XY, ORTF, Spaced Pair, NOS Or M/S For Ac Gtr??

Monoman · 17th November 2006, 11:13 PM

Hey All

Long time lurker, first post.

I record mostly solo acoustic songs. I currently use a spaced pair - one mic pointed at the 12th fret, the other pointed at the lower bout near the bridge - at a distance of about 8 inches to a foot, dependent upon whether I'm strumming or fingerpicking, and dependent upon how loud the traffic outside is! I've tried to deaden my small recording space and add reverb later as my room isn't the best acoustically.

The spaced pair sounds ok, but it yields more treble in one channel and more bass in the other. I am wondering whether some other method would be preferable. I'm looking for something that would yield a more balanced, truer stereo representation of the guitar

Now before someone suggests trying ORTF, etc, and going with whatever sounds best, I should point out that I am completely deaf in my left ear. I have never heard what stereo sounds like- yes, tragic. I know. That said, I have tried all of the above methods, and while I can hear that they sound "different", I have no way of telling which is the most accurate or provides the best stereo representation. So any feedback on this topic by you lucky people out there who can hear with both ears would be greatly appreciated, as long as the feedback isn't the kind that'll hurt my ears. Sorry, ear!

Thanks!
Monoman

d_fu · 17th November 2006, 11:36 PM

Mono,

there is no "best" that will apply in every situation...

It depends on the room you record in. It also depends on whether you want to create a closeup sound to which some reverb may be added or an acoustic representation of the room and the instrument, i.e. something that aims to resemble what a listener in an audience would hear. And that depends on the kind of music you make. Depending on the setup and the room, a setup with a more distant main mic may require one or two spot mics for a good balance of ambience and direct sound.

In your situation, you may want to ask friends whose musical tastes you trust to lend their ears to tell you what kind of setup will create a realistic stereo image (depending on what you would consider desireable). You may be able to help find a good balance of direct sound and ambience according to what sounds good to you. Starting from there, others can help you find a setup for a realistic stereo, not too wide and not too narrow. Does that make sense...?

Daniel

Monoman · 19th November 2006, 04:04 PM

Vielen Dank fuer die Antwort!

My room is acoustically poor, so I am trying to lessen the room sound as much as possible and add reverb later.

I had some friends try to help me out, but none of them have either the ears, nor the vocabulary for expressing what sounds good. They are not comfortable with phrases like "strident high end" or "wide stereo separation". But your suggestion is helpful in that I think I'm going to try to get someone from my local music store to come over to help me out. They should at least know what they are talking about!

Thanks for your response!

17th November 2006, 11:13 PM	#1
Monoman Gear interested Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Out There Posts: 14	XY, ORTF, Spaced Pair, NOS Or M/S For Ac Gtr?? Hey All Long time lurker, first post. I record mostly solo acoustic songs. I currently use a spaced pair - one mic pointed at the 12th fret, the other pointed at the lower bout near the bridge - at a distance of about 8 inches to a foot, dependent upon whether I'm strumming or fingerpicking, and dependent upon how loud the traffic outside is! I've tried to deaden my small recording space and add reverb later as my room isn't the best acoustically. The spaced pair sounds ok, but it yields more treble in one channel and more bass in the other. I am wondering whether some other method would be preferable. I'm looking for something that would yield a more balanced, truer stereo representation of the guitar Now before someone suggests trying ORTF, etc, and going with whatever sounds best, I should point out that I am completely deaf in my left ear. I have never heard what stereo sounds like- yes, tragic. I know. That said, I have tried all of the above methods, and while I can hear that they sound "different", I have no way of telling which is the most accurate or provides the best stereo representation. So any feedback on this topic by you lucky people out there who can hear with both ears would be greatly appreciated, as long as the feedback isn't the kind that'll hurt my ears. Sorry, ear! Thanks! Monoman

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17th November 2006, 11:36 PM	#2
d_fu Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 2,205	Mono, there is no "best" that will apply in every situation... It depends on the room you record in. It also depends on whether you want to create a closeup sound to which some reverb may be added or an acoustic representation of the room and the instrument, i.e. something that aims to resemble what a listener in an audience would hear. And that depends on the kind of music you make. Depending on the setup and the room, a setup with a more distant main mic may require one or two spot mics for a good balance of ambience and direct sound. In your situation, you may want to ask friends whose musical tastes you trust to lend their ears to tell you what kind of setup will create a realistic stereo image (depending on what you would consider desireable). You may be able to help find a good balance of direct sound and ambience according to what sounds good to you. Starting from there, others can help you find a setup for a realistic stereo, not too wide and not too narrow. Does that make sense...? Daniel

19th November 2006, 04:04 PM	#3
Monoman Gear interested Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Out There Posts: 14	Vielen Dank fuer die Antwort! My room is acoustically poor, so I am trying to lessen the room sound as much as possible and add reverb later. I had some friends try to help me out, but none of them have either the ears, nor the vocabulary for expressing what sounds good. They are not comfortable with phrases like "strident high end" or "wide stereo separation". But your suggestion is helpful in that I think I'm going to try to get someone from my local music store to come over to help me out. They should at least know what they are talking about! Thanks for your response!