Who's doing M/S recording?

[Dave Martin]

Anyone using Mid/Side recording methods? Are you doing it within the bounds of a typical studio or location recording setup (that is as part of a multi-track project)? What mics do you use?

Why and when do you choose do use this approach? Mono compatibilty, or for some other reason?

[~ufo~]

Hiya Dave,

I use it for recording acoustic 6(steel) string all the time. I just like it soundwise and indeed the mono compatibility is schweeeeet.

I use my two only multipattern mics, Groove Tubes Am62s.

I used to only compress the M mic at recording to make the sound go wider at loud parts. recorded a really spacy digeridoo that way.

[fifthcircle]

I do more of my work on the live end of things, but I use M-S all the time. It is great for situations where you want to get a solid center to the sound, but want to add natural space to an instrument. Examples include pianos, acoustic guitars, string quartets, drum kits (when minimally micing them- the middle can help you avoid a snare mic), etc...

--Ben

[cdog]

I have 2 MS mic pairs I like for MS: the U195 and 414, or a pair of Rode K2s.

Drum room mics, percussion, xylophone, strings, echo chambers; I've used these mics in MS with nice results. Pretty much my rule is, for clarity, I'll use the SS mics (strings, ambience) into Grace pres, and for character and power I'll use the tube mics (drums) into 1073 style pres.

I love the powerful sound of mono, MS is a natural extension of that sound into the stereo field.

[NewOrleansSteve]

I use a Shure VP-88. Nice space, easy as could be. Just not my best overhead mic, which is why I bought it. I use it often on many other things.

[jbuntz]

I use it on drum room mics, overheads and other stuff sometimes. I do it either to avoid phase issues or if mics are unmatched.

[djui5]

Anyone notice a difference between using omni on top or bottom?

[piratebruce]

I've used it partly for the mono compatability and solid center but also for convenience.
Recently had 5 girls doing accapella folk tunes in a hurry. In a nice space it was just the ticket with an AKG 414 ( fig 8 ) & U87 in the center. Nice control of the spread and no mixing as such required once the sound was cool. Easy! Sometimes less is more, a mic on each and the ensuing mix with non experienced studio singers was to be avoided in this case.

[zakco]

Lately I've been using M/S regularly for Drum Room mics.

Generally, a U195 and an AT4050. I just can't seem to beat M/S in this application, at least in my room....

-Z-

[cgarges]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Anyone using Mid/Side recording methods? Are you doing it within the bounds of a typical studio or location recording setup (that is as part of a multi-track project)?

Sure, I do it all the time. I use it most frequently on drumkit, acoustic guitar, and as a general ambience for an ensemble. I also occasionally record electric guitar using MS.

Originally posted by Dave Martin
What mics do you use?

I have used and liked 414s, SM2, C24, and AT 4050s. I have also used a 4050 as the side mic with several other cardioid or omni choices for center. I think I prefer the 4050s for most applications because of their clarity, relatively high output and low noise, and consistency.

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Why and when do you choose do use this approach? Mono compatibilty, or for some other reason?

I really love the dimension that comes from MS recording. There's something really natural-sounding to me about recording in MS.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[twilt]

http://www.neumann.com/infopool/mics...p?ProdID=km100
sexy

[axtrak]

i´m using m/s very often, i like 2 U87 as Roommics for Drums, Guitaramps.... , i´m also recording ac git´s a lot with ms.

When i have the chance i´m trying everytime to put an M/S pair in the room for anything. i like the options it gives me in the mix to use then ambience in mono or stereo or in between. This signal is often cooler , than using a reverb later

[toledo3]

I use two KSM 44's for m/s on anything that might call for that approach, if I'm dealing with my own gear....

Just the other day though, I have a really good experience using "unmatched" mics for a pseudo? m/s thing... a SM7 as the mid mic, and a R84 as the side, for a vocal track. It sounded spectacular. I had never really thought of using m/s on vocals, but it was a whim, and I am glad I tried it out.

[DannyDay]

I use M/S on drum rooms, sometimes OH. I like the inaging and it's _very_ forgiving when it comes to drummers with harsh sounding cymbals.

Sometimes I like M/S in "studio" jazz and classical piano situations. For classical piano, it works for accompanying a soloist or piano with ensembles as it "wraps" around the soloists. For jazz I use it when the piano is the main thing. Isolation is key as the side can pick up a lot of bleed.

Lately, I use M/S about 30% of the time on my bread and butter, live classical recordings. It seems to work best on larger ensembles, although I've been surprised on occasion.

Love the imaging, it's forgiving, mono compatible, etc. The only downside is the image width and ambiance cannot be separated nearly as easily as other stereo techniques.

My rambling two cents.... back to football. Ciao,

DD.

