6 Stereo Microphone Techniques You Should Know & How They Work

Learn six powerful stereo microphone techniques to make your recordings more realistic and immersive! By the end, you'll know the six stereo mic techniques, how to set them up, and why they work.
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Ernesto Doural Jr. (Drums) KZbin Channel: / @douraldrums8811
Rich Harris (Audio Engineer / Producer): www.richharrisaudio.com/
Shock City Studios in St. Louis, MO: shockcitystudios.com/
Microphones
Neumann KM 184:
- Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/Gjo9b2
- zZounds: geni.us/PWgGH
- Thomann: geni.us/eNN3
- Amazon: amzn.to/3tSNJjH
- Reverb: reverb.grsm.io/neumann-km-184
- Guitar Center: guitar-center.pxf.io/JrRjBQ
- Musician's Friend: musicians-friend.pxf.io/ZdYmqR
- B&H: bhpho.to/3zNN8mK
Neumann U87:
- Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/jWDdrM
- zZounds: geni.us/5ALq
- Thomann: geni.us/D50e
- Amazon: amzn.to/32TyriO
- Reverb: reverb.grsm.io/neumann-u-87-ai
- Guitar Center: guitar-center.pxf.io/QO2G4o
- Musician's Friend: musicians-friend.pxf.io/9Wy9O5
- B&H: bhpho.to/3zTmokX
Royer R-122:
- Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/5bmJ5b
- Thomann: geni.us/JFYWB
- Amazon: amzn.to/3tY45r7
- Guitar Center: guitar-center.pxf.io/BXRGB9
- Musician's Friend: musicians-friend.pxf.io/zan0Rm
- B&H: bhpho.to/3d9y8WK
Earthworks QTC30:
- Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/gbLdRX
- Amazon: amzn.to/3sVBKR5
- Reverb: reverb.grsm.io/earthworks-qtc30
- Guitar Center: guitar-center.pxf.io/n1WAgx
- Musician's Friend: musicians-friend.pxf.io/b3jq5B
- B&H: bhpho.to/3gMYLTx
Microphone Stereo Bars and Mounts
K&M Stereo Bar:
- Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/XxoB43
- Thomann: geni.us/6WV3O
- Amazon: amzn.to/32QEBjP
- Guitar Center: guitar-center.pxf.io/3PmRYv
- Musician's Friend: musicians-friend.pxf.io/2rVg2D
- B&H: bhpho.to/35JOyB5
JM Acoustic Mic Mounts: jmacoustic.com/Products/ORTF/o...
Microphone Stands
K&M Boom Microphone Stand:
- Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/WDJoOe
- zZounds: geni.us/iKM4A
- Thomann: geni.us/thomann-km-stand-tall
- Amazon: amzn.to/3eD9bTu
- Reverb: reverb.grsm.io/k-and-m-tall
- Guitar Center: guitar-center.pxf.io/Ry2LK7
- Musician's Friend: musicians-friend.pxf.io/do5DeQ
- B&H: bhpho.to/3j8phIG
00:00 - Introduction
00:29 - How Stereo Microphone Techniques Work
01:00 - Interaural Level Differences (ILD)
01:44 - Interaural Timing Difference (ITD)
02:17 - Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF)
03:04 - Stereo Microphone Techniques
03:29 - Coincident Pair Microphone Techniques
03:56 - Stereo Microphone Technique #1: X-Y
04:50 - Stereo Microphone Technique #2: Blumlein
05:35 - Stereo Microphone Technique #3: Mid-Side
07:16 - Near-Coincident Pair Microphone Techniques
07:49 - Stereo Microphone Technique #4: ORTF
08:39 - Spaced Pair Microphone Techniques
08:50 - Stereo Microphone Technique #5: Spaced Omni
09:32 - Baffled Pair Microphone Techniques
10:02 - Stereo Microphone Technique #6: Binaural Microphone
10:43 - Subscribe To Audio University!
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[@AudioUniversity]

Need help setting up your studio? Check out these other free resources I've created for you... Home Studio Checklist: audiouniversityonline.com/free-home-studio-checklist/ Speaker Placement Guide: audiouniversityonline.com/speaker-placement-guide/

[@fabiocaetanofigueiredo1353]

Kyle, congrats!!! The professionalism of your channel is spectacular. No BS, no wasted time, 100% density of useful knowledge per minute 👏👏👏👏

[@kabelorangaka]

It's funny how I'm in Sound Engineering school but make it a point to watch these videos even when I'm not writing a test or doing a practical. Love Audio University!!!✊

[@AudioUniversity]

I'm glad to hear these videos are helping! Also - Kudos to you, Kabelo, for putting in the time to learn more about audio on your own!

