Using multiple mics for room ambiance...

[rgraves]

Hi everyone,

Getting ready to put smoe tracks down for acoustic guitar and vocals and have a question about mics for room ambiance...

Do pro studios usually or always set up additional mics for room ambiance or something like that for tracking? And if so, which instruments do they usually do that for? I will probably just be doing acoustic steel string, and vocals.

If it is worth doing, then how do you do it? What am I looking for? Does it matter if it's the same type of mic or not? What about phase problems?

If someone could give me some help on this

Thanks!

 

[blueroommusic]

Pro studios will generally set up ambiance mics, assuming they have channels to burn. One of the most common uses for an ambiance mic that I have used is to put a mic near the ceiling of a room during drum tracking...then use whatever part of that recording that you want to. I've found it useful for kicks and snares....you can gate the snare (If the room is too big for your application), and get a nice big sounding verb on the snare, without having to use an artificial verb...some like to bring up an ambiance underneath a drum mix just to fill it out a bit.

 

[amethyst_fan]

oh thanks,

anyone have any tips for acoustic guitar or vocals??

Thanks!

 

[blueroommusic]

sorry...I guess I didn't really read the post. I guess it would just all depend on what sort of sound you are going for...you could use ambiance mics on a acoustic guitar or vocal, and bring them up underneath the close mic(s) to add some presence...or you could use the ambiance mics to get a more buried sound in the mix...

on the newest QOTSA album, from what I could tell from the DVD, and from listening to the cd, they re-amped his vocals quite a bit into a large room, and recorded ambiance mics...they also were in a massive room with a nice big plate reverb up in the rafters; not to mention the record was produced by one of the baddest producers on the planet right now, mister Joe Barresi...

 

[killmachine]

Ambiance mics are good, you have to have a good room, and be mindful of phase. Sometimes if you are having annoying phase issues you can back the main mic off the source and get enough room to fill it up a bit.

Again it all depends on what you want to get out of it. I love it and I've decided that when I get my studio built I will have the main tracking room with vaulted ceiling and no less than 700' sq.....