Anyone doing mid/side recording?

[Bryan T]

With my new microphones I have the capability of recording stereo in a new (to me) way - mid/side. I tried it out on a session last week and was really impressed. I used a Beyer MC930 as the mid mic and an AKG C414 as the side mic.

Basically, the mid microphone points at the source and the side mic - it needs to be a figure-8 mic - points 90 degrees away from the source. After recording, with some clever mixing and polarity flipping you get a great stereo image of the instrument. The benefits are mono compatibility and you can mix in as much of the room sound as you like, which also widens the stereo image.

We used this technique on a lead guitar part and it worked really well in the mix. The guitar could be made to sound wider than a single mic would allow, but we could control the width. Too cool!

Here's a link that tells you how to do it and why it works: http://www.wikirecording.org/Mid-Sid...hone_Technique

Bryan

[zenpicker]

Hi Bry - sounds cool. Any chance of hearing a recording you've done with it, even if rough?

[ljguitar]

Hi Brian...
Where I found mid/side recording most effective was with live acoustic groups...like choirs, orchestra, ensembles, jazz groups, bluegrass acoustic etc.

Recording a bluegrass group mid/side preserved the binaural nature of the stereo, so when a player or singer moved side-to-side while performing - so did their placement in the stereo field. The group was 'lively' and active doing a lot of place switching, so it reflected it well.

For that gig I used a figure 8 for the mid signal as well, one side toward the group and the other to the audience and it was a wonderful recording because of the ease of only managing two signals.

[Bryan T]

Originally Posted by zenpicker

Hi Bry - sounds cool. Any chance of hearing a recording you've done with it, even if rough?

Soon - this recording was for a friend's project, so I don't have any of the audio. I'll do some solo recording to show this technique off. On playback I really got the impression that I was watching a guitarist play.

Bryan

[Bryan T]

One of the reasons that I'm drawn to this type of recording is that even if the room ends up sounding bad, I still have the mid microphone to work with. I did some recording in an X/Y configuration and there wasn't much I could do when I realized (after the fact) that I didn't care for the sound of the room.

Bryan

[billgennaro]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Brian...
Where I found mid/side recording most effective was with live acoustic groups...like choirs, orchestra, ensembles, jazz groups, bluegrass acoustic etc.

Recording a bluegrass group mid/side preserved the binaural nature of the stereo, so when a player or singer moved side-to-side while performing - so did their placement in the stereo field. The group was 'lively' and active doing a lot of place switching, so it reflected it well.

For that gig I used a figure 8 for the mid signal as well, one side toward the group and the other to the audience and it was a wonderful recording because of the ease of only managing two signals.

i agree with larry. M/S is great for the situations he refers to. i tried it in my small bedroom studio (12x10) on a single source (acoustic guitar) but didn't find it to be an improvement. i did like the control of the stereo image alot though. glad it worked well for you. maybe i should give it another try.

bill

[Bryan T]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

i agree with larry. M/S is great for the situations he refers to. i tried it in my small bedroom studio (12x10) on a single source (acoustic guitar) but didn't find it to be an improvement. i did like the control of the stereo image alot though. glad it worked well for you. maybe i should give it another try.

bill

This recording was in a pretty big space - 20 foot ceilings and hundreds of square feet. I'm curious to try it in a smaller room. I'm building several acoustic baffles to minimize room sound in the smaller room, so we'll see if M/S gets me anything in that situation. If it doesn't, I'll probably use the Beyer at the neck and the AKG on the body, mixed for a mono sound.

Bryan

[Jeff G]

I have used Mid-side and it works. You do get a lot of room with it.

I have become rather fond of ORTF recording. I have done a lot with it recording our local Symphony(before they lost their funding).

Here is a link to a couple of pieces I recorded of them. These were done direct to CD using an ORTF pair and a solo mic in the center. The mics are not expensive(although I did alter the ORTF mics--$12 in parts and 10 minutes each).

Symphonic recordings

For guitar work. I like one on the neck and one on the body.. Move them around until they sound good. Every guitar is different.

[Bryan T]

Originally Posted by Jeff G

For guitar work. I like one on the neck and one on the body.. Move them around until they sound good. Every guitar is different.

Will you pan the two mics or mix them for a mono signal?

Bryan

[Jeff G]

Originally Posted by Bryan T

Will you pan the two mics or mix them for a mono signal?

Bryan

I pan them, but hard left and right. It gives a fuller sound.
I have also heard excellent acoustic recordings using a single mic. it all depends on the sound you want.

NOTE--edit. I pan them, but NOT hard left and right.... duhhh...

[tgm]

I've been using MS lately. A CAD M179 as the figure-8 and MXL 603 as the center. I've been liking it a lot since I haven't really found a good sound with XY or spaced pair.
Right now, I'm sold.

[Jeff G]

I meant... I pan them but NOT hard left and right.. duh...
Need to learn to read my own posts..

[Bryan T]

Originally Posted by Jeff G

I meant... I pan them but NOT hard left and right.. duh...
Need to learn to read my own posts..

My experience with using mismatched mics and panning them is that I end up with a 'hole' in the center of the stereo image and one side ends up being overly bassy. I'll do some more experimenting.

Bryan