Microphone Techniques
This is an absolute GEM! Nice, concise and straight to the point. I've tried some of these (for harmonica and acoustic bass) and they work a treat so I just have to share!
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POPULAR MIC TECHNIQUES FOR STUDIO RECORDING
by Bruce Bartlett
Nothing has more effect on the sound of your recordings than
microphone technique. For example, which mic you choose -- and
where you place it -- affects the recorded tone quality. That
is, mic technique affects how much bass, midrange, and treble you
hear in the monitored sound of a musical instrument.
Mic choice and placement also affect how distant the instrument
sounds in the recording, and how much background noise you pick
up.
This guide suggests some popular ways to place mics to record
musical instruments. These are just starting points to get you
in the ballpark. They work well in many cases, but if you don't
like the results, feel free to change the microphone or its
placement.
Other engineers have different opinions on mic techniques --
there are no rules. If a mic and its placement sound good to
you, that's reason enough to use them.
What if you place a mic as described below, but you still hear
too much room reverb or leakage? Place the mic closer than
recommended below, and roll off the bass if necessary at your
mixer to obtain a natural timbre.
Many of the techniques suggested here apply when the instrument
or voice is recorded alone, as for an overdub.
This guide mentions several types of microphones:
FLAT CONDENSER MIC: A condenser mic with a basically flat
frequency response. The mic has either an omni-directional
pickup pattern or uni-directional pattern (such as cardioid). If
you don't own a flat condenser mic, use whatever you have.
FLAT DYNAMIC MIC: A dynamic mic with a basically flat response,
either a supercardioid moving-coil mic or a bidirectional ribbon
mic.
CARDIOID DYNAMIC MIC WITH A PRESENCE PEAK: A dynamic mic with a
cardioid pickup pattern, and a rise in its response around 5 kHz,
which adds definition or "presence."
MINI MIC: A miniature condenser mic with an omni pickup pattern.
There are uni-directional mini mics, but this guide refers just
to omnis.
BOUNDARY MIC: A mini condenser mic -- omni or uni-directional --
that is mounted flush with, or very near, a flat plate. Such a
mic is intended to be used on a surface.
With this background, let's look at some typical studio miking
methods for vocals and instruments.
VOCAL
*Place a flat condenser mic 8 inches away at eye height to avoid
breath pops.
*Or place the mic at mouth height and mount a hoop-type pop
filter a few inches out front.
SINGER/GUITARIST
*Mike the singer up close using a cardioid dynamic mic with a
presence peak. Add a foam pop filter. Turn down the extra bass
with your mixer's EQ. Put another mic on the guitar, aiming down
away from the mouth.
*Record the guitar first, then overdub the vocal with a flat
condenser mic.
*Record the vocal and guitar with a single flat condenser mic (or
stereo mic or stereo pair) midway between the mouth and guitar.
Adjust mic height to control the balance between guitar and voice.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
*Attach a mini mic to the guitar soundboard, halfway between the
bridge and the sound hole, 1/2" from the low E string, not under
the strings.
*Place a flat condenser mic 6 to 12 inches from where the
fingerboard joins the body. For stereo, add another mic the same
distance from the bridge.
SAX
*Place a flat condenser or flat dynamic mic 18 inches away, a few
inches above the bell, toward the player's right side.
ELECTRIC GUITAR OR ELECTRIC BASS (RECORDED DIRECT)
*For a clean sound, plug the guitar into a direct box. Plug the
direct-box output into a mixer mic input. For a distorted sound,
plug into a guitar signal processor. Plug the processor output
into a mixer line input.
ELECTRIC GUITAR AMP
*Place a cardioid dynamic mic with a presence peak 1 to 12 inches
from a speaker cone, slightly off-center. For more bass, place
the mic close. For the brightest tone, place the mic near the
center of the speaker cone. For a mellower tone, place the mic
near the edge of the speaker cone.
*Tape the cable of a mini mic to the grille cloth in front of a
speaker cone.