[Brad McGowan]

I just used an M-S pair yesterday to reamp bass tracks for an instrumental post-rock project I'm doing. The band is a three piece: drums, piano and bass. There is a lot of space for each of the instruments to take up and the bass is often playing lead parts. I set up two Traynor 8x10 bass cabs on either side of one 4x10. I then connected whatever guitar and bass amps were on hand in the studio to those cabs...a Bandmaster, a Dual Showman, and a Carvin bass amp. The reamped DI signal was fed into all three amps simultaneously. A U195 and an R121 in M-S about 3 feet away nicely captured the size and power I was going for.

I've also had good luck with M-S for drum room mics.

Brad

[~ufo~]

toledo,

I recently tried MS on vocals too.

it's interesting as the S mic gives an ambient kind of thing but just a bit more direct than using an actual ambient mic.

however, it's likely I'll end up not encoding the the two tracks into proper MS stereo.

I might just hard pan the M and S mics or only use the S through an effect to stress a phrase or two.

it opens possibilities though, which is nice.

ta ta

[borut]

I also seem to use it more and more.
I rather use ms than xy sonce xy can result in a rather dull center (not the case with ms.
Usually I use two brauner vm1's and I often find myself tweaking (compressing) the two mics quite differently!
You can get some very cool but still subtle effects!!!!

[Telecastr]

i'm a M/S freak. i absolutely love using it. i use it on ac gtr and paino most. i choose to use it if the particular instrument i'm miking is a main part of the song...i.e. i don't use it for ac gtr when the gtr is gonna sit way behind a bunch of electric gtrs. you can't beat the stereo imaging you get with it.

[vaesion]

I finally have more than 1 mic.
how do u set up for ms recording?
whats some good tips?
WHats some good tips on stereo recording?
I just got a pair of se mics

http://www.seelectronics.com/web/cm_SE1A.htm
they are a new chinese brand I got from a friend of mine.
picked them up for 400.
Recording in stereo is awesome.........I love flipping the polarity on one side on my mp2nv and hearing how real it sounds.
I have a u87 also.......so would anyone give me an idea on how to do it so i can play

Im excited

Bryan

[vaesion]

i put my u87 in figure 8 and put it side ways then put 1 of my se mics facing me directly right above the u87..then i recorded the instrument and panned 1 hard left and 1 hard right and put them on group 1...... then on group 1 i used nuendos plug called tools one and i put that on ms process.

I think IM doing it right.
seems hard to make stereo micing sound bad in any form

does this soud right?
what are some pop records with ms recording on the lead

[vaesion]

tomorrow im gona record a guy singing and playing the guitar all at once..........
should i use ms or put the stereo mics on each end of the guitar and the u87 at his mouth?

[mixboy bob]

Always M/S on the kit or room. My VM-1 as mid and KSM44 as an amazingly close tonal match for the side - UNBESTINKINLIEVABLE!!!!!

peace. and happy Easter, all.

mixboy

[vaesion]

Originally Posted by toledo3

I use two KSM 44's for m/s on anything that might call for that approach, if I'm dealing with my own gear....

Just the other day though, I have a really good experience using "unmatched" mics for a pseudo? m/s thing... a SM7 as the mid mic, and a R84 as the side, for a vocal track. It sounded spectacular. I had never really thought of using m/s on vocals, but it was a whim, and I am glad I tried it out.

ive never done it........i finally have 2 mics so i can try ..........im thinking use it on the lead and use regular stereo on backups........

any good ideas for bulding the vocal arrangment with it

[bobby yarrow]

I'm a recent and enthusiastic convert to M/S for rock drum overheads. With cymbal mics in spaced pair and a mono room mic, it gives me a lot of options.

[drundall]

I used M/S with an 87 and a 414 for drum room and was quite happy with the results. In an uneven room I get annoyed when I hear more kick on one side and more snare on the other. This solidified the image for me and still allows some play in the stereo spread.

[lowswing]

doing m/s all the time.
two applictions i'd almost always go with m/s are:
strings quartett/ensamble in a pop song (i'd like to decide the right placing and stereo depth on mixdown)
and backing vocals group (3-4 people singing together) overdub
favorite mic combinations are gefell um92.1s (fig 8) and m582 with m71 capsule
also c12 and c414 (mostly c12 as M) ,a nice one is also two km56 for strings.

[ChrisG]

Until we got an Akg C24 (Stereo c12) I was not to hip to m-s. I liked the sound but just a pain in the ass IMHO to set up stands, make sure I have everything proper. C24 its one mic, set it up, one stand, easy.

[TheRealRoach]

Use M/S for to capture the room sound while recording drums. I placed it fairly close, about hip-height and 4 feet off the kit, wherever it sounded good. On man does it ever sound good. Wide, clear, sounds really good, I don't know what I ever did before. I did this instead of an outside-kick mic and it worked better then I could have imagined

[lord_bunny]

M/S for drums, about 30 ft. away from the kit.

[boojum]

For a live deal in a club where I do not know the setup and have to get up and running with a minimum of fuss: MS. Is it the best? No. Will it always work? Yes. I can fiddle with the spread in post. It is unobtrusive which is cool for small groups and where line of sight blocking might be a problem.

I use a Schoeps Mk4 and an Mk8. I am happy with it.