Mixing Stereo Miked Acoustic Suggestions?

[BigEZ]

Hey All,

Just got a pair of stereo matched c414 xlii's. Thus far I've tried some XY recording on acoustic guitar with them. I've panned them hard L and R but don't find they have as much width as when I used one mic and recorded any given part twice, then pan each hard L and R. Should I placed a delay on one of the stereo tracks to allow a bit of separation?

Any suggestions on mixing a stereo miked acoustic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[bouldersoundguy]

I would use the stereo mic technique if the song was going to be a dense arrangement. It has dimension but doesn't take up as much space. Double tracking is a good way to fill up the space in a mix.

So it's more about choosing the recording method to suit the mix rather than a mix to suit the method. In any case I wouldn't delay anything as it would (in my opinion) do more harm than good. You could double track the guitar in stereo and do mirror image panning.

 

[mixsit]

Stereo is difference L & R. XY fairly close to the guitar has a lot of the same L & R and a bit of difference. Played twice and panned has lots of differences.
A spaced pair for example (or increase the angle of the XY) would have less common in the middle, = wider.

 

[moresound]

You can try other recording methods as well!

Try one up close to the body and one as a room mic.

Or one out in front of the sound hole and one over your shoulder.

Both about two feet out in front on different stands about 6 feet apart.

Those are all in the Cardioid position.

Get creative with the pattern settings put one in Cardioid at the sound hole and one in Omni about a foot or two out from and even with the guitar.

One thing you might have to do is line the tracks up if they are a bit out of whack with extreme distances between the microphones.

 

[mjbphotos]

I wouldn't pan them them 100%, either.

 

[BigEZ]

Thanks for all the responses. A few questions...

Boulder - my mix is drums, bass, acoustic guitar as the main feature and some mildly distorted electric in the bridge and chorus. Would this be considered a dense mix?

Mixsit - so in order to get that wide sound, I'll need to record twice regardless of whether i use one mic or two? Note that I would prefer not to widen the mics too much so I can avoid dealing with phase issues.

Moresound - if I try some of these methods, what is the proper to correct the phase issues that would likely occur.

Mike - I prefer them wide. I tried having my electrics wider than my acoustics and didn't like that at all. I love the depth of the acoustics as wide as possible.

Thanks again.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Boulder - my mix is drums, bass, acoustic guitar as the main feature and some mildly distorted electric in the bridge and chorus. Would this be considered a dense mix?

Just based on your description it doesn't sound very dense, but that's your judgment to make. If it sounds a little thin then double up the acoustic. If there are too many competing elements then double tracking the guitar may add too much.

 

[FunkDaddy]

Moresound - if I try some of these methods, what is the proper to correct the phase issues that would likely occur.

Flip the phase/phase invert button.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

if I try some of these methods, what is the proper to correct the phase issues that would likely occur.

If you use a close and far mic you can slide the far mic track in the DAW to line it up with the close mic. A polarity switch can't truly correct a phase problem.

 

[mixsit]

Mixsit - so in order to get that wide sound, I'll need to record twice regardless of whether i use one mic or two? Note that I would prefer not to widen the mics too much so I can avoid dealing with phase issues.

Not at all, that was just pointing out why something sounds more or less wide.
As for phase issues' that can be taken two ways. 'Phase effects we don't like the tone of- or just don't want to deal with it.
Yes XY is simple in that respect. No time diff. between capsules = coherent.
But then that excludes some nice areas of the pallet. (..see ORTF. 17 cm. Intentional phase candy- in the top end only.
Keeping equal distance as you spread removes time and Haas pan effects from that direction and leaves the lateral space.
Check in mono if that's a consideration.

 

[mixsit]

If you use a close and far mic you can slide the far mic track in the DAW to line it up with the close mic. A polarity switch can't truly correct a phase problem.

Yep. Back to phase school there..

.. What you do get on a polarity flip is a different flavor of your phase soup du jour!

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Yep. Back to phase school there..

.. What you do get on a polarity flip is a different flavor of your phase soup du jour!

Trying different polarity settings has creative potential if the two tracks were panned together as one. But for panned-apart tracks I would definitely line them up.

 

[RRuskin]

Hey All,

Just got a pair of stereo matched c414 xlii's. Thus far I've tried some XY recording on acoustic guitar with them. I've panned them hard L and R but don't find they have as much width as when I used one mic and recorded any given part twice, then pan each hard L and R. Should I placed a delay on one of the stereo tracks to allow a bit of separation?

Any suggestions on mixing a stereo miked acoustic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Regardless of the technique used, you won't ever get the same kind of thick sound from stereo miking of a single source as you would double tracking. Sonically, they are 2 very different animals.

 

[BigEZ]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I prefer the sound of miking my acoustic with only one mic, double tracking and panning each track l&r. I don't really understand the advantages of stereo miking when I only record vocals and acoustic guitar with a mic. I think I'll sell one of the mics and keep the other. I really love the sound of the c414 xlii on my voice and acoustic guitar. Couldn't be happier with the mic itself.

 

[RRuskin]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I prefer the sound of miking my acoustic with only one mic, double tracking and panning each track l&r. I don't really understand the advantages of stereo miking when I only record vocals and acoustic guitar with a mic. I think I'll sell one of the mics and keep the other. I really love the sound of the c414 xlii on my voice and acoustic guitar. Couldn't be happier with the mic itself.

As impressive as double tracking an instrument can be, constantly using that technique will eventually become boring - if not to you, to your listeners.

 

[ecktronic]

I wouldnt use a delay on one of the tracks, as this could cause phasing maybe.
I would place the mics at guitar height facing the guitar and try in an XY. Just try out different mics placement until you get the best sounding recordings, stereo field should come 2nd.