How important is it to have a matched pair?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zeppelin456
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Zeppelin456

Banana Co
Hey I'm fairly new to recording and I was thinking of buying two Oktava MK012s but they would be unmatched...Will that be a real problem? I'm using Behringer mixer pres so it's not exactly top of the line at any point in the chain, will unmatched pairs make a difference?
 
I am curious too the previous thread said nothing about why a matched pair is soo important.

I have a few ideas but it would be cool to hear what other people know
 
The wisdom shared with me by a very fine engineer is that a matched pair of the Oktava MK012 would be the thing for Classical recording. But, he said that an unmatched pair should suffice for other genres.

Steve
www.mojopie.com
 
Hmm alright thanks. I did look for an old thread for a while actually, couldn't find it (The search function on this board is kinda crazy)...anyways I think unmatched should be fine although I'd be curious to hear what the technical differences are between matched and unmatched....or someone could direct me to the old thread.
 
If you are not using the microphones in a stereo pair then there is no particular need for them to be matched. If you are using them in a stereo pair then having them matched means that their response is the same and you will be accurate left or right channels. But couldn't you just adjust the gain on the microphone that was hotter or use EQ if the variation was in just a part of the sonic spectrum? Sure, but think of the work involved with getting it just right.
 
ozraves said:
The wisdom shared with me by a very fine engineer is that a matched pair of the Oktava MK012 would be the thing for Classical recording. But, he said that an unmatched pair should suffice for other genres.

Steve
www.mojopie.com

the words "fine engineer" and "octava" do not belong together in the same sentence.
 
Here's a quote from a thread from about half a year ago, you can find it here
Originally posted by Harvey Gerst
Frequency response is the most critical area, since any major differences will result in a screwed up image.

Let's assume two mics are identical in every way, except one of the mics has a narrow 3dB peak at 500Hz and the other has a dip at the same frequency. You have the mics set up in stereo and the guitar player plays a chromatic scale on the guitar.

Whenever the guitar player plays the note that corresponds to 500Hz, the image will jump over to whichever speaker is connected to the mic with a peak in it. It will shift 6dB to one side or the other. That can be very disconcerting.
 
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