by Joseph Giovanelli
Miking a Band
Q. I would think that ideal microphone placement for recording a band concert (approximately 40-65 pieces) would be as in “A." but I have seen people with equipment costing about three times as much as mine arranging mics as in "B." Please tell me what position would be better in this case.
-Jim Spellmeyer, Affton, Missouri
A. Mic placement for a band or any other musical group must be determined experimentally most of the time. Room acoustics play a major role.
I think that your Fig. B would represent the better approach of the two drawings you have shown. If the mics are too close to the band, you may tend to emphasize the instruments closest to the mics. Further, you can possibly overload the preamplifiers in your recorder.
Locate the recorder as far from the musicians as possible in order that you can monitor what you are taping with a minimum of "live" sound entering your ears. I am assuming that you are using omnidirectional microphones for your recording.
If you use cardioid mics, they must be mounted close together, forming an angle of 90 degrees to each other and aimed at the band in such a manner that each one points to the band at 45 degrees. For my own use I made up a bar on which both mics can be mounted. This bar, in turn, can be mounted on the mic stand. I believe that such devices are sold commercially as "stereo rails." This miking technique is the simplest approach. It guarantees good results where you cannot become involved with numerous mics for accenting the various instrumental sections of the band.
Oscilloscopes in a Recording Studio
Q. I recently attended a recording session here in Montreal. I noticed that the engineers were using oscilloscopes to make sure that the incoming signal or the recorded signal was free from distortion. My questions are: Is this a good technique? Is it better than the use of a VU meter?
-Louis Hone; Montreal, Canada
A. That 'scope might be used for a purpose other than level reading. It might be on the line to indicate a possible out-of-place condition which could result in a poor quality final disc when it is reproduced in mono. It is possible that the 'scope was on the line as a level indicator, just as you indicated. If so, it would work better than the VU meter. The 'scope will respond to signal peaks which the meter would not "see." An additional use of the 'scope might have been to set up an exact phase relationship during tape head azimuth adjustment. This would provide a maximum high frequency response when the master tape is reproduced.
(Audio magazine, Jan. 1974)
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