How to Mic a Room in Stereo: Four Easy Methods

Welcome to the video version of the blog Notes from the Engine Room (http://www.ianschreier.net/blog). Here you'll find tips and advice about subjects related to the recording industry. I'm Ian Schreier, chief engineer and in-house producer/mixer at Manifold Recording (http://manifoldrecording.com). Manifold is a high-end, full-scale, carbon-neutral recording and media production facility located in central North Carolina.

This episode demonstrates some of the fundamental techniques for stereo recording to capture a room or ensemble. It explores four types of microphone configurations:

• Coincident pair (aka X-Y),
• Near-coincident pair (aka ORTF)
• Blumlein pair
• Spaced omni (aka spaced pair or A-B)

The video starts with some introductory explanation, then moves to demonstration and finally to a montage of the source sounds captured in the demo (in this case, drums). The rig we're recording through is made up of two AKG 414 mics. Drums are a good instrument to sample with because it gets the whole room ringing. With the drums, you can really get the feel of how the mics capture the stereo essence of the whole room.

I recommend you listen through earbuds or headphones so that you can hear the nuances of different set-ups.

You can skip forward and back again as you watch by clicking on the graphic annotations placed throughout the video. This will allow you to easily reference and compare set-ups and sounds.

Side-by-side audio comparisons from 18:23 to 19:52
• Near-coincident pair/X-Y: [18:23-18:37]
• Coincident pair: [18:38-18:56]
• Blumlein pair: [18:57-19:18]
• Spaced omni: [19:19-19:52]

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