Put the mic where the instrument sounds best to your ear.
You'll always need to use unidirectional microphones in live situations to isolate you sound sources and to avoid feedback problems.
In most circumstances, you will want to put the mic as close to the instrument as possible without interfering with the player's movement. This will ensure a more focused sound with less bleed from the other instruments onstage.
Just keep in mind that the more open microphones you have onstage, the more problems you'll likely have with feedback.
So try to keep your setup simple and use pickups and directional mics whenever possible.
The Three To One Rule
The 3 to 1 Rule is a multiple microphone placement rule that generally prevents the pickup of one microphone from interfering with the pickup of another. The rule is:
"Two microphones, intended to pick up two sound sources must be placed apart at least three times the distance that either microphone is from it’s intended sound source."
When The 3 To 1 Rule Doesn’t Work:
The three to one rule works well if the two singers (or whatever) have similar levels. When the singers sing at different strengths, the 3 to 1 rule loses its effectiveness and so you should compensate.
If you were using directional microphones, also called a "Unidirectional" microphones, you could change the angle of the microphones to fix the 3 to 1 rule problem here or to reduce multiple microphone interference when two singers have different vocal strengths.
In other words the microphone will pickup sounds to the side of the microphone
at half level, so try to not have another loud sound source behind your mic.
X-Y mic arrangement. (For stereo mic’ing)
This shows a X-Y set up, closely spaced. This arrangement will give you good phasing.
Reason? Phase cancellation!
Phase is the time difference between similar waveforms.
When two signals are close in frequency and level (Volume) but out of time with each other, there is a phase difference.
One cycle of sound is considered to have 360 degrees.
When a second signal starts a half-cycle later, it is called 180 degrees "out-of-phase" with the first signal.
When two signals are 180 degrees out-of-phase, the peaks of one signal are in time with the dips of the second signal and the result is a cancellation of the signals’ energy. (Zero, nothing)
It’s sort of like someone pushing on a window as another person pulls on the same window - it doesn’t move.
When two signals have their valleys start at the same time and their peaks start at the same time, the two signals are said to be "in-phase" and the energy of the two signals will double when the signals are combined. This is sort of like two people both pushing on the same window - it opens faster and goes further.
So when 2 microphones are separated, you get phase cancellation, because the sound waves traveling through the air arrive at the 2 microphones at different cycles, thus creating cancellation. (Very rarely do they arrive in such a perfect way as to cancel each other out, but they still do throw each other out of wack to a certain degree. I’ve experienced this on a few of my earlier recordings, when I didn’t quite understand this concept yet, and the result was that if you listen to these songs in mono for example, the drums drop in volume and loose a considerable amount of presence.
Drum Miking Techniques
Of all acoustic instruments, drums and percussion instruments seem the most elusive to capture with a compelling sound.
Drum tuning is very important. You must start with a good natural sound to begin with.
The best place to start is with the overhead microphones.
Separate mic’d tracks for each drum is a luxury that most of us can’t afford.
So, if you can afford to record on 4 tracks, I’d suggest to use 2 overhead mics, in the X-Y configuration we talked about earlier, and one mic on the snare drum, and one mic on the kick drum.
If you can only afford to record 3 tracks, then I’d go for 2 overheads, and one mic on the kick drum.
If you can only afford 2 tracks, then I’d go for one overhead mic and one on the kick drum.
Microphone Choice
There are so many mic choices, which I won't get into. But one tip is to look at the frequency response of the mic you are using and see if it matches your need.
For example: don’t use a Shure 57 on a kick drum, as it won’t pick up any of the low frequencies you want.
Overheads
You can put the overheads over the drums set, or behind the drummer or in front of the kit facing the drummer.
It depends really on what type of sound your trying to achieve, so I would suggest that you experiment a bit and see what sound you like most for your particular song.
Kick drum
Place it half in, and half out of the hole in the front head. This distance is variable, but try to keep the mic pointed exactly at the spot on the rear head where the beater hits.
A good mic that’s affordable to use is the Shure Beta 52.
I would not suggest using a sensitive condenser mic on the kick drum since a lot of air pumps straight out into the mic. Air blasts can damage those mics.
Snare Drum
A good mic to use is the Shure 57. Place it at about 11 o'clock from the player's perspective, between the hi-hat and the rack tom, about two inches from the head.
In general, aim snare mics directly at the center of the drum head where the drummer should hit the drum. If you find you have too much "hit" and not enough tone, then move the mic slightly downward, in front of where it is hit. Try to make sure not to aim the mic at a lug, but position it between two lugs. Pulling the mic back away from the snare drum greatly changes the sound. Doing this, generally produces a bigger and rounder tone with less attack and a little more ambience. But still aim the mic at the center of the drum.
Or try different things if you want to experiment with tone, like mic from beneath the snare. These guidelines tell of how to mic the best punch from you drums.
Tom-Toms
The floor and rack toms are mic’d from the top only and aimed at the center of the head.
I won’t suggest a mic, as there are many, and most real good ones are out of our price range. You can however purchase drum mic sets for a reasonable price. If you are going to be doing a lot of drum mic’ing, it may be worth it to invest in a set.
Electric Guitar
Electric guitars are easy to mic and record. Usually you mic just one speaker. Moving the mic anywhere from touching the grill cloth to a foot away will do the job.
By keeping the mic close to the speaker you are enhancing the low frequencies. High frequencies are directional, so if you align directly on the center of the speaker cone, you will get the most high frequencies available.
As you move the mic further away, you lose lows and as you move the mic laterally towards the outer edge of the speaker cone, you lose highs.
Guitar amps can be mic’d with a dynamic mic, like the Shure 57.
Acoustic Guitar
Put the mic slightly above, close too and in front of the spot where the neck joins the body, and angle it downward toward the sound hole. This placement should give you a nice blend of string harmonics, resonance, and pick sound.
It is impossible to say exactly what to do in every particular situation though.
The guitar's sound is dependent on the player's technique, the instrument itself, the key of the song and the condition of the strings. So listen and find the sweet spot for your situation.
For stage performances, if the guitar has a pickup, try taking it direct. This may or may not sound good, depending on the quality and type of pick up.
Bass
The "direct" sound of the bass guitar is used more often than not.
If you want to mic the amp, stick the mic right up to the speaker.
Vocal Mic Placement
Mic placement - particularly when using sensitive condensers - directly affects every aspect of the singer's sound and performance. While there are no hard and fast rules, ideally the singer needs to sing directly into the diaphragm of the mic.
Distance to the mic is extremely important because our ears relate distance to intimacy with the singer's voice and emotion:
Closer distances equate to a more intimate sound.
Changing distance causes a degradation in quality but is all part of "working the mic," which is part of a singer's stage sound. Experienced singers use these physics to enhance or color the good and bad areas of their voice. A good singer will use slight distance changes for dramatic punctuation.
(For example, when a singer hits a loud high note, they will move slightly away from the mic, to compensate for the level change.)
Working very close to the mic nearly always necessitates the use of a "pop filter". If you are doing a recording in your studio or room, I’d suggest always using a pop filter. It can just be a coat hanger wire with a pair of stockings pulled over the loop. (That’s what I used for a few years.)
In general, a good starting point mic placement is slightly higher than the singer's mouth. The mic is then aimed downward at the mouth.
Remember that this class is a guide, ultimately you should rely on your ears to determine the best mic placement for optimum sound.
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