Miking Techniques? What are your favorite ones??

Marol

Marol

New member
Hello FP, I was sitting here reading this book on audio engineering called The Ultimate Live Sound Operator's Handbook by Hal Leonard Music. This got me thinking on what techniques folks use for various miking applications.


Can someone inform me on how to properly mic these 3 different applications: Vocals, Guitars, and Large grouped instuments.
For vocals this is what I know:

1. Find the right mic for the right artist and style. An airy, lighter singer would need an airy, lighter mic like a comdenser mic. An aggressive rapper might benefit from a simple dynamic mic ala SM57.

2. Positioning is key to a properly recorded vocal. I try to position a mic about 8-12 in. away from there mouth w/ a pop filter. With dynamics this is important so that the proximity effect doesnt kick in (close=boomy, far =thinner).

3. Try to have the performer comfortable without sacrificing the vocal quality. A chair or even something like candles can help set the mood for a performer.


For Drums:

1. Sometimes fewer is better with drums. If a great sounding room is available, USE IT. This isnt as flexible as having alot of mics, but the sound may be best with this style. Sometimes overheads, mic on the kick, and mic on the top of the snare is all that is necessary.

2. Position is key to phase correction. For example, overheads are usually out of phase with the kick mic, so moving the overhead mic till you get the right sound is the best bet for me.

3. EQing isnt always necessary, especially on the pre-fader signal. EQing adds unwanted noise to the signal if you are boosting too much. Cutting too much takes away the original character of the kit sometimes.

4. Remember to have a drum key with you. Tuned cheap drums sound better than untuned pricey one!!!


That is what I know for sure. If anyone has anything to add, please add it. I dont know much about miking guitar amps, solo instruments, or large groups. Please help me fill in the blanks.....



PEACE
 
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Wall of sound electric guitar: Two mics up on the cab one close the other a few inches back. Check for phase problems. Play the part and then add delays with a Freq cut that are cross panned.

Or: actually play the part twice using two different mics and the delays.

This when done correctly can actually give the impression that a backup guitar plays and makes the sound bigger.
 
Tim20 said:
Wall of sound electric guitar: Two mics up on the cab one close the other a few inches back. Check for phase problems. Play the part and then add delays with a Freq cut that are cross panned.

Or: actually play the part twice using two different mics and the delays.

This when done correctly can actually give the impression that a backup guitar plays and makes the sound bigger.
Click to expand...


What can help prevent phasing with overheads (Drums) and for guitar amps???
 
Hey Marol,

the 3 to 1 rule helps with phase.

If one mic is 6 inches away from the guitar amp, then the other one should be either times closer or 3 times further away, as this helps phase cancellation problems. Of course try and test this and always flip to mono to check compatibility.

As for overheads, have that ratio of 3:1 with regards to distance between them, and height from highest drum.

Also, I find overheads are the most important mics of the drum kit, as they are the stereo image of the kit, and balance is important. Make sure that both overheads are the same distance from the snare. Get a piece of string, and put the end of it under the pressed down kick beater, then stretch it out to the overheads and check that they are the same distance apart.

I apologise for my awful explanations

http://www.crownaudio.com/mic_web/tips/mictip6.htm
 
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With the guitar move it around till you get the sound you like. Phasing might become your friend and add to the sound, or your enemy.
 
Thanks ya'll, I asked the same question on Gearslutz and a bunch of help too. What is up with FP??
 
Read "The Recording Engineer's Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski. It is entirely dedicated to this topic and has all you need to know.

His Mixing Engineer's handbook is also good.
 
hackenslash said:
Read "The Recording Engineer's Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski. It is entirely dedicated to this topic and has all you need to know.

His Mixing Engineer's handbook is also good.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the reading help, how much is the book? 20, 30 bucks?
 
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i've been experiencing alot with drum techniques. one new idea i picked up are using both overheads and "kneehighs"

its simple, along with the kick in, kick out, snare top, snare bottom and tom mics, i set up 2 NTK's about knee high along with one TLM103 as a overhead over the drummer
 
Tim, long time no post. Good to see you around.

Edit: Read about what happened on your first post back. Unfortunate, but considering lives are lost in fires very often it's good only the gear and home went down seeing as it could have been worse.

And on topic. No condensors on any strong/loud rap vocals. They always tend to sound harsh and thin in my experience. Dynamics can take so much abuse and still sound good that it's no comparison in these situations. As far as drums, I find that a room mic that capture most of the drum kit helps a ton in maintaining a good drum kit sound. I'm not against having the overheads and a set of room mics to go with the overheads. Usually, the more mics the merrier unless you're using a technique where you want to use only one mic to get a feel of how things were recorded in some older records.
 
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Marol said:
What can help prevent phasing with overheads (Drums) and for guitar amps???
Click to expand...


Depending on what technique you used to mic it up, it could be something as simple as hard panning your overheads and then flipping the polarity on just one side. It should kick everything back into phase.

Hope that works for ya.
 
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