival differences, since the capsules are so close together. For these examples, well look at a few common sources that benefit from the use of condenser microphones. Another popular method is using an xy microphone placement with two smalldiaphragm condenser microphones. Microphones, microphone techniques, and their impact on the final mix. In this configuration, a cardioid microphone can cover up to 1520 voices, arranged in a rectangular or wedgeshaped section. Microphone choice and placement secrets for recording. The samson mba38 microphone boom arm is a highlyadjustable microphone desktop stand perfect for any radio, podcast, broadcast, or streaming setup. In this series, we show you how to zero in on the best mic placement using the xy miking technique for recording acoustic guitar. When simply recording choirs, it is often nice to use an omnidirectional or cardioid microphone pattern. Place the two mics around a foot from the acoustic guitar or other sound source.

Mar 16, 20 each microphone setup produces different results and will suit the style of different types of genres, for example jazz drums will typically only use three, two or even one mic setup, as a jazz drumkit is often just a stripped down version of a standard kit setup therefore less mics are required to capture the natural sound of the kit. This x y stereo microphone records pristine sound that fits naturally with the recorded video plus it easily mounts and connects to your dslr camera. Proximity effect as you move a microphone closer to the source, bass frequencies increase as distance. Home recording for musicians for dummies, 4th edition add to cart. Microphones, microphone techniques, and their impact on the final mix corbett, ian on. Best book on mic placement looking for a really good book with pics about mic placement on many sources. We take a practical look at the pros and cons of coincident and spaced stereo miking techniques. Microphone technique is largely a matter of personal taste. Spacedpair stereo miking involves placing two microphones at a distance in front of the instruments that you want to record and at a distance from one another. Mic placement outdoors is a lot more difficult because you have nothing.

To set this up, youll need two preferably identical microphones with cardioid polar patterns placed as close together as possible, but with their capsules at a 90. Five techniques for stereo miking drums shure blog. Secrets of mic placement quickly finding the optimum position for a mic is perhaps the single most useful talent an engineer can have. This placement is almost as easy and straightforward as xy, but with a wider spread and greater depth. Sep 11, 2014 stereo microphone techniques spaced pair or non coincident pair ab the spaced pair technique is commonly used in drum overhead microphone placement time should be given to correct placement as this is the most critical part of your overall drum sound always check the phase of the microphones and mono compatibility i. The musicians cheat sheet for stereo micing patterns. Samson s mba28 microphone boom arm is the perfect microphone accessories for any radio, podcast or home studio setup. You can explore many variations on the standard xy stereo mic technique by making the angle of the mics greater than 90 degrees. Xy, also known as a coincident pair, is a popular method of stereo miking. When using two microphones for a stereo array, distance is also an important factor with regards to amplitude. Wider angles can also be used, for a wider stereo image. With the release of the im2x ipod touch, iphone and ipad stereo microphone, tascam has once again introduced another musthave essential to your ios accessory collection. The same combination can be placed inside the ensemble, while the central microphone may be directed in a direction opposite the other two. Once you get the hang of it you wont ever like going back to doing just simple stereo techniques like xy.

Xy stereo miking is the most common type of stereo microphone setup and the one that youll likely use if you do stereo miking. The rode ixy is the ultimate recording microphone for iphone or ipad. Using a simple stereo bar, its easy to get an xy pair going with a single mic stand. Adding to the confusion is the fact that some sources use the term ab also written as ab to refer to this category and typically refer to the coincident category as x y also written as xy. The final topics of discussion in this introductory studio basics is are extremely important ones. The mid microphone is set up facing the center of the sound source. Back in the 1960s, spiderman and superman comic books from the usa had a middle section of pinkpaper advertisements for pretty unbelievable technical gadgets.

You will also need two identical mic preamps, with identical gain and other settings dialed up on each. In an ortf pair, its the backside of the microphones that are near touching, rather than the frontside. A quick introduction to common mic placement techniques june 27, 2017 by soundfly team 0 this article is courtesy of soundflys free course series any sound will do, which features essential tips and strategies on creating music from found sounds and sampled sources by youtube star andrew huang and ableton certified trainer brian jackson. He has written more than articles and six books on recording and. In xy the capsule are as close as you can get without touching at a 90 degree perpendicular placement. Xy stereo mic technique requires a pair of closely matched cardioid condenser microphones, or a suitable xy stereo microphone. In close miking, a microphone is placed relatively close to an instrument or sound source, within three to twelve inches, producing a dry or nonreverberant sound. Even slight variations can deteriorate accuracy significantly. The rode nt4 stereo condenser mic actually has its capsules set up like this permanently. Jun 23, 2011 because the microphones are far apart, ab arrays are susceptible to comb filtering. Grand piano recording studio microphone experiment mid side, xy. Point one of the microphones toward the soundhole of the acoustic guitar, and another toward the neckbody join. Sep 20, 2012 lets get into some microphone placement techniques. Microphone placement on macbook pro 15 macrumors forums.