[@BADNEMMUSIC]

Same here

[@valleywoodstudio7345]

Important to state that the XY technique was developed/suggested by Blumlein because listening over speakers, the replay with the equilateral triangle reintroduces time of arrival differences due head transfer at the listener position. Blumlein pair and XY are very similar except use of Fig 8 allows controlled rear ambience to be added. It's why it sounds narrow on headphones - no transfer function - but good over speakers, head transfer now active. Also contrast why spaced sounds good on headphones but confusing and with 'hole in middle' effect over speakers - head transfer function and extra time of arrival info in the source signal. I find spaced makes source sound too big in context with other instruments in a mix. XY and Near coincident are always best as a result.

[@aangtonio5570]

I'm using the Senn HD-560S cans and I can say the XY technique here sounded best overall, by a long mile. I think the "narrow" stereo width helps a lot for compensating the well-known, extremely wide stereo imaging provided by most headphones. The drumkit sounds really natural, as it were in front of me, just like in the video.

[@SudinNair007]

This is my last revision for an exam! Thank God for this!!!

[@AudioUniversity]

Check out this video too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGnOgKNqn76WqJY Good luck on the exam!

[@panneddead-centre6844]

Exactly the video I needed. Thanks for making it.

[@kevinboucher6536]

Great clear video on how to physically pull off several stereo micing techniques.! I've been capturing nature recording for over 10 years and have been wanting to upgrade my techniques...I've been looking at how to videos for a while, and this one, by far is the one that made the light bulb go off for me!

[@sidestreetvideoproduction7278]

Incredible information. Thanks so much for sharing. Great illustrations and demonstrations.

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

This was one of the best presentations on stereo micing I have ever seen. Thank you for taking the time to create this content.

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks for taking the time to watch, Matt! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@garyheller62]

Thanks Kyle. Love your videos.

[@Sadiquecat]

This video was gold, very well presented and explained. I wish all educational videos would be like this! :D Many thanks for making this!

[@JuusoHoo]

WONDERFUL SUMMARY THANKS!

[@jobaecker9752]

Really great video of core essentials, explained perfectly. Thanks!

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks, Jo!

[@ethnicalbert]

ORTF gives such a great image for cinema ambience. Useless for most FX but for atmos it's lovely and wide

[@aungko7686]

Man, why I find this channel late. This channel is amazing.

[@pt6885]

A million thank you's for creating this amazing content. Really great job. KZbin Algo God, please reward this channel with abundant impressions!

[@walker29]

Thank you, Kyle. I love your videos. ❤

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks!

[@somethingsomething3248]

This guy putting microphones in his ears is the best thing I'll see all day! lol (Great video and great information, that last part just made me chuckle.) Thanks for sharing!

[@medardbitangimana4580]

Thanks for the lesson

[@AudioUniversity]

My pleasure!

[@MontassarFrioui]

You're awesome bro! thank you for giving us this amount of knowledge. bless you

[@AudioUniversity]

Glad to help, Montassar!

[@familymusic1771]

Wow. Great teaching

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks!

[@grandrapids57]

Top notch material and presentation.

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks, Grand Rapids57!

[@tancredorodrigues2246]

@@AudioUniversity vc e fera brother!

[@TheMrdj33]

Great vid! I'd also like to learn about diy re ribbon a mic and in general everything related to most common failures of microphone internally. And until what point should we try it ourselves and when we better take them to a professional. (pls tell me if I'm being clear enough).

[@investsmarternow]

Your videos are very useful and informative! I was an acoustical engineer at CBS and Bose where I designed loudspeakers and performed research on innovative microphone designs. It would be great to discuss some ideas for a new microphone design with you.

[@HpBeck_Fieldrecordings]

Thanks✌

[@johnswiftmusic]

I really liked it when he put the mics in his ears

[@Lauraraksin77]

The last example made me lol. I'm imagining just doing a gig for a random band and offering that I become their drummers overhead. "Don't mind me, I'm just being an overhead."

