Ambient micing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Amped
  • Start date Start date
Please dont turn this thread into another pissing match ok? Im looking for suggestions not hostility...
Thank you.
 
Sorry, you're right. I pledged months ago not to take the bait and slipped. It's no help to you at all.

The limited ambient micing I've done has been of live operatic, choral and chamber ensemble material. In addition to close micing, I experimented with two methods. The first was a pair of small diaphragm condensers in an X-Y configuration near the back of the hall. That worked, but the placement was too extreme and it picked up nearly all audience sound and a great deal of natural reverb. I ended up using it in a mix, but only in certain places and in very small doses.

I used a different method recording an opera, with better results. It employs two boundary mics on a piece of plywood about the size of a dinner tray. One vertical piece separates them. It's a rough approximation of the Blumlein Difference technique - the idea being that the baffle separates the signals picked up by the mics to approximate the location of ears on our head. Placement in the room will affect the result a bunch, and given that this is a practice room, you should simply experiment.

You can get boundary mics for $50 - 60 apiece, up to many multiples of that. I've had pretty good luck with a set I bought on ebay - fixed a couple of defective plugs and all was well after that - and routinely use one of them now as a kick drum mic - right inside the drum on a pillow, towards the side instead of centered. Try a basic conference mic - its the same thing. But don't blow a lot of cash on these things until you learn how they work.

The ambient technique I really want to study is the Blumlein pair using two large diaphragm figure 8 mics (side address) mounted vertically, one directly upside down over the other, and angled at about 90 degrees from each other - each one 45 degrees off axis from the sound source. As I have only one figure 8 mic, that's going to have to wait. In the meantime, there are variations on the theme to try.
 
Please dont turn this thread into another pissing match ok? Im looking for suggestions not hostility...
Click to expand...

Sorry.

I have not been here in several month b/c of the kind of crap DJL is pulling on one of the most respectable gentlemanly people here and my first time back he is at it again.

I too fell again to the bait of the resident troll and self appointed spam police etc.

Back to lurk and ignore DJL mode.
 
Treeline said:
Sorry, you're right. I pledged months ago not to take the bait and slipped. It's no help to you at all.

The limited ambient micing I've done has been of live operatic, choral and chamber ensemble material. In addition to close micing, I experimented with two methods. The first was a pair of small diaphragm condensers in an X-Y configuration near the back of the hall. That worked, but the placement was too extreme and it picked up nearly all audience sound and a great deal of natural reverb. I ended up using it in a mix, but only in certain places and in very small doses.

I used a different method recording an opera, with better results. It employs two boundary mics on a piece of plywood about the size of a dinner tray. One vertical piece separates them. It's a rough approximation of the Blumlein Difference technique - the idea being that the baffle separates the signals picked up by the mics to approximate the location of ears on our head. Placement in the room will affect the result a bunch, and given that this is a practice room, you should simply experiment.

You can get boundary mics for $50 - 60 apiece, up to many multiples of that. I've had pretty good luck with a set I bought on ebay - fixed a couple of defective plugs and all was well after that - and routinely use one of them now as a kick drum mic - right inside the drum on a pillow, towards the side instead of centered. Try a basic conference mic - its the same thing. But don't blow a lot of cash on these things until you learn how they work.

The ambient technique I really want to study is the Blumlein pair using two large diaphragm figure 8 mics (side address) mounted vertically, one directly upside down over the other, and angled at about 90 degrees from each other - each one 45 degrees off axis from the sound source. As I have only one figure 8 mic, that's going to have to wait. In the meantime, there are variations on the theme to try.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed your first answer more. ;)
 
Ok Amped, I just got home from band practice. An ideal room ratio "for good acoustics" would be about 1.62 times the height for the width... and about 2.62 times the height for the length. This ratio is based on an old ancient Greek formula. Anyway, you said your room is about 24' x 20'... so I would set the band up against the 24' wall... just like at a gig with all the gear pointed towards the audience. In other words... don't have the amps and etc pointing in different directions... pretend the ambient mic(s) is the audience... play to them.

EDIT: PS... a stereo PZM can sometimes works well too. Anyway, good luck and I hope the above helps you. :)

Also... for the record, Harvey is the man... I wish I new as much as him... and I know a lot, but not as much... my original hope was that Harvey would help teach us all. Oh well. :(
 
Last edited:
Now thats what Im talkin about, all great suggestions and opinions, thanks ya'll. If we can manage to put our feelings to the side for a second or two, the true intent of this site shines through. Ill be giving a few of your offerings a shot tonight at practise and will report back later... I think for starters Im gonna try mixsits suggestion using a couple 012's and maybe a couple of cardioid dynamics, 57's are all I have right now,,, and maybe a single omni....
Again, thanks for the help...
 
You're welcome... good luck, have fun... and let me know how it turned out. :)
 
Sorry about coming back here, but I just had to share this. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside:
 

Attachments

  • repoint.webp
    repoint.webp
    6.6 KB · Views: 128
Pretty sad when this dolt probably not only posts under an anonymous username, but is too chicken shit to use it when he gives out bad rep.

And it's "you're a fucking moron", not "your", you uneducated (take your pick) ass, birdbrain, blockhead, bonehead, boob, buffoon, dimwit, dodo, donkey, dope, dork, drip, duffer, dullard, dumb bunny, dumb cluck, dumb head, dumb ox, dumbbell, dunderhead, fool, goof, goof ball, goon, half-baked, half-wit, idiot, ignoramus, imbecile, jackass, jerk, knucklehead, lame-brain, lightweight, loon, lout, lunkhead, moron, nerd, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, numskull, oaf, pinhead, scatterbrain, schmuck, schnook, simpleton, spaz, stoop, twit.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
Sorry about coming back here, but I just had to share this. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside:
Click to expand...
Haha .. I've been getting stuff like that on and off too. Of course it couldn't be DJL because he is handily covered by the uncoroborrated myth that his 'rep point thingy isn't working'. ;) :rolleyes:
 
Wow. That is intense. Why would anybody go to the trouble to burn Harvey like that, especially after what he's done for us here?
 
There appear only to be one or two people who've ever fallen out with him here. I guess that would be a place to start the witch hunt.
 
Actually, I got the same kind of comments and negative rep points for the big mic thread too, but that was a while back. Kinda makes ya wonder if it's all worth it?
 
Well totally. Stick to places with no stoopid rep system, and where people are not themselves stoopid.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
Actually, I got the same kind of comments and negative rep points for the big mic thread too, but that was a while back. Kinda makes ya wonder if it's all worth it?
Click to expand...
Just let it roll off. This rep shit is meaningless, especially in its anonymous form. You know the tremendous help you've been here far overides any jealous twit's negative comments.
 
crazydoc said:
Just let it roll off. This rep shit is meaningless, especially in its anonymous form. You know the tremendous help you've been here far overides any jealous twit's negative comments.
Click to expand...
Just let it roll off?
Huh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top