Tonal Cues ep2: The Most Common Stereo Micing Mistake

[@easternsouvenirs]

Whaaat. It’s not too often anymore I come across a “you’re doing it wrong” video where I am actually doing it wrong and it makes total sense why it’s wrong. This was very insightful

[@martynheynemusic]

Happy to hear it helped!

[@foketesz]

Clear, logical, to the point and short. 🙂

[@martynheynemusic]

I try to trim the fat a bit. Glad you found it informative!

[@TheLucaBattistella]

3:56 Nice pause for comedic effect. Liked.

[@jamesstonehouse3448]

This explains why I liked using ORTF so much.

[@annemullercello]

As much as I appreciate the informative content and clear explanation of the video, I would also like to mention that I could and will listen to your lectures for hours.

[@martynheynemusic]

Thanks very much dear Anne! So now I just have to record hours of tech chatter then..

[@annemullercello]

@@martynheynemusic yes please!

[@AdriendelaSalle]

Such a clear and entertaining explanation, thanks Martyn. I'm gonna enjoy this series so much!

[@martynheynemusic]

Thanks Adrien, I appreciate it!

[@twitcheyspleen]

Thank you. Great video, which will help me in future sessions!

[@martynheynemusic]

Happy to hear it!

[@oceanjaws]

Thank you so much. This is so useful and so obvious when you explain it.

[@martynheynemusic]

So happy it was insightful to you!

[@CempStar]

That was amazing! Everything you need to get started with stereo recording!

[@martynheynemusic]

Glad to hear it helped!

[@oadrums]

Thank you, very helpful 😊

[@martynheynemusic]

Glad it helped!

[@stephengoold9044]

Good point! Never thought of it that way, though it does slightly confuse me because something like the Glynn John method of recording drums resembles your forbidden pattern, but with the mics spread out along the radius further and rotated on the axis. Thanks for such a good video!

[@martynheynemusic]

Thank you Steven! I'm addressing your question regarding Glyn Johns in the latest video

[@devon-graves-studio-D]

Well put! Subscribed

[@martynheynemusic]

appreciate it!

[@DelmaRaySmithJr]

Hearing is physical, listening is mental, optical illusions in sound is psychoacoustic.

[@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n]

learned a lot there very humbling danke

[@martynheynemusic]

Sehr gerne!

[@timball8429]

Thanks for the advice! Great info!

[@persquad8998]

I have made a HUUUUUGE mistake. Thanks for the Clearification 😅

[@martynheynemusic]

Glad it helped - we're all learning!

[@benjamin6909]

Absolutely brilliant video. I wish more of my friends in audio would take the time to learn more about stereo mic techniques.

[@martynheynemusic]

bring them here and let's nerd out together!

[@rzk_audio]

Fantastic video!

[@gravityfreaksmusic]

Richtig gut. Hier wurde gelacht. Schön erklärt auch. Cheers!

[@martynheynemusic]

Das freut mich!

[@Snhojbar]

Thank you. You did a great job of explaining that.

[@martynheynemusic]

Appreciate it!

[@pedrovaz3301]

Very good stuff! Please keep going!

[@maxreinsch]

Bloody good job!!

[@martynheynemusic]

Thanks mate!

[@spokeydoke]

Thanks for such a clear explanation :)))

[@martynheynemusic]

My pleasure!

[@pedroahets]

Great video! Thanks!!!!

[@sonicart1808]

Très bien Martyn...😆I mean very good, concise & well-explained thanks....

[@martynheynemusic]

Merci beaucoup!

[@sonicart1808]

@@martynheynemusic 😆

[@GarryChecora]

Beyerdynamuc MC-930.

[@martynheynemusic]

Yes!

[@ChickyNYC]

Any thoughts on Glynn Johns or Recorderman overhead positioning? On both, the mics are pointed inwards, yet tend to give lovely stereophonic and binaural results, from my experience

[@martynheynemusic]

Yes! I'm addressing this in the latest video. See you there!

[@AlbertWeijers]

Mooi gesproken dat Nederlands!

[@martynheynemusic]

Dank je wel Albert

[@ectoplasma5]

​@@martynheynemusicHeel mooi ! Das Deutsch war auch perfekt.

[@buckeroonii]

That was incredible, where can I hear your next drum solo?

[@martynheynemusic]

I'm talking about drums in the latest video. Missed a chance to make silly noises though..

[@joegridl]

I like my snare dead center. If i face the mics away from the snare they might sound different in each mic. But I did not do my own research on this. So maybe I'm wrong. I will definitely try out next time!

[@dancarter5517]

With overhead drum mics, I get one mic where I want it, measure from the center of the snare to the mic capsule then place the other equal distance to the center of the snare. In a mix with the snare mic panned center, it will also be dead center of the overheads when panned hard L & R.

[@martynheynemusic]

Check out my latest video on the Glyn Johns technique! See you there

[@itikutok6568]

Awesome stuff, thanks!

[@martynheynemusic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@HerwigScheck]

Thanks for the excellent explanation. So each and every drum overhead micing technique where the microphones are pointed inwards (mostly towards the snare drum) have these problems? do you have experience using the Recorderman technique (equidistant from kick & snare via a cord/cable and pointed towards snare drum) and if so would that have the same problems? Thanks in advance

[@martynheynemusic]

Hi, drum overheads do indeed often have this problem but there's a point where I wouldn't consider them a stereo pair anymore. I've made a video about this in relation to drum micing here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fX3ShK2lpqmWl8Usi=ycwRWFeNQla4717F

[@lyleooley]

How does this apply to a Glyn Johns style drum setup? Seems to give a nice stereo image, both pointing more or less inward.

