Two mics out of phase

H

hairylarry

New member
Two mics out of phase

In the heat of the sun and the heat of the moment I pushed the phase switch in on my dmp2 preamp. I was testing a new mic. That is new off of eBay used EV PL9. A high quality omni dynamic. I was comparing it to my Realistic 1070b omni mic. One of my favorites.

I recorded "Major Minor".

After post I noticed a problem with the mono mix. The signal went away. This is a known problem with some stereo configurations. But I just stuck two omni mics out there on a stereo stand. Pointing the same way. About six inches apart.

So it had to be one of the mics out of phase. Well I was testing a new used mic. And many EV mics are user servicable on the cable connection. I had used my 1070b many times without phase issues except when I paired it with the 1070a. So the EV was suspect.

But fortunately I went and checked my preamp before I tore into my EV PL9. The right channel phase switch was pushed in. So there's the culprit.

I had already fixed the problem in my DAW. I switched phase on the left channel. Which doesn't matter. Two mics are either in phase or out of phase. If there were more than two mics in the mix it would matter. It's really best if all your mics are in phase.

Except.

Sometimes you record the top and bottom of a drum and the mics sound better out of phase.

Sometimes when the mics are different distances they can sound better out of phase. Another trick to adjust for distance is to time align your DAW tracks to adjust for the speed of sound. These produce different results. Neither is exactly what you want.

Sometimes for no damn reason you can figure out it sounds better out of phase.

So try it and see. If it sounds better it sounds better.

That's what I did. I am making videos which means TV. TV is the last bastion of mono. So I listened in mono and caught my mistake.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
hairylarry said:
Two mics out of phase

In the heat of the sun and the heat of the moment I pushed the phase switch in on my dmp2 preamp. I was testing a new mic. That is new off of eBay used EV PL9. A high quality omni dynamic. I was comparing it to my Realistic 1070b omni mic. One of my favorites.

I recorded "Major Minor".

After post I noticed a problem with the mono mix. The signal went away. This is a known problem with some stereo configurations. But I just stuck two omni mics out there on a stereo stand. Pointing the same way. About six inches apart.

So it had to be one of the mics out of phase. Well I was testing a new used mic. And many EV mics are user servicable on the cable connection. I had used my 1070b many times without phase issues except when I paired it with the 1070a. So the EV was suspect.

But fortunately I went and checked my preamp before I tore into my EV PL9. The right channel phase switch was pushed in. So there's the culprit.

I had already fixed the problem in my DAW. I switched phase on the left channel. Which doesn't matter. Two mics are either in phase or out of phase. If there were more than two mics in the mix it would matter. It's really best if all your mics are in phase.

Except.

Sometimes you record the top and bottom of a drum and the mics sound better out of phase.

Sometimes when the mics are different distances they can sound better out of phase. Another trick to adjust for distance is to time align your DAW tracks to adjust for the speed of sound. These produce different results. Neither is exactly what you want.

Sometimes for no damn reason you can figure out it sounds better out of phase.

So try it and see. If it sounds better it sounds better.

That's what I did. I am making videos which means TV. TV is the last bastion of mono. So I listened in mono and caught my mistake.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
Click to expand...

If you are recording the top and bottom of a drum with 2 mics, they have to be switched out of phase or they will be out of phase. Out of phase will record in phase unless they are out of phase.
 
But have you ever thought why you record the bottom skin out of phase?

While you principally record the bottom of a snare to clearly get the snap of the wires you are also recording the head.

The top head and bottom head are mostly moving sympathetically. When the top is moving up the bottom is also moving up (except for a miniscule lag for the pressure to get from the top to the bottom).

However when the top head is moving down it is making a low pressure trough in the air above it while when the bottom head is moving down it is making a high pressure peak in the air beneath it. In other words when the top head is recording a peak the low head is recording a trough, essentially the definition of out of phase.
 
A little known method used in TV reporting, is in helicoptor reporting. They will use 2 mics (in phase) inside the chopper. The reporters mic will cancel out the noise of the chopper
 
hairylarry said:
EV PL9
Click to expand...


That used to be my entire mic collection! I fed it to the mic in on my Sears boombox, carefully positioned wherever the room sounded right, or least bad.

When the other band moved out, they took their PA, and somebody must have assumed all the mics belonged with the PA... I only paid $40 for it, but I wish I still had it. [weepsdrunkenly]
 
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