placing an LDC and an SDC together

[zenpicker]

I have a good large diaphragm condensor (ADK A51TC) and have ordered a good small diaphragm condensor (Neumann KM184). What's the optimal way to place these for miking solo acoustic guitar?

Having worked with stereo pairs of SDCs (Oktava MC012s), I'm well aware of the need to avoid wave cancellation effects, but given the different audio footprints of an LDC and an SDC, what considerations should I be aware of? How do their catchment areas compare with one another? Where would the points of signal cancellation likely be found?

My assumption is that the SDC will target the lower bout or saddle, while the LDC will target the 14th fret, maybe set back a little farther than the SDC. I've done this setup with an Oktava as the SDC and generally it works well, but the Neumann is a better mike with a more pronounced high end (so I hear), so I want to get it right.

Of course the ears are the ultimate test, but I thought it was worth tapping the collective wisdom here to get some guidance. Any thoughts, pointers, things to watch out for?

 

[jkokura]

When using an LDC and an SDC together for acoustic i usually aim the LDC at the Bridge and the SDC at about the 12th fret and play with the distance by moving the guitar until I get a good sound... That's what I do and it works for me

Jacob

 

[zenpicker]

That's interesting. Now here's some probably bogus pseudoscientific canoodling that actually gets me to the same place you're at:

Assume the predominant signal produced near the saddle is weighted more toward the bass end of the spectrum than the signal at the 12th fret. Further assume that LDCs are slower in responding to incoming signal traffic because the diaphragm takes longer to traverse and is slower to resonate. Since bass notes feature longer (and slower) wavelengths, it would therefore make sense to pair them with the relatively slower LDC, since crisp responsiveness is more important for short-wavelength signals. I.e., match the "speed" of your mike to the speed of your signal.

Can any audioheads tell me if this is the right way to think about it?

In the mean time, I'll be trying it!

Unless I'm way off base, this would support your mike placement and make it preferable to mine...