SYNTHESIZER OR DRUM MACHINE
*Using guitar cords, connect the synth left/right outputs to two
line inputs on your mixer.
*Plug a guitar cord into each output. Connect each guitar cord
to a direct box. Connect each direct-box output to a mic input
on your mixer. On the direct box, flip the ground-lift switch to
the position where you hear the least hum in the monitored signal.
LESLIE ORGAN SPEAKER
*Place a cardioid dynamic mic with a presence peak a few inches
from the top louvers. Use two mics angled apart for stereo. Add
another mic on the lower bass speaker. Turn up the organ fairly
loud to override the rotating-horn noise.
DRUM SET (TOMS AND SNARE)
*Place a cardioid dynamic mic with a presence peak about 1 inch
above the head, 1 to 2 inches in from the rim, angled down about
45 degrees. Tune the heads with equal tension all around. If
the drum rings too much (unlikely), tape some gauze or a folded
handkerchief to the head, or use damping rings.
DRUM SET (CYMBALS)
*Using one or two boom stands, place flat condenser mics 2 to 3
feet over the cymbals. The mics can be spaced 2 to 3 feet apart,
or mounted XY style for mono-compatible recording. You could
also use a stereo mic.
DRUM SET (HI-HAT)
*Take a flat condenser mic with low-frequency rolloff, and place
it 8 inches above the outside edge of the hi-hat aiming down.
DRUM SET (KICK DRUM)
*Remove the front head or go inside the hole cut in the front
head. Inside, on the bottom of the shell, place a pillow or
blanket pressing against the beater head. This dampens the
vibration and tightens the beat.
Place a cardioid dynamic mic with a presence peak and a deep
low-frequency response inside a few inches from the beater. For
extra attack or click, use a wooden beater and/or boost EQ around
3 kHz to 6 kHz. Cut a few dB around 400 Hz to remove the papery
sound.
DRUM SET (SIMPLE MIKING)
*For jazz or blues, sometimes you can mike the drum set with one
or two flat condensers (or a stereo mic) overhead, and another
mic in (or in front of) the kick. You may need to mix in another
mic near the snare drum.
*Clip a mini mic to the snare-drum rim. Position the mic in the
center of the set, about 4 inches above the snare drum. With a
little bass and treble boost, the sound can be surprisingly good.
Put another mic in the kick.
METAL PERCUSSION
*Place a flat condenser mic about 1 foot away.
BONGOES OR CONGAS
*Place a cardioid dynamic mic with a presence peak midway between
the drums a few inches away. Or mic both drums up close.
AMBIENCE
*Tape one or two boundary mics (such as PZMs) on a distant wall,
or on the control-room window.
AUDIENCE
*Tape two mini mics to the front face of the stage about 6 feet
apart. (You may pick up conversation with this technique).
*If the stage is very low, place two uni-directional boundary
mics on the floor just in front of the stage, about 6 to 12 feet
apart, aiming at the audience.
*Mount or hang two cardioid condenser mics near the stage,
slightly in front of the front row of the audience, looking back
toward the back row, and raised up high. Arrange the mics in a
stereo pair. For example, angle the mics 90 degrees apart and
space them 1 foot apart horizontally. If mono compatibility is
important, angle the mics 135 degrees apart and place them with
grilles touching, one over the other.
GRAND PIANO
*Raise the lid. Tape a mini mic or boundary mic to the underside
of the lid in the middle. For stereo, use two mics: one over the
bass strings and one over the treble strings. If you need more
isolation, close the lid and tweak EQ to remove the tubby
coloration (usually you need to cut around 125 to 250 Hz). You
might boost at 10 kHz for clarity.
*Raise or remove the lid. Place two flat condenser mics 8 inches
over the bass and treble strings, about 8 inches horizontally
from the hammers. You might boost a few dB at 10 kHz for
clarity.