Mar 06, 2015 grand piano recording studio microphone experiment mid side, xy, mono, pairs, hear them all. The middle side technique is definitely the most complicated but it has its benefits. Some of these microphone placement suggestions can be used in live applications, as well as for studio recording. After three hardware repairs and a newly confirmed issue with my current macbook pro 15 late 2008, apple is replacing my computer with a brand new macbook pro 15 late 2011 and also upgrading me to the antiglare display at no extra cost. Guidelines to a successful ambient recording of a full classical orchestra using ab stereo the overall aim when recording large orchestras using just a main stereo pair is to faithfully reproduce the instruments, the tonal balance of the orchestra, the directivity of instrument sections and the concert hall in which the orchestra is to be recorded. Jan 10, 2018 in the event you have neither type of microphone, just make sure that the mics that you use are identical models and dont forget to engage the lowfrequency rolloff switch if the mic has one. Acousticsmicrophone technique wikibooks, open books for an. Popular microphone techniques for vocals, guitars and drums. In practice, however, specific differences may arise between the two systems. The blumlein stereo microphone technique is named after alan dower blumlein, who patented this approach in 1931. Grand piano recording studio microphone experiment mid side. Example of xy stereo miking technique using shure a27m. This is a very popular way to record acoustic guitars, among other acoustic instruments.

Youre probably miking drums wrong, and how to fix it. This rule states that if you measure the distance from the sound source e. For now, though, im just going to keep this on a basic level. Theres a lot of info and some great books out there on the subject, so definitely do so some research. Assuming youre using a dynamic microphone such as a shure sm57, here are some general rules and guidelines to keep in. Its a classic nashville recording technique, although its popular all over. Record each mic to its own track, balance levels as desired, and pan opposite each other to taste. In part one of this series i discussed placement of microphones. How to mic a piano a simple guide to microphone placement. The zoom q2n gives you a fast and easy way to create hd videos with highimpact audio.

Xy and ms microphone techniques can be considered theoretically equivalent, that is, both signal formats can be transformed into each other, assuming ideal microphone characteristics. In the xy techniques, the microphones would ideally be in exactly the same place, which is not possible if they. When recording in stereo, a common approach is to arrange two matched microphones in the socalled xy configuration. The risk can be mitigated somewhat by keeping the two microphone capsules equidistant from the center of the snare drum but even then, the mic placement should be auditioned in mono to reveal possible problems with the kick, toms, or cymbals. The coincident placement of the two mic elements ensures good mono compatibility. In an ideal world, wed always be able to record drums in a greatsounding room one of a decent size that, with just a little knowledge of mic technique, makes it almost effortless to capture the sound of a live drum kit, enhanced with nice room ambience. For less than what most manufacturers charge for a single cardioid condenser microphone, the nt4 is capable of capturing clean, bright sound, whether its music or backgroundsambience for film. Its all about clothing, lighting, camera placement and looking the webcam in the eye, says author larry becker of the book great on camera. Spinning off the popular january 2012 release of the im2 stereo ab microphone, tascam features an xy mic placement in the im2x model. Join renowned audio engineer bobby owsinski as he walks through the process of miking and tracking a complete song by underground sun recording artist iyeoka and alist session musicians in a topoftheline studioin a way that is applicable to any recording space and. Make sure the side mic is set to the figure of 8 polar pattern, and that it is placed so that the lobes of the pattern are facing either side of the sound source with what is normally the front side of the mic facing to the right.

Mic it microphones, microphone techniques, and their. Place two smalldiaphragm condenser microphones on an xy stereomicrophone holder bar. Stereo miking techniques for acoustic guitar universal audio. X y stereo miking is the most common type of stereo microphone setup and the one that youll likely use if you do stereo miking. Microphone selection and placement universal audio. How to record heavy drums xy overhead technique youtube. Note the stereo bar and single mic stand as shown in the images above, a stereo bar is commonly used to help facilitate the placement of the two microphones. X y stereo miking is the most common type of stereo microphone setup. The middle mic will usually be in a cardioid pattern. There exist a number of welldeveloped microphone techniques used for recording musical. It describes the output voltage of the microphone in response to sound.

One of the best methods for overhead miking is to use the xy configuration, which provides a good stereo image of the kit, without any phase problems. Close miking, or spot miking, distant miking and finally ambient miking. This coincident pair microphone setup is especially useful when time is short and space is limited. X y coincident stereo miking consists of using two microphones that are placed right next to each other so that the diaphragms are as close together as possible without touching one another. Now that you have narrowed down the selection, and your microphone is ready for action, consider the following.

In this configuration, a cardioid microphone can cover up to 1520 voices, arranged in a rectangular or wedgeshaped. There are two broad systems of stereophonic recording techniques used to attain these objectives. If youre like most engineers, then the xy technique is probably the first stereo miking technique you learned. Midside mic technique explained stereo recording 101. The angle is slightly wider than that of xy, at 110 degrees.

Point a large diaphragm condenser microphone at the bridge of the guitar, approximately 12 inches from the guitar. The two microphones are mounted on separate stands, one above the other. Thats audio engineering for you, creating some great sounds with careful placement and ingenious mic techniques. Jun 27, 2017 a quick introduction to common mic placement techniques june 27, 2017 by soundfly team 0 this article is courtesy of soundflys free course series any sound will do, which features essential tips and strategies on creating music from found sounds and sampled sources by youtube star andrew huang and ableton certified trainer brian jackson. Aes elibrary xy and ms microphone techniques in comparison. Microphone placement is very important with regards to tonality and timephase coherence. Ortf is not only at a 110120 degree angle but the microphones themselves are 17cm apart. For one microphone picking up a typical choir, the suggested placement is a few feet in front of, and a few feet above, the heads of the first row. This serves to reduce extraneous noise, including room reverberation, and is commonly used when attempting to record a number of.