3:1 rule for stero mic'ing a guitar

[XLR]

The 3 to 1 rule seems to be being used by different people to mean different things.

Phase issues are different when using AB mic'ing on a single source than when using single mic's on multiple sources. Multiple sources each with a single mic is what I believe the 3 to 1 rule applies to.

But that's just me.

I think "always trust your ear" should be in all of our tag lines.

Tim

 

[mixsit]

...About a year back I recorded an electric rhythem guitar part using two mics, one at the cone of the 12 inche speaker and one near the outside and adjusted each of the volumes and EQed a little till i got a nice thick sound. I didn't have any phase problems what so ever, so I must be missing something...

It comes down to time/distance difference Vs the size of the various wavelengths. If they were both very close to the same distance from the cone, there would be very little time arrival differences. If both were pulled back the same, again, little difference (assuming you don't pick up a new reflected path off the floor or such...
Wayne

 

[XLR]

If they were both very close to the same distance from the cone, there would be very little time arrival differences.

Yeah.

Call-Of-Ktulu, if you record each mic to its own track, then look at the waveforms at high magnification it'll show you a lot. Comparing what you see there with what you're hearing is pretty valuable, I think. You probably already know the technique of sliding one waveform so its peaks and dips most closely match up with the other to bring them more closely in phase if they weren't already.

Two mic's up close can be hearing pretty different things from the different parts of the source and the waveform will show that. If they're extremely different they might not match up to any great degree in their peaks and dips of the waveforms. So after comparing and, if needed, sliding the waveforms, they might or might not sum well to mono, depending on what exactly each mic had been hearing.

When you've got a close mic and one farther away, that's when phase issues get more blatant because of differences in arrival time.

Tim