[@martynheynemusic]

Great question! Basically in Glyn Johns technique the mics are so far apart from one another, and so close to the source, that it's not really a stereo technique anymore but rather two mono sources with panning. The bleed fills the spaces in between.

[@JonathanGalle]

In addition to Martyn's answer you'll also notice the two mics are not competing for the stereo image, amplitude and time are both working together still. Glyn Johns only works if the mics aren't competing, which is why you make sure they are equidistant from the snare and roughly 32in away. The ride sound will arrive at the rear microphone before the overhead mic it will also be louder due to it's proximity. I'd argue it's a bit like a spaced pair in terms of qualifying for "stereo-technique-ness" and in my book it's on the brink of still being a stereo technique but it's on very shaky ground haha! You'll notice if you set it up correctly you can pan the overhead mic hard right and the behind mic hard left and still end up with the snare sounding in the middle, to me that's enough to qualify it as a "stereo" array. Especially considering you can balance the full kit quite nicely without any spots if done correctly. But to each their own! I think one could easily argue it's not a "true" stereo technique.

[@martynheynemusic]

@@JonathanGalle Think of it like this: Can you use Glyn Johns on a piano? On a choir?

[@JonathanGalle]

@@martynheynemusic Fair enough, but does the Glyn Johns array not capture an accurate stereophonic sound of the kit? I'd argue it sounds better than almost all of the traditional stereo arrays for kit for most jazz/small kit applications. It creates an accurate stereo image of a drum kit and by that definition I would say it is a "stereo array" as it creates a stereo image. I think calling it two mono sources with panning is a bit oversimplified and doesn't give the array it's due. For comparison: I would argue the Decca tree is a stereo array, If you agree with me that it is a stereo array then you'll also probably agree that the array tends to fall apart on smaller sources than orchestra. Does this officially make it not a stereo array? You could obviously argue "no it's a LCR" but in my book a stereo array is one that represents a realistic stereo image. Once again, I'm just being pedantic about all this, in regards to the video and the greater conversation it is largely un-important haha! We can both however agree that pointing cardioids in towards each other spaced out is a bad idea and to absolutely not do it hehe!

[@martynheynemusic]

Hi Lyle, I've made a new video addressing this question regarding Glyn Johns. Hope to see you there!

[@keyboardtek]

As a pianist, I am trying to achieve a recording like my ears hear the piano. Zenph Studio recordings of their piano used a dummy head with the mic elements in the ears. So should the spacing between two mics be about the width of a head? And should there be an object in between about the size of a head to block the sound from opposite sides from being caught by the side sensitivity of the mic?

[@martynheynemusic]

Brilliant question, thank you! I'll answer this in the next episode

[@martynheynemusic]

here we go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZiXfIyOf56JoM0

[@georgeogrady449]

Why record in 24 bits went mixer 32-40 bits

[@martynheynemusic]

It can be useful to mix in a higher resolution than the recording or final delivery master for a few reasons but not really worth losing sleep over.

[@astralaudio101]

My question is, why is AB recommended with Omni capsules? I’ve been focusing on using Cardioids because of the risky rooms with low ceilings etc.. Thanks 👍

[@martynheynemusic]

Very good question! It's mostly because Omnis can do things other mics can't and they in turn can only do AB.

[@martynheynemusic]

Hi @astralaudio! I've made a video answering your question in depth here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXWwpIumj7yIqbssi=xEYVpjdoAupnQfHW

[@progpowermetalhour]

Can this technique be used on an acoustic guitar to create a stereo image?

[@JiihaaS]

Sure, ORTF is probably a good starting point, so I suggest taking a look into its specifications.

[@martynheynemusic]

Yes, near coincident, coincident, and AB can all be good on acoustic guitar!

[@tekis0]

Sub-SCRIBED!

[@martynheynemusic]

Cheers!

[@followthebeat66]

Most common mistake: doing stereo recordings.

[@martynheynemusic]

touché

[@followthebeat66]

@@martynheynemusic great vids btw mate!

[@JuiceNZ]

dude... your video has the most annoying hiss sound throughout it...hard to watch an audio guy talking about audio mistakes when this is going on

[@artysanmobile]

dude?🤷🏽‍♂️

[@ts4gv]

it's not *that* bad is it?

[@cplock5670]

Sure there’s a bit of hiss, but this explanation was very clear and concise. Two things can be simultaneously true - there is indeed hiss, but the information delivered is accurate.

[@JuiceNZ]

nah its poor form plain and simply

[@artysanmobile]

@@JuiceNZ you sure your name isn’t dick?

[@ElRobboz]

An excellent summary and explanation, Martyn. Top work! :o)

[@martynheynemusic]

Thank you very much!

[@AlbertoMons]

Yes ! 💪

[@martynheynemusic]

[@DouglasBryant-d2f]

Thanks

[@kristianalexanderpedersen7382]

A sound louder in one speaker than the other is just called panning ☺️

[@lucaserojas]

Panning is just the shifting of sound from one side of the stereo image to the other, nothing to do with loudness

[@kristianalexanderpedersen7382]

@@lucaserojas What happens when you have have identical volumes in both sides and then lowers one side? The phantom center moves and is panned to one side. Moron :)

[@martynheynemusic]

Sounds like the latest video on Stereo I just made could be on interest to you!

[@kristianalexanderpedersen7382]

@@martynheynemusic Sounds like you don't know what you're talking about :)

[@martynheynemusic]

@@kristianalexanderpedersen7382 I believe you're thinking of a mono signal. In the latest video I'm outlining the distinction between panned mono and a true stereo image. Cheers

[@j.p.7708]

I will always listen to a person that speaks multiple languages 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤣

[@martynheynemusic]

I see you got some Italian as well!