Chapter 6: Microphone Placement

Front 1

distant microphone placement

Back 1

placing mic(s) 3 feet or more from the sound source;

mono miking technique

Front 2

close microphone placement

Back 2

placing mic(s) between 1 inch and 3 feet from the sound source;

mono miking technique

Front 3

accent microphone placement

Back 3

placing a supplemental mic close to a source that is ultimately mixed with a distantly-placed mic(s) to improve tonal balance (as an effect or to add presence);

mono miking technique

Front 4

ambient microphone placement

Back 4

placing mic(s) at enough distance from a sound source where the room sound is more prominent than the direct sound;

mono miking technique

Front 5

A good recording distance can be determined based on what?

Back 5

-shape

-size

-type

Front 6

spaced pair miking technique

Back 6

any pair of microphones spaced at any distance;

stereo miking technique

Front 7

XY miking technique

Back 7

two matching cardioid mics placed with the heads nearly together at 90 degree angles;

stereo miking technique

Front 8

Blumlein miking techinique

Back 8

identical to XY but two matching bidirectional mics are placed together with the heads nearly together at 90 degree angles;

stereo miking technique

Front 9

ORFT

Back 9

two cardioid mics are placed at 110 degree angles with the heads 7 inches apart;

a binaural mice meant to mimic the 2 ears on the human head;

stereo miking technique

Front 10

mid-side miking technique

Back 10

placing a cardioid mic facing the sound source and a bidirectional mic placed perpendicular to the cardioid mic;

stereo miking technique

Front 11

Decca Tree miking technique

Back 11

three cardioid mics facing left, right, and centre which are panned to their configuartion;

usually placed 5 to 7 feet;

stereo miking technique

Front 12

bass guitar miking

Back 12

placing dynamic mic 7 to 12 inches from the speaker grille;

can be directly recorded with a DI box

Front 13

electric guitar miking

Back 13

placing dynamic mic in front of the center of the grille;

can be directly recorded with a DI box

Front 14

acoustic guitar/string instrument miking

Back 14

point mic either where the neck joins the body or at the bridge around 12 to 15 inches away from the guitar, preferably using a condenser or ribbon mic with stereo miking techniques

Front 15

keyboard miking

Back 15

miked a little further away than a guitar amp so the sound from the tweeter is captured;

can also be plugged directly into the line inputs of the mixer

Front 16

brass instrument miking

Back 16

place mic 2 to 4 feet and angled slightly off the bell;

dynamic mics pick up punchier, more progressive sound and cope with the powerful waves;

large cardioid mics work well;

ribbon mics work in larger, ambient spaces

Front 17

woodwind instrument miking

Back 17

[for most] position the mic around 20 inches in front and angled down from above (not pointing directly down the bell or mouth of instrument);

clarinet or saxophone might be miked 3 to 7 feet away in front and aimed at the keyholes in the lower half;

saxophone might be miked 1 to 3 feet in front and above aimed at the middle of the body at left hand

Front 18

drum kit miking

Back 18

position two mics between 3 to 6 feet from kit, 2 to 4 feet apart [for stereo miking];

kit pieces can also be miked individually

Front 19

bass drum miking

Back 19

use special mics or dynamic mics;

place mic through the porthole (in front of head) and place a folded blanket/feather pillow inside the shell;

mics should be about 8 inches from the beater, suspended inside the drum shell on a boom stand-not physically touching the shell;

if no port hole, mic right outside the membrane

Front 20

snare drum miking

Back 20

place dynamic mic about 2 inches from the edge of the drum and about 2 inches above the head, positioned away from other kit elements;

second mic can be added, pointing it at the head from underneath

Front 21

hi-hat miking

Back 21

place [small] condenser mic about 2 to 3 inches away, slightly angled away from other kit elements;

avoid placing mic where it faced the point of where air escapes from the hi-hat

Front 22

tom miking

Back 22

mics should be placed 2 to 3 inches above the skins, angled about 30 degrees;

stereo pair mics can be set equidistant from the snare and bass drum

Front 23

cymbal miking

Back 23

two overhead mics give stereo imaging;

accent [condenser] mics can be used on individual cymbals;

overhead mics can be placed 6 feet high, just behind the drummer, pointing down at the cymbals

Front 24

overhead miking

Back 24

safebet is XY configuration (captures stereo imaging) or a spaced pair;

dynamic or condenser mics

Front 25

other percussion instrument miking

Back 25

for single mics, place between 18 inches and 3 feet away from the bars;

or use stereo miking with two mics spaced slightly apart

for bass percussion instruments, place mics 5 feet or more away

Front 26

grand piano miking

Back 26

well placed stereo pair miking between 6 to 10 inches above the strings, under the lid -OR- 1 to 4 feet outside the piano, facing the lid -OR- 4 to 6 feet outside the piano, facing the lid for a fully developed sound;

safe bet is to use a matched pair of flat condenser mics;

Front 27

Which distant miking technique captures the most direct sound?

Back 27

Close miking

Front 28

Which distant miking technique picks up more room sound that direct sound?

Back 28

Ambient miking

Front 29

Which miking technique gives the engineer a supplemental recording to boost a given instrument in the mix?

Back 29

Accent miking

Front 30

Which miking technique gives sounds time to develop and captures more room sound that close miking?

Back 30

Distant miking

Front 31

Bass guitars and electric guitars can be recorded with what to give more flavor than a DI Box?

Back 31

An amplifier

Front 32

Fill in the blank:

Miking an acoustic guitar near the _________ may result in too much low end.

Back 32

Sound hole

Front 33

Which mics are generally speaking the most rugged type of microphone design?

Back 33

Dynamic microphones

Front 34

Which type of microphone should be used to capture the harsh smack of a snare drum?

Back 34

Dynamic microphone

Front 35

Which microphone should be used to cleanly capture the detail of a hi-hat?

Back 35

Condenser microphone

Front 36

True or False:

The more distant stereo pairs are from each other, the wider their stereo image will be.

Back 36

True

Front 37

A good recording distance can be determined on which three things of the instrument?

Back 37

1. Shape

2. Size

3. Type

Front 38

Which device can send signals from bass guitars and electric guitars directly into the console?

Back 38

Direct Input (DI) Box

Front 39

Which microphones tend to achieve a punchier, more percussive sound and are able to cope with powerful waves that can be produced by instruments?

Back 39

Dynamic microphones