Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy4
Hi Doug, From your earlier post:
I usually place spaced pairs about 15 inches apart, which would mean 5 inches or closer to the guitar. That may work, but its pretty close! I'm usually more like 8 to 10 inches these days, and that's still close.
That's EXACTLY the kind of detail I'm looking for. Especially if we're talking about a 3:1 violation I'm looking for what HAS worked. I'd love it if a more realistic distance was something like 16" apart and 8" out, centered over the sound hole to avoid the bass build-up. I'm just going to have to try it out, but I'm still open for schoolin'.
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Yep, I'd spend lots of time actually trying things. Post your tests, and hopefully people will comment in them and point out any issues.
Mic setup is a series of tradeoffs, especially in a home environment. As I said, I don't worry about hard-and-fast measurements like a 3-1 rule. Maybe 5 inches away doesn't work for me - too much proximity effect - but if I move out to 12 inches, maybe 3 feet apart doesn't work for me - too wide, or the wrong placement for the guitar. So, I don't get a ruler out and measure. What I want is a sound that has the same levels on each side, and sounds balanced (it's possible to have the meters say levels are matched, but have the sound pull to one side, and vice versa). I want the sound to be fairly direct (close micing), but not overly boomy or too in your face (from being too close). I want some "air" which comes from some room sound and from being back far enough to let the guitar sound come together nicely, but not so much room sound that the guitar sounds distant. I want the mics to be in phase, so that I don't get a bad sound in mono, but I want a spacious sound, which comes in part from allowing natural phase differences to occur. And I want a sound that captures the true sound of my guitar, but that hopefully sounds bigger, better, fuller, warmer, richer....
So I want a sound that is balanced, focused but spacious, big but not cavernous, not too distant and not too close, etc, but "just right". In the effort to get there, I use lots of meters, including phase meters, and lots of back and forth listening (see Scott's 4+ hours per week. Do that every week for a year :-). Record, listen, move an inch, record, listen, endlessly. When I find a sound that works, including not having any obvious phase issues, I'm happy. I would never get a ruler out and say "Crap, I'm getting a great sound, but I've violated the 3-1 rule, can't have that" :-) If it sounds good, it is good. But you have to train yourself to know what's good (and learn what you like), and to hear certain things you might not notice unless someone points them out, like phase issues.