TC electronic SDN BHD Gold Channel user manual Stereo Recording

WHERE GREAT RECORDINGS BEGIN

Miking distance works in concert with directional pattern to affect the amount of ambient sound recorded. Moving a mic closer to a sound source makes it louder in relation to competing sounds. To the listener, this reduction of ambient sound makes the instrument or voice appear to be closer. Pulling the mic back and allowing it to record more ambient sound will appear to push the sound back from the plane of the speakers. In other words, mic placement has a direct effect on the perceived location of the sound on playback. Though you can simulate this effect with artificial ambience, the results are rarely as convincing as those achieved by varied microphone placement.

When it comes to mic distance, there are potential problems at both extremes. Place a mic too close, and it may pick up only one aspect of a sound's character. Most directional mics also experience proximity effect, which causes a buildup in bass frequencies when placed within about 18 inches of the sound source. A low-cut filter or low-frequency equalization (both of which are found in the Gold Channel) can help compensate for excessive proximity effect. Up-close mic placement can also accentuate dynamics and transient peaks, making the sound a challenge to properly record and mix. When close mic placement is a must, the Gold Channel's compression circuit can help tame excessive peaks.

Placing a mic too far from the instrument or voice can make for a distant, unexciting sound. Rooms with poor acoustics will show up loud and clear on a distant mic, as will unwanted sounds and noises. High frequencies and subtle details tend to decrease quickly with distance, giving distant miking a somewhat duller sound than up-close miking. For most popular music recording of a single instrument, miking distances of eight inches to three feet are most common.

Apart from miking distance, the orientation of mic to instrument or voice can have a significant impact on the sound. Since high and low frequencies spread out from a sound source differently, various locations around an instrument will deliver dramatically different sound. Likewise, various spots in a room will have a different mix of frequencies due to the way sound careens around between walls, ceiling and floor. Sometimes, moving a microphone just a few inches can alter the character of the sound considerably. The closer the mic is, the more dramatic the resulting change. Finding a voice or instrument's "sweet spot" takes some time, but is well worth the effort.

Stereo Recording

Stereo recording uses two microphones to record a more pronounced sense of spaciousness and ambience than is possible with a single mic. Stereo recording can make a single instrument seem to spread from one speaker to the other, or it can capture the sound of an ensemble with a great degree of realism.

Though variations abound, there are three common miking arrangements used to capture stereo sound (see figure 2). The simplest is the spaced pair, which places two directional or omnidirectional mics anywhere from 12 inches to several feet apart in front of the sound source. Spaced pair recordings capture a rich, full ambient sound.

A related approach is coincident pair or "X-Y" recording. This approach places two directional mics at roughly a 90-degree angle to one another, with their heads nearly touching. Though not quite as lush as spaced pair stereo, this method offers good sound localization and better compatibility for mono playback. A matched pair of mics is important for both spaced pair and X-Y miking setups, as is identical signal processing of the two channels. The Gold Channel's stereo link mode makes it well-suited to X-Y and spaced pair stereo recording, as changes in one channel will be performed identically on the other.

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