Themostcommonapplicationofmultiplemic
techniqueisrecordingthedrumkit,andwecan
learna lotfromthis.Thetechniquecombines
micsatdifferentdistancesfromthekit,with
overheadmics(oftenina stereoconfiguration)
providinga generalpicture,close-up‘spot’mics
emphasisingspecifickitelements,androom
mics(alsooftenstereo)positionedatvarious
distancestocaptureroomambience.A similar
techniqueisusedtorecordtheorchestra,
althoughthescaleislargerandmicpositioning
isslightlydifferent.Inbothcases,thethinking
behindthetechniqueisthatit givesbalancing
flexibility.Sometimes,themicsareblendedprior
torecording,butusually,you’llsimplyrecordall
themics,thenbalancethemlateron.
Furthermulti-mikingexamplesincludeguitar
amps,pianosandevenvocals.Witha guitar
amp,youcanuseseparatemicsto
simultaneouslycapturedifferentpartsofthe
speakerconeorcabinet.Withpiano,traditional
stereotechniquescanbeaugmentedbysingle
spotmics.Inbothcases,distantmicscanbe
addedtocaptureroomambience.
Therearea coupleofdownsidestousing
multiplemics.First,theyrequiremoretracks,
micsandinputs,whichmakesthesetupmore
complex.Second,whenyoublendtwoormore
micscapturingthesamesound,yougetphase
cancellationandcombfiltering,asthe
soundwavesarriveatthemicsatslightly
differenttimes.Theeffectcanbesubtleorlead
todeepnotchesorboostsatsomefrequencies,
andwiththelatter,invertingthephaseofone
micortracksolvestheproblem.Othersolutions
includebalancingdifferentmicssothatoneis
clearlydominant,orusingpluginslikeSound
RadixPi,builtspecificallytocontrolphase
relationships.Ultimately,you’retryingtomake
themicssoundthebesttheycan,combined.Multiplemictechniques > Stepbystep
5.Simplemulti-miking
Oneofthesimplestandmost
commonusesofmulti-miking
techniqueisrecordingthesnaredrum.
Theideabehindusingtwomicsisto
capturethe‘thwack’ofthetop(batter)
headandthecrackandbuzzofthe
bottom(snare)head.Blended,these
togetherprovideyouwitha much
brighter,crispersoundthanjusta single
miconthetophead.1
Positionthetopmica fewcentimetres
abovetherim,pointingtowardsthe
centreofthehead.Commondynamic
choicesincludethecardioidShureSM57
andhypercardioidBeyerdynamicM201.
Positionthebottommic10cmbelowthe
drum,pointingatthesnare.Here,we’re
usinga condenser.If yourmichasa level
pad(-10dBor-20dB),switchit on.2
We’vealreadytouchedonthesubject
ofcombfilteringwithmultiplemics,
andmikinga snaredrumfromopposite
sidescaneasilycausethis.Tryinverting
thephaseofonemictoseeif it deliversa
morepunchyendresult.3
There are going to be times when you
want to record multiple instruments at the
same time in the same space, or record
something in a compromised space. More
than anything, these situations test your
microphone choice and positioning skills.
The first rule is to be realistic. For
example, it is possible to record drums on
their own in a very small space, but you
won’t be able to get a decent ambient
sound. And if you try to squeeze
something loud like a guitar amp, or
something quiet like an acoustic guitar, in
alongside the drum kit, you’re probably
going to struggle. So think about theoverall balance in the space and try to get
that working first.
Next, use directional mics, thinking
about not only the sound they pick up but
also what they’re rejecting, and use this to
curtail the spill of each instrument into the
other instruments’ mics. Finally, if you
have a bit more space, spread the
instruments out and put up screens to
isolate mics. In practice, the distance
between the mics will actually create a
more ambient result, so if you’re after a
tighter, less reverberant sound, it’s best to
keep everyone close, albeit at the expense
of some isolation.Multiple miking and room layout
July 2019 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 29the fast guide to recording / make music now <