Mic & recording basics
Key answers from:
How can professional vocal recordings be made in the home studio?
Martin / The position and distance to the microphone are the be-all and end-all. With a cardioid pattern (e.g. Lewitt LCT 440 Pure), a distance of 15-30 cm is optimal. The greater the distance, the thinner the voice sounds and you get stronger room noise. The closer, the fuller the sound and bass frequencies are boosted, but there may be a lack of definition (proximity effect). A pop filter helps keep the distance constant and removes unpleasant pop noise. The input level should still remain in the green range at louder parts (about -10 to 12 dB LUFS), overloads cannot be removed afterwards!
The room in which the recording is made has the greatest influence on the quality of the recordings. The drier, i.e. the less reverberation, the better. By snapping your fingers or clapping your hands, you can easily determine the reverberation of the room. The shorter it decays, the drier it is. Any source of noise that you can remove, or at least reduce, will contribute to better sounding recordings. Also, never sing against a smooth surface. Bookshelves or an open wardrobe can help in the home studio.
Why is a microphone with different polar patterns a good investment?
Martin / Changing the polar pattern also changes certain sound characteristics of a microphone: With the omnidirectional you manage to reproduce the bass range very accurately. The cardioid is the characteristic that is used most often, because here the sound source is reproduced authentically, but the sound from the opposite direction is suppressed. The supercardioid suppresses ambient noise even more effectively and instruments can be recorded in better isolation.
But my personal favorite is the figure-of-eight: With two figure-of-eight mics (e.g. Lewitt LCT 441 FLEX), vocals and guitar can easily be recorded simultaneously, but isolated from each other. The correct position of the two mics and good room acoustics are essential to consider here, but the result provides enormous scope for creative editing. The perfect recording technique for singer/songwriters. Conclusion: A microphone with different directional characteristics is always a sensible investment.
What is to be considered with stereo recordings?
Martin / The following techniques make recordings sound more lively and realistic. You need two cardioid mics with matched sensitivity and frequency response (e.g. Lewitt LCT
040 MP) plus a stereo rail for positioning. Attention:
The recording level should always be the same for both inputs! The XY technique uses the level difference to create the stereo effect and is the one that benefits most from a „matched pair“. The microphones should be positioned at an angle between 90 and 135 degrees so that the capsules are on top of each other at one point. Since there are no delay problems here, this technique is perfect for percussive instruments.
The AB technique uses the time difference to create the stereo effect and gives a good impression of space.
Here, the microphones are mounted parallel to each other at a distance of min.
35 cm. For stereo miking of e.g. choirs/orchestras over medium distances AB-Stereo is a very good choice.
ORTF uses time and level differences and produces the strongest stereo effect. This is because the placement mimics the distance between the ears of a human head. Both microphones are positioned about 17 cm apart and at an angle of 110 degrees - roughly how the ears sit. ORTF provides a wide stereo image and is wonderfully suited for various acoustic instruments.