Setups of musical instruments

Tips for recording individual musical instruments or musical performances

Vocals

Place the LS-10 some distance in front of the singer(s). If breath noise is noticeable, set the LOW CUT switch to ON or attach the provided windscreen to the LS-10. Adjust the angle of the unit with care as the lowest and highest frequencies may be lost at certain angles.

Acoustic guitar

Point the LS-10 at a point just slightly off the guitar's sound hole. Pointing the unit more toward the saddle will make the sound softer and more reverberant, while pointing it more in the direction of the neck will make the sound sharper and crispier. In general, it is better to put the microphones closer to the guitar when recording the rhythm guitar, and further away when recording the lead guitar playing the main melody.

Positioning if breath noise is noticeable

	Sharp, crispy sound	Deviate slightly
	Sharp, crispy sound	from the sound hole.
		from the sound hole.
	Soft, reverberant sound

Piano

With a grand piano, point the LS-10 towards the center of the soundboard located inside the opening of the piano. To include the sounds in the environment where the piano is located, place the microphones further away from the piano so that they can capture the overall sound. As with other instruments, the closer the microphones are to the piano, the clearer the recorded sound, while the further away they are, the softer the sound.

Electronic keyboard

An electronic musical instrument such as a keyboard does not itself emanate sound so its music signal should be input directly from the LINE OUT jack. An electronic instrument usually uses two 6.3 mm (1/4") dia. standard (phone) plugs for the output, so an adapter cable (commercially available) that can convert the L and R phone plugs into a 3.5 mm (1/8") dia. stereo mini-plug should be used. When the electronic keyboard uses a monaural

Point at the soundboard.

LINE OUT

Keyboard

Twin phone plugs - 3.5 mm dia. stereo mini-plug converter cable

Sing-along with guitar

Place the LS-10 directly in front of the guitar's sound hole, but point the microphones towards the singer's mouth. This will record the vocal and guitar accompaniment with the optimum balance. If the LS-10 is positioned with one side facing down, the vocal and guitar accompaniment can be distributed to the left and right channels and the balance can be adjusted later.

Wind instrument

Point the LS-10 to the center of the bell. If breath noise is noticeable, point the unit slightly away from the center of the bell. When the recorder's position is off-center line, high frequencies will be more noticeable in the recorded sound. When the recorder is moved closer to the instrument, the recorded sound will have a crisper tone.

At a certain distance in front of the sound hole.

The balance can be adjusted later.

The tone of the recorded sound varies depending on the positioning of the recorder.

When breath noise is noticeable

output or when recording the monaural output of a guitar amplifier, purchase an adapter cable (commercially available) that can convert the 6.3 mm (1/4") dia. monaural phone plug into a 3.5 mm (1/8") dia. stereo mini-plug. It is recommended to use a non-resistance type cable.

Electric guitar

To record the sound output from the speaker of a guitar amplifier, place the LS-10 at a distance from the amplifier and point it at the center of the speaker cone. If the guitar amplifier has two speakers, aim the recorder at a central point between the two speakers if you want to record in stereo, or point it at a position slightly away from the center. It is recommended to set the MIC SENSE switch to LOW when recording the sound output from a guitar amplifier. If you want to record the signal output from the LINE OUT directly, connect it in the same way as an electronic keyboard.

LINE IN

	Guitar amp				Guitar amp
	Speaker				Speakers

Orchestra, big band, choir, etc.

String instrument

When recording a string musical instrument such as a violin,

Recording in a concert hall, etc.

When recording the performance of an orchestra, big band or

place the LS-10 above the instrument by pointing it at the f-hole on the body. With a string instrument, decreasing the distance of the LS-10 from the instrument results in a clearer, more contoured sound, while increasing the distance results in a softer sound.

Point at the f-hole.

choir in a concert hall, mount the LS-10 on a stand and place it on the extension of the stage center line, so that all of the performers are included in the microphone directivity coverage.