blinddrew wrote:
In that case, going back to my original lucky break, I got even luckier than I thought. :)
Either that or your speakers are wired out of phase...
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blinddrew wrote:
In that case, going back to my original lucky break, I got even luckier than I thought. :)
Kwackman wrote:I remember an article or interview about this sort of thing years (maybe decades!) ago.
Where they used the speakers as you did with a mono signal, then swapped the wires on one of the speakers so it's polarity was reversed. Theory being there'd be a lot of cancellation at the mic.
I'm not sure if it worked, or even if I read it properly!
Dave Stewart & Annie Lennox maybe?
Anyone else with a better memory?
Tim Gillett wrote:The difference being the vocal itself? What would be the benefit then over the vocal track?
Hugh Robjohns wrote:Tim Gillett wrote:The difference being the vocal itself? What would be the benefit then over the vocal track?
James is describing the technique of performing to a backing track being replayed over the speakers in the control room.
You record the vocal performance + backing track spill, and then just the backing track spill on its own. Mix the two together afterwards with inverted polarity and the backing track spill is substantially reduced.
Well known and effective technique in studio circles.
Which is where adding an opposite-polarity 'blank' pass helps to mop up this last bit of bleed.shufflebeat wrote:I've seen it done but room reflections spoil the effect.
I did make the cables myself... ;)Sam Inglis wrote:blinddrew wrote:
In that case, going back to my original lucky break, I got even luckier than I thought. :)
Either that or your speakers are wired out of phase...
Hugh Robjohns wrote:The actual sound sources!
The phantom image is entirely a construct of our human sense of hearing being fooled by sounds arriving at both ears at the same time and amplitude. In real life, that can only happen if the sound is being emitted by a source on the median plane, so our brain invents a phantom image.
The sound waves from the two speakers will interact, of course, and produce a horizontal interference pattern, but there will be multiple peaks and troughs occuring at different angles for different frequencies -- not a single central lobe!
Arpangel wrote:Microphone placement is often spoken of like some sort of black art, a talent you have or you don’t have.
I used to think that if it sounds good where you’re standing, then that’s where the microphones should go, as the mic’s should pick up what I’m hearing.
Hugh Robjohns wrote:Arpangel wrote:Microphone placement is often spoken of like some sort of black art, a talent you have or you don’t have.
There is certainly a degree of art involved, along with a degree of science. It is definitely an acquired skill, and some people are more talented at it than others -- just as some people are more talented at playing the piano than others.
But it is a skill that can be learned, like any other, given dedication and effort...I used to think that if it sounds good where you’re standing, then that’s where the microphones should go, as the mic’s should pick up what I’m hearing.
Yes... but microphones don't have the signal processing that your ears/brain apply automatically. We are incredibly good at ignoring things in the received sound waves that microphones still capture... So while placing mics 'where it sounds good' is certainly a good start, it's far from the whole story!
The Elf wrote:The 'mic masterclass' I attended at Maida Vale a few years ago (run by a few illustrious members of these fora! ;) ) was an eye(ear?!)-opener for me. Until that point I'd pretty much used trial and error, but I suddenly acquired the ability to not only think it through, but finally understand what I'd been instinctively hearing, but not understanding.
That day was easily one of the best investments I ever made in myself. I would do it again, if only to refresh my knowledge! :D
Arpangel wrote:I used to think that if it sounds good where you’re standing, then that’s where the microphones should go, as the mic’s should pick up what I’m hearing.