Hi,

I've recently discovered that I like the sound we get from recording acoustic guitar over the guitarist's shoulder. Previously we've only done this after having already recorded in a close-mic setup in the more conventional 'mic in front of the guitarist' configuration. This is fine and it's nice to be able to combine the two recording however, as you might expect unless the guitarist is absolutely spot-on with both takes, there are differences in timing between the two takes.

For tonight's session I thought I'd try recording both positions in one take but realise there may be some comb-filtering issues (and others I'm not aware of) when doing this. So I was hoping that all the wise people on this forum might give me their thoughts on this and any pitfalls I might encounter and how best to avoid the dreaded comb-filtering. I've read a couple of articles already, one by Hugh & Paul, that seem to suggest different volumes for both mics may help a little with comb-filtering. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

The mics I'm using, if it makes any difference, are an AKG C1000s for the close (front) mic and a Behringer B2-Pro for the over the shoulder. Both mics are normally set to cardiod pattern.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Simon

Set the gains to produce roughly equal levels, then have someone move the mics around while you listen in mono (either on headphones or on speakers in a control room). That way it should be possible to find positions where they complement each other nicely, and you can later pan the mics for a wider sound if needs be. It's worth checking they both sound OK on their own, too.

It will help if you can arrange both mics to be at similar distances from the instrument, and then it's as Sam says, mix the two mics together in mono (at least to start with -- you can pan them wider later if you want), listen carefully for colouration and move one or both mics to achieve the overall sound you're after. Pulling the level back of one mic will weaken any comb-filtering colouration very quickly.

hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

Quote:

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listen in mono

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I hear this expression a lot 'listen to your mix in mono' etc
Just how does one do this? I have stereo headphones and monitors. Just how do I reduce a mix to mono to check if everything is 'still there' so to speak?

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Sam

With something as simple as this, the easiest way is just to pan both mics identically. Or most DAWs come with a plug-ins that will turn a stereo signal into mono (Cubase's Stereo Enhancer for instance).

There's always Tin Brook Tales' SXmono plugin, which I use all the time. VERY useful!

Here - a little way down the list.

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"We knocked on the doors of Hell's darker chambers..." But no-one answered, so we went to the pub instead.

What software are you recording with?

P.S. just checked a previous post of yours and suspect you're using Reaper. There is an icon on the 'master out' which toggles mono/stereo. Maybe solo your guitar tracks and hit that.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Edited by shufflebeat (26/04/12 08:22 PM)

Brilliant Shuffle ... thanks
This 'learning fingy' never ends

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Sam