[@crisrose521]

This is a decent explanation of stereo techniques using different mics and placements, though it would have really helped if you showed sound examples of how these techniques correspond with the full mic set up on a kit . Overhead mics , separate Tom and snare mics etc . I felt that was needed but again , this is a nice start . Thanks 🙏

[@voodoochili12]

Agree - excellent video. I think a natural extension would be how to approach mixing with each technique. For example, each technique's tendencies for phase coherence, general approaches for working with that phase coherence in a mix, etc. However that's a big topic. Each of these techniques could be used for overhead mics and/or room mics, and then you're talking about a large number of variables.

[@spurts]

Love your vids. I still don’t fully understand why it’s important to invert one of the channels on MS. I understand that when summed to mono, this will cause the sides to disappear but why is that crucial that they disappear? In my mind, the mid mic will always be mono compatible, so who cares if there’s the sides are present too? BTW I’m genuinely asking rather than meaning to come across rude as I do t fully understand phase yet. Thanks

[@areastudio5229]

Finally found some use for our bands bass player: I can use him as a binaural microphone stand 😀 Imagine him standing in front of the drums for a whole recording session with some microphones stuffed into his ears 😀

[@korkenknopfus]

Very illustrative, thank you. Having very little experience at recording with mics, I wonder if the last technique, the binaural, could be applied in a similar way than the ortf, but placing something as barrier between the mics.

[@AudioUniversity]

Good idea! There are more techniques covered in the full post - some are similar to what you’re describing. Check out the ‘Baffled Pair’ section: audiouniversityonline.com/stereo-microphone-techniques/

[@korkenknopfus]

@@AudioUniversity LOL. In the last hours I was thinking it would be a bad idea, but there is something similar, I see. I will check I it out, thank you very much.

[@AudioUniversity]

Glad to help. Thanks for watching!

[@anthonymetcalf660]

I’m currently using a Zoom H8 with stock XY capsules and a LDCC for the center. Center is great, but the small diaphragms on the XY mics are very heavy on the high end. If you just turn your head away from a noise source it’s obvious that it gets low-passed. This makes sense because the low frequencies create much larger waveforms that aren’t impeded as much by smaller objects. I was thinking of using a low-pass filter but that changes the phase and I don’t really understand the complexities of that yet. I think ideally I would be using two 180 deg mics that are rich in mods and lows with a high end roll-off with near-coincidental placement, a light baffle between the Zoom XY mics, and a relatively even-spectrum and rich condenser for the center, then do phase correction in post for the latter. That way the Zoom capsules can capture all the crispness of the highs and be blended into the stereo image produced by the combination of the other three mics. I really don’t know what would be best for realism besides those binaural mics. I’m trying to capture reverbs for IRs.

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks for sharing, Anthony! I like the way you think. Let us know if you find a solution that yields good results!

[@ethnicalbert]

Or get some decent mics :)

[@fabianernestopacheco]

Mega ultra! 😎

[@DamonZenDrummer]

Best thing ever !!! When you used your skull as a baffle !! How did you think of that!?

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks, Damon! I was trying to mimic a binaural microphone, like this one: bhpho.to/38nga3t

[@robfriedrich2822]

I know some of the techniques under different name. The first shown as AB, not always Mono compatible The 3rd shown as MS After this as XY, when only the sound level difference makes the stereo sound. I missed the Decca Tree as option. In the last example, the incompatibility to Mono is easy to recognize. The Roland Sound Space processor can convert binaural for headphones to 3D stereo. But it's not available anymore.

[@SKDrumming]

saw just two new and hey .. I can utilize my wife while I track hahahahaha but to be serious those all are great and greatly explained ... for me tracking my drum covers I use the recorder man technique with is a spaced pair technique that works like a charm for my big monster drum kit ... one mike just above the snare and one just behind my shoulder having equal distance from both kick and snare ....

[@aldionsylkaj9654]

I have a question, and I thought this is very very educational! I am learning this out of necessity, the question I have is with my two microphones, when doing a clap test in front of my near-coincident setup, i notice that the left channel is out ofaligment by 30ms which when listened to in stereo sounds incredibly strange. do you have any info I can look into how I can make sure these are aligned?

[@AudioUniversity]

30ms seems like a lot to be a misalignment of the mics. Are you sure you’re comparing the direct sound of the clap and not an early reflection? Also, be sure that you are reading the timeline properly. In the past, I have misread the timeline.

