Engineering Acoustics/Microphone Technique

General Technique

1. A microphone should be used whose frequency response will suit the frequency range of the voice or instrument being recorded.
2. Vary microphone positions and distances until you achieve the monitored sound that you desire.
3. In the case of poor room acoustics, place the microphone very close to the loudest part of the instrument being recorded or isolate the instrument.
4. Personal taste is the most important component of microphone technique. Whatever sounds right to you, is right.

Working Distance

Close Miking

When miking at a distance of 1 inch to about 3 feet from the sound source, it is considered close miking. This technique generally provides a tight, present sound quality and does an effective job of isolating the signal and excluding other sounds in the acoustic environment.

Leakage

Leakage occurs when the signal is not properly isolated and the microphone picks up another nearby instrument. This can make the mixdown process difficult if there are multiple voices on one track. Use the following methods to prevent leakage:

• Place the microphones closer to the instruments.
• Move the instruments farther apart.
• Put some sort of acoustic barrier between the instruments.
• Use directional microphones.

3 to 1 Rule

The 3:1 distance rule is a general rule of thumb for close miking. To prevent phase anomalies and leakage, the microphones should be placed at least three times as far from each other as the distance between the instrument and the microphone.

Distant Miking

Distant miking refers to the placement of microphones at a distance of 3 feet or more from the sound source. This technique allows the full range and balance of the instrument to develop and it captures the room sound. This tends to add a live, open feeling to the recorded sound, but careful consideration needs to be given to the acoustic environment.

Accent Miking

Accent miking is a technique used for solo passages when miking an ensemble. A soloist needs to stand out from an ensemble, but placing a microphone too close will sound unnaturally present compared the distant miking technique used with the rest of the ensemble. Therefore, the microphone should be placed just close enough to the soloist that the signal can be mixed effectively without sounding completely excluded from the ensemble.

Ambient Miking

Ambient miking is placing the microphones at such a distance that the room sound is more prominent than the direct signal. This technique is used to capture audience sound or the natural reverberation of a room or concert hall.

Stereo and Surround Technique

Stereo

Stereo miking is simply using two microphones to obtain a stereo left-right image of the sound. A simple method is the use of a spaced pair, which is placing two identical microphones several feet apart and using the difference in time and amplitude to create the image. Great care should be taken in the method as phase anomalies can occur due to the signal delay. This risk of phase anomaly can be reduced by using the X/Y method, where the two microphones are placed with the grills as close together as possible without touching. There should be an angle of 90 to 135 degrees between the mics. This technique uses only amplitude, not time, to create the image, so the chance of phase discrepancies is unlikely.

Surround

To take advantage of 5.1 sound or some other surround setup, microphones may be placed to capture the surround sound of a room. This technique essentially stems from stereo technique with the addition of more microphones. Because every acoustic environment is different, it is difficult to define a general rule for surround miking, so placement becomes dependent on experimentation. Careful attention must be paid to the distance between microphones and potential phase anomalies.

Placement for Varying Instruments

Amplifiers

When miking an amplifier, such as for electric guitars, the mic should be placed 2 to 12 inches from the speaker. Exact placement becomes more critical at a distance of less than 4 inches. A brighter sound is achieved when the mic faces directly into the center of the speaker cone and a more mellow sound is produced when placed slightly off-center. Placing off-center also reduces amplifier noise.

Brass Instruments

High sound-pressure levels are produced by brass instruments due to the directional characteristics of mid to mid-high frequencies. Therefore, for brass instruments such as trumpets, trombones, and tubas, microphones should face slightly off of the bell's center at a distance of one foot or more to prevent overloading from windblasts.

Guitars

Technique for acoustic guitars is dependent on the desired sound. Placing a microphone close to the sound hole will achieve the highest output possible, but the sound may be bottom-heavy because of how the sound hole resonates at low frequencies. Placing the mic slightly off-center at 6 to 12 inches from the hole will provide a more balanced pickup. Placing the mic closer to the bridge with the same working distance will ensure that the full range of the instrument is captured.

Some people prefer to use a contact microphone, attached (usually) by a fairly weak temporary adhesive, however this will give a rather different sound to a conventional microphone. The primary advantage is that the contact microphone performance is unchanged as the guitar is moved around during a performance, whereas with a conventional microphone on a stand, the distance between microphone and guitar would be subject to continual variation. Placement of a contact microphone can be adjusted by trial and error to get a variety of sounds. The same technique works quite well on other stringed instruments such as violins.

Pianos

Ideally, microphones would be placed 4 to 6 feet from the piano to allow the full range of the instrument to develop before it is captured. This isn't always possible due to room noise, so the next best option is to place the microphone just inside the open lid. This applies to both grand and upright pianos.

Percussion

One overhead microphone can be used for a drum set, although two are preferable. If possible, each component of the drum set should be miked individually at a distance of 1 to 2 inches as if they were their own instrument. This also applies to other drums such as congas and bongos. For large, tuned instruments such as xylophones, multiple mics can be used as long as they are spaced according to the 3:1 rule.

Voice

Standard technique is to put the microphone directly in front of the vocalist's mouth, although placing slightly off-center can alleviate harsh consonant sounds (such as "p") and prevent overloading due to excessive dynamic range. Several sources also recommend placing the microphone slightly above the mouth.

Woodwinds

A general rule for woodwinds is to place the microphone around the middle of the instrument at a distance of 6 inches to 2 feet. The microphone should be tilted slightly towards the bell or sound hole, but not directly in front of it.

Sound Propagation

It is important to understand how sound propagates due to the nature of the acoustic environment so that microphone technique can be adjusted accordingly. There are four basic ways that this occurs:

Reflection

Sound waves are reflected by surfaces if the object is as large as the wavelength of the sound. It is the cause of echo (simple delay), reverberation (many reflections cause the sound to continue after the source has stopped), and standing waves (the distance between two parallel walls is such that the original and reflected waves in phase reinforce one another).

Absorption

Sound waves are absorbed by materials rather than reflected. This can have both positive and negative effects depending on whether you desire to reduce reverberation or retain a live sound.

Diffraction

Objects that may be between sound sources and microphones must be considered due to diffraction. Sound will be stopped by obstacles that are larger than its wavelength. Therefore, higher frequencies will be blocked more easily that lower frequencies.

Refraction

Sound waves bend as they pass through mediums with varying density. Wind or temperature changes can cause sound to seem like it is literally moving in a different direction than expected.

Sources

• Huber, Dave Miles, and Robert E. Runstein. Modern Recording Techniques. Sixth Edition. Burlington: Elsevier, Inc., 2005.
• Shure, Inc. (2003). Shure Product Literature. Retrieved November 28, 2005, from http://www.shure.com/scripts/literature/literature.aspx.

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