Double Mic Vox Recording Technique

[Absolutepower]

I was just watching a video on youtube about this technique of putting 2 microphones right next to each other, rather than just using one, to get a larger double tracked sound. I think I read that the Doors did this as well for their vocal, and Aerosmith as well.
I am wondering if any of you have experience using this. Which mics have you used and which do you think would be a good complement to each other? In the video I saw they were using one mic on Omni, and the other on cardioid which seemed to work pretty well. I am going to be experimenting with this technique in the coming weeks with condensers, and a combo of condensers and dynamic, and I'll try to post some sound samples up. Anyone else tried the condenser/dynamic combo?

 

[moresound]

Yup.... some times it works some times it doesn't.
Just like there is no one microphone that will suit every voice.

 

[ermghoti]

I've never blended them, but if I get a singer that goes between singing sections and shoutier sections, I can get away with one pass recording by setting up a dynamic mic close for the yelling, and a condensor a few inches back for the singing.

 

[grimtraveller]

I've not tried the mix of condensers and dynamics on the same vocal but I'm going to. But I have used two mics on a vocal, I can't remember if they were identical mics or if they were different, the last time I did it was a very long time ago. But I do remember regretting it, not because of two mics, but because I put one of the mics through a reverb unit going in and my friend did a great vocal but I ruined it because of that. I kept it because the feel was so good but she sounded unintelligible. The only consolation was that she sounded that way normally !

 

[The Cancers]

It really depends on what you want to accomplish with the technique.
As has been mentioned, two mics with vastly different characters in approximately the same place can be used to get a usable single take from a very dynamic vocalist.
Vocalists with crappy mic technique, especially ones who like to eat the mic because they're used to singing onstage can be fooled by putting one close mic for them to eat and another about a foot back to pick up a more even take.
I've heard of but not had the room to try a technique Bowie used to get a big verby sound on some vocals.
On an especially dynamic song where he went from whisper quiet passages to broadway belting they had him in a big, good sounding room and tossed up a close mic that got a good level for his whole dynamic range for that song but then put up a condenser (I'm guessing in omni, but I dunno exactly what they used) across the room. When it came time to mix they gated that distant mic (if I'm remembering correctly) sidechained from the main vocal so that as soon as he started belting the distant mic opened up and added that room thickness to the track.
Just kinda throwing out things I've heard about multiple mics for vocals.
There's lots of things you can do, it all depends on what you want to accomplish.

 

[bassbrad]

I usually use 2 mics but not side by side usually a dynamic mic for close up and a condenser a bit farther back and above to simulate the Motown arrangement. I started doing this to keep singers from getting to close to the condenser but often mix the 2 or use the dynamic for effects leaving the condenser dry.

 

[miroslav]

Just watch out for phase/frequency cancellation issues when they are side-by-side and then you end up combining and panning them to the same spot.

 

[moresound]

Just watch out for phase/frequency cancellation issues when they are side-by-side and then you end up combining and panning them to the same spot.

miroslav....Would phasing be a problem?

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Would phasing be a problem?

If the mics are spaced apart and the singer moves much, yes.

 

[miroslav]

Another thing to watch out for when using figure of 8 ribbon mics along with other mics....

I've noticed that a ribbon mic's "positive" side relative to other mics may not always be on it's front/nameplate side. Of course, it's easy enough to just spin the figure of 8 mic around to its opposite side and you're good to go...BUT..even if using it alone, the signal may(?) be starting on the negative side of the wave rather than the positive...and that could be an issue if you like...reamp later on, and you use a different mic...and then you go to combine the tracks.
Or...you have them split hard L/R and they sound great...but in Mono they collapse and lose most of their body.

I’ve not had the opportunity to use a lot of different brands of ribbon mics…so I’m not sure which way the majority falls…but it's just something to check and be aware of with figure of 8 ribbon mics...’cuz you are always dealing with two sides of a capsule.

 

[rayc]

I've done the double a few times but not to simulate double tracking - 'cos it doesn't unless you then do some itsy bitys sliding in time to get the effect.
I did it because I was unsure of the best mic/pre combo for the singer & the singer had proven to not have a lot of stamina so it was a case of as few takes as possible & no experimentation before a take.
The result was two choices of combo from the one take.
Oh & yes, I did the side by side for a diff session & was playing the two back simultaneously, (dropping one in the out etc), to compare & contrast & there was, with the combo of that particular day, a significant phase issue.

 

[Massive Master]

I've never blended them, but if I get a singer that goes between singing sections and shoutier sections, I can get away with one pass recording by setting up a dynamic mic close for the yelling, and a condensor a few inches back for the singing.

Done that --

And a lot of the time - actually the vast majority of the time, I had two mics -- One was going to tape, the other was an "always on" talkback. May very well be what the OP was seeing. Double-micing to tape nearly always leads to phase issues.