[@SCubelaahhh]

Great video!! What mic holders are you using for the 184s for xy and ortf ? Many thanks !

[@AudioUniversity]

JM Acoustic: jmacoustic.com/Products/ORTF/ortf.html They’re awesome!

[@SCubelaahhh]

@@AudioUniversity thank you so much! Looks like it takes out so much time and let’s you focus on so much more then spending a good chunk of the time just getting the angle right just to figure out your array of mics need to be moved 1.5inches to the left or right to correct the imaging. Lol 😂

[@AudioUniversity]

You’re absolutely correct! lol

[@yeltsinpalacios9029]

Playlist Differences in Techniques: 1. X/Y = 04:01 2. Blumlein = 05:02 3, Mid/Side = 05:40 4. ORTF = 07:55 5. Spaced Omni = 08:54 6. Binaural Mic = 10:25

[@Billiardroomsessions]

Is spaced pair mic technique also fully panned L&R?

[@AudioUniversity]

It can be, but you can also experiment with partial panning.

[@DrBuffaloBalls]

Simple question about the M/S technique: Wouldn't it also be possible to create the side channel without duplicating the track, but by simply flipping the phase of one channel on the same track? Keeping track counts low is always a priority for me to avoid needless complication of the project file.

[@AudioUniversity]

That would result in a complete cancellation, just like when summing MS to mono. It’s important to use separate tracks so that you can pan one hard left and the other hard right.

[@DrBuffaloBalls]

@@AudioUniversity But if I use a plugin that can flip just the left or right channel of the Side mic, doesn't that essentially achieve exactly the same effect? After all, you end up with opposite polarity copies in each ear, just like you would with your method.

[@benjipage719]

What’s the ortf and xy mic holders you have there? Look much more reliable than fussing about with a regular stereo bar?

[@AudioUniversity]

JM Acoustic Mic Mounts: jmacoustic.com/Products/ORTF/ortf.html

[@benjipage719]

@@AudioUniversity thanks for sharing!

[@onemic-theminimalist]

Interesting - I got a lot done with one stereo mic and have over thirty videos showing the process if anyone is interested.

[@gillsgills]

I guess in a DAW, panning a track to one side only affects the level difference (ILD) but not the time difference (ITD) or EQ difference (HRTF) true to real life. Does that mean proportionally delaying and LPF'ing the opposite side of the pan direction would create a better stereo panning effect? Are there tools that do this?

[@AudioUniversity]

In headphones, that is true. But with speakers the ITD and HRTF will still occur.

[@gillsgills]

@@AudioUniversity oh right, of course. I guess it’s not a worthwhile practice in that case. Tight, thanks for the quick response!

[@studentjohn35]

Legend has it that, when using M50 clones (M150, TLM50, Blue B4 capsule, etc) the "hole in the middle" is much less of a problem with these high-end mics.

[@ethnicalbert]

But they sound like garbage in comparison, which is a lot more important

[@MrDogonjon]

Skull baffling? Baffled my skull. Now I'm completely baffled.

[@fffffffffax]

think ya forgot to flip phase on thee blumlein there hahee

[@Vhisper]

The third technique can be replaced by some nice room reverb effect as well

[@saurabhkumarjain7]

Sir Francis Ford Coppola

[@vincentw4881]

Oh, so thats why they call them LavalEAR mics.

[@rajivesangma4463]

Aaaaa

[@jakomostyn7123]

my guy referenced the pornhub drum intro

[@artofstorytelling9406]

Thanks Putin !

[@tomburton5500]

Also, what's the harm in not inverting the phase on one of the side channels in ms? What is the issue when summed to mono if the phase isn't cancelled? Sorry for the stupid question!

[@kaybhee6]

was gonna do all these,,, this kat helped verifyu lots,,, thanx dude,,, note one mo thing,,, a funner 3d way to playback,,, use open baffle plywood full freq range single spkrs,, suxh as fostex FE108EZ or FE126NV2 ,, and el84 type set tube amps,,, waaaay real

[@tomburton5500]

I love your vids, Mate. When using coincident pairs (not inc MS) is there are harm in odd ball panning? I.e. not hard panning - One perhaps more left than right?

[@AudioUniversity]

I don't believe so. I've done this in the past with good results. But I'd recommend setting the mics up for equal level in each from the beginning, in any case.

[@tomburton5500]

@@AudioUniversity Thanks Mate