LowEnd Posted August 1, 2004 Report Share Posted August 1, 2004 Hello, Being new to minidisc recording (waiting for my mz-nh1 to arrive)... I've wondered if there are any newbie tips concerning mic placement when recording live. Specifically, I play in a band in small clubs and our soundman usually has the best seat in the house so I plan to set the mic/recorder next to him. By the way, I bought a set of "Core Sound" mini binaural mics (little condesor mics) and I'm wondering if it is best to aim the mics directly at each main or should they be aimed directly at each side wall (parallel with the mains.. more like your ears are aimed)? What have been your experiences with mic placement and MD? Thanks, Lowend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted August 1, 2004 Report Share Posted August 1, 2004 Moving this to the correct forum.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted August 1, 2004 Report Share Posted August 1, 2004 It depends how you're going to listen to the playback. If you're listening through headphones then theoretically you should point the binaurals sideways and about six inches apart like your ears--that's what SoundPros recommends for the binaurals I have. If you're listening through a stereo, then pointing toward the mains is good. In practice, since they're omnidirectional, I don't find a huge difference. I've stealth-recorded a lot of concerts with binaurals clipped to my shirt collar in various directions, and they sound fine. More than anything, it will depend on the acoustics of the club--whether those side walls provide echoes or warmth, how bass-y it is, etc. They haven't invented the mic yet that cleans up the mix. Dedicated recordists usually set up the mics on a pole or stand way above the audience to lessen crowd noise, and you should put something like that up on the soundboard if you can. That idiot who goes "WHOOOO!" on the last note of every song is going to come through loud and clear otherwise. If it's your band and your soundman, the ideal thing might be to get a little mixer and get both a feed from the soundboard and an ambient recording with the binaurals. Test various proportions at a gig or two and you should have a fantastic recording, particularly if you use the Hi-MD's PCM capability. But even with the binaurals you'll be pleasantly surprised at the fidelity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 Hi Lowend, A440's advice is dead on but I would add on one thing: The direction you point the mics in relation to each other changes the phase angle of the two channels in relation to each other. Really simplified: in practise what this amounts to is the "pointing out" [binaural] config works best for headphones, and the pointing forward [or at 90 degrees to each other] works better for speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anti Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 is it possible to use a mic stand discretely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 How are you meaning 'discretely' here, anti? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowEnd Posted August 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 Thanks so much for the detailed responses! I do understand the issue with the guy yelling "whooo" or whatever. I've had issues with that in my analog cassette recordings. I do like recording off the board (which I can easily do) but it seems that unless I get lucky, the mix is not usually the best because the soundman is mixing for the "room" and quite often one instrument will be louder than another. Of course the flip side is to record ambient sound and then you get the guy yelling in the background. The idea of a little mixer allowing a mix of board and ambiant may be the ideal approach. I hadn't considered that idea... I may have to give this a try. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anti Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 How are you meaning 'discretely' here, anti?as in at a concert which your not allowed to tape i was just wondering since people seem to recomend mic stands, but how often can you use them? can you only use them in places that allow taping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 If you're not allowed to tape then you're probably not going to get away with a mic stand. But there are little binaurals that you can clip to glasses, a hat, a shirt collar, etc. You have to align them and then not move around much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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