Tracking and Mixing M-S Mic Setup for Acoustic Guitar + Vox

Hi,

Recently I have been getting into Mid-Side recording as a means to capture an entire acoustic performance. Normally this is me playing acoustic guitar and singing.

(If anyone doesn't know what I am talking about, you take a figure-8 pattern mic and turn it through 90 degrees and point it at your sound source. On top of the fig. 8 mic, you point a cardioid mic directly at the sound source. Record 2 tracks of the fig. 8 mic, flip the phase of one of the tracks and pan them hard L and R. Mute the fig.8 mics, bring up the level of the cardioid. Sounds pretty crap and boomy, slowly bring up the fig. 8 mic tracks, (lock the faders), and grow astonished at the detailed, 3D sound stage you just recorded. Spooky. Also known as a "Blumlein" configuration after the inventor - Alan, I believe...)

I can successfully mic up my guitar for either a good strummed or finger-picked sound by itself -- but when I try to sing at the same time, I end up chasing my tail with EQ at the mix stage... Make the guitar sound good, vocals suck - make the vocals good... you get the picture.

I know I can just overdub the vocal later, but I am attempting to improve my performance skills -- one man and a guitar style -- hence the need to track it all at once.

I have now setup downstairs in my lounge room - 12ft ceilings, wood floors - no acoustic treatment apart from bookcases and couches. Despite the lack of acoustic treatment in the room, it still sounds better than my dead control room/vocal booth upstairs, (1154 cubic feet of 'box'...).

I am using a Maton Jumbo EAJ-85, a Rode Classic II and a Studio Projects C1 into a VTB-1, through a M-Audio Audiophile USB.

I would like to know if anyone else makes use of this style of technique and some of your thoughts on the following questions I have been debating with myself -

1. Is it OK to apply EQ to the fig. 8 mic tracks independently of EQ I apply to the cardioid mic? I am concerned about phase anomalies and wonder whether I should be applying it to the group of tracks... But if the mics aren't matched, then so what?

2. Is it OK to send different amounts of fig 8 vs cardioid mic to a reverb bus? Or again, am I on a recipe for phase anomaly disaster land?

3. Same question but regarding compression.

Any concrete recommendations or idle speculation more than appreciated!

Thanks,

Q.

I don't use M-S mic techniques, but I do use them in mixing. It's a great way to test and position or re-position sounds in the stereo field. One of its best aspects is that you can eq and work with the two sides differently. I don't know about reverb on the M channel, but the S channel is essentially the subtraction of the stereo information from your signal, so that's where I tend to want the ambience.

I haven't run into phase problems with MS techniques, it's usually the opposite. Two quick and dirty checks: when running a normal stereo signal through an MS phase plugin, the S channel should be significantly lower than the M channel, if not something weird and probably anti-phase is going on. 2) Check things periodically by hitting the Mono button on the mix bus -- if the summed signal drops you have a phase issue.

Again, my experience isn't with the micing side, so I'm not sure what parts apply.

Regards,

Joe Tabby