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Main Points
▶ Music recording is foremost about the music; technology is
not the end; it is the means to the end.
▶ Close miking places a mic relatively close to each sound
source or group of sound sources in an ensemble.
▶ Because close miking involves miking most of the instruments
in an ensemble, it means that the three-to-one rule,
or an appropriate variation of it, should be observed to
avoid phasing problems.
▶ Distant miking places a microphone(s) from about three
feet to several feet from the sound source. It picks up a
fuller range and balance of an instrument, or a group of
instruments, and captures more of the studio acoustics for
a more open and blended sound.
▶ Generally, the three distant stereo arrays are coincident,
near-coincident, and spaced miking.
▶ Coincident miking, also called X-Y miking, employs two
matched directional microphones mounted on a vertical
axis—with one mic diaphragm directly over the other—
and angled apart to aim approximately toward the left and
right sides of the sound source. ▶ Near-coincident miking angles two directional
microphones,
spaced horizontally a few inches apart.
▶ Spaced miking employs two matched microphones—unior
omnidirectional—several feet apart, perpendicular to
the sound source and symmetrical to each other along a
centerline.
▶ There are a number of stereo microphone arrays, including
the Blumlein technique, the ORTF method, the OSS or
Jecklin disk, and the Decca Tree.
▶ Accent miking, also known as off-miking, is used to pick up
instruments in an ensemble when they solo.
▶ Ambience miking, used along with distant miking, attempts
to reproduce the aural experience that audiences
receive in a live venue by recording in an acoustically suitable
studio or concert hall.
▶ The closer a mic is to a sound source, the drier, more
detailed, and, more intimate, and, if proximity effect is a
factor, bassier the sound. The farther a mic is from a sound
source, the more diffused, open, less intimate, and ambient
the sound.
▶ Regardless of a directional microphone’s pickup pattern:
the higher the frequency, the more directional the sound
wave and therefore the mic pickup; the lower the frequency,
the more omnidirectional the sound wave and the
mic pickup.
▶ Although close miking may employ a number of microphones,
more is not always better. Each additional mic adds a little more noise to the system, even
in digital
recording, and means another input to keep track of and
control, to say nothing of possible phasing problems.
▶ With most moving-coil mics, the farther from the sound
source they are placed, the more reduced the high frequency
response.
▶ Generally, large-diaphragm microphones are more
suitable in reproducing low-frequency instruments;
small-diaphragm mics are more suitable in reproducing
high-frequency instruments.
▶ Do not confuse perspective with loudness. Loudness aside,
in considering mic-to-source distance, it is hearing more or
less of the ambience that helps create perspective.
▶ In recording drums, tuning the drum set is critical if the
individual elements are to sound good together.
▶ Although the drum set consists of several different-sounding
instruments, it must be miked so that they sound good
individually and blend as a unit.
▶ Because most of an acoustic guitar’s sound radiates from
the front of the instrument, centering a microphone off
the middle of the sound hole should, theoretically, provide
a balanced sound. But if a mic is too close to the hole,
sound is bassy or boomy. If it is moved closer to the bridge,
detail is lost. If it is moved closer to the neck, presence is
reduced. If it is moved farther away, intimacy is affected.
▶ Because the dynamic range of bowed string instruments is
not wide, sound must be reinforced by using several instruments,
multiple miking, or both, depending on the size of
the sound required.
▶ The piano offers almost unlimited possibilities for sound
shaping. More than with many other instruments, the
character of the piano sound is dependent on the quality
of the piano itself.
▶ Because most woodwinds are not powerful instruments,
the tendency is to close-mike them. Due to their sound
radiation, however, this results in an uneven pickup. They
should be miked far enough away so that the pickup
sounds blended and natural.
▶ The loudness and the dynamic range of brass instruments
require care in microphone placement and careful attention
in adjusting levels at the console.
▶ Some electric instruments, such as the bass and the guitar,
can be recorded by miking their amplifi er loudspeaker; by
direct insertion (D.I.), or plugging the instrument into the
console; or by a combination of both.
▶ An alternative to using amplifi ers for an electric guitar or
bass is modeling technology that simulates the sounds of
various makes and models of speaker cabinets.
▶ A variety of software programs make it possible to manipulate
and record the sound of traditional acoustic and electric
instruments in the virtual domain.
▶ Recording a vocalist is a test for any microphone because
the mic must be able to handle the nuances of the singer’s
timbre and dynamics as well as any popping, sibilance, and
breathing sounds. Mic selection and placement depend on
voice quality, style of music, and microphone presence.
▶ Recording music digitally requires the highest-quality microphones
because unwanted noise and other quiet sounds
that are masked in analog recording may be audible in the
digital format.
▶ Because digital recording often reproduces sounds not
audible in analog, the mics used for digital recording must
be of very high quality, generate very low self-noise, be
carefully handled, and be kept in clean, temperature- and
humidity-controlled environments.
▶ Generally, there are two approaches to handling a music
recording for surround sound: direct/ambient surroundsound
miking, using conventional techniques during recording
and applying the surround-sound imaging during
the mix; and the direct surround-sound approach, miking
for surround sound during recording and feeding the signals
directly to the surround-sound channels.
▶ Among the arrangements used for direct/ambient surroundsound miking are the Decca Tree surround, Delos VR
(virtual reality), DMP (Digital Music Products), NHK (Japanese
Broadcasting Corporation), fi ve-channel surround
using a binaural head, double middle-side (M-S), multichannel
microphone array (MMA), and Woszcyk surround microphone techniques.