*Remove the lid. Place two mini mics or flat omni condenser mics
about 12 inches apart, angled 90 degrees apart, 18 inches over
the soundboard, and 10 inches horizontally from the hammers.
Maybe boost a little at 10 kHz for clarity.
*For a classical-music solo, place a stereo mic or a stereo pair
of mics about 7 to 9 feet away and 7 to 9 feet high. If you need
to hear more room reverb, mix in a distant mic pair in the
audience area, or add high-quality digital reverb.
UPRIGHT PIANO
*Remove the panel in front of the player to expose the strings.
Place two mics (usually flat condensers) about 1 foot from the
bass and treble strings.
*Face the soundboard toward the room (not next to a wall). Mike
the soundboard a few inches from the bass and treble strings with
two flat condenser mics.
XYLOPHONE OR MARIMBA
*Place two flat condensers 18 inches above the instrument and 2
feet apart.
BANJO
*Tape a mini mic to the drum head about 2 inches in from the rim,
or on the bridge.
*Place a flat condenser or flat dynamic mic 12 inches from the
drum head.
VIOLIN
*Place a flat condenser 2 feet over the top.
*For a fiddle player who sings, try a flat condenser at mouth
height and horizontal.
*For a classical-music violin solo, place a stereo mic or stereo
pair of mics about 12 to 20 feet away.
MANDOLIN, BOUZOUKI, DOBRO, LAP DULCIMER
*Place a flat condenser mic about 12 inches away.
HAMMERED DULCIMER
*Place a flat condenser mic about 12 inches above the top edge
aiming at the soundboard.
ACOUSTIC BASS
*For a natural sound, place a flat condenser a few inches to a
few feet out front, even with the bridge, on the side toward the
G (top) string.
*For a full, deep tone, tape a mini mic near an f-hole.
*For isolation, place a cardioid dynamic mic near the f-hole and
roll off excess bass with your mixer's EQ.
BRASS
*Place a flat condenser or flat dynamic mic about 1 to 3 feet out
front. Mike on-axis to the bell for a bright, edgy tone; mike
off-axis to the bell for a mellower tone.
*Tape a boundary mic to the wall or to the control-room window.
WOODWINDS
*Place a flat condenser about 12 inches from the tone holes.
FLUTE
*Place a flat condenser hafway between the mouthpiece and the
tone holes, about 6 to 12 inches away.
HARMONICA
*Place a flat condenser 1 foot away.
*For a dirty, bluesy sound, mike up close with a handheld
cardioid dynamic mic. Or plug a handheld mic into a guitar amp,
and mike the amp.
HARP
*Aim a flat condenser mic at the soundboard about 18 inches away.
BAGPIPE:
*Mike the chanter about 8 to 12 inches from the fingers with a
flat condenser mic. Mike the drone pipes overhead with a flat
condenser mic.
ACCORDION:
*Place a flat condenser mic about 8 inches from the tone holes on
the piano-keyboard side. You may need to add another mic on the
other side, about 8 inches from the tone holes.
ORCHESTRA, SYMPHONIC BAND, CHOIR, PIPE ORGAN, OR CLASSICAL-MUSIC
SOLOIST
*Hang or place two flat condenser mics about 10 feet apart, about
14 feet above the floor, and 5 to 20 feet in front of the
front-row musicians. Adjust height and distance for desired
sound. Close miking sounds close; distant miking sounds distant.
*Using a stereo mic adapter, hang or place two flat cardioid
condenser mics in a coincident or near-coincident arrangement.
Place the pair about 14 feet above the floor, and 5 to 20 feet
from the front-row musicians. Or try a stereo mic in this
position.
THEATER, DRAMA, OPERA, MUSICALS
*Use two or three uni-directional boundary mics on the stage
floor, in a line about 1 or 2 feet from the edge of the stage.
There you have some suggestions for placing and choosing mics
for recording. After trying them out, invent your own
techniques. You can use almost any mic or placement on any
instrument if it sounds good to you.
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Regards,
Neil.
