I've got plenty of experience recording at home by myself creating duets and quartets on a little digital multitrack recorder. Since it's just me I use a Shure SM57 mic which requires the mic to be fairly close to the bell of the horn.
I now have the opportunity to record duets with another person but was wondering if I can use a mic that will allow us to record both of us on one mic on one recorder channel at the same time. Is there a type of mic that can be used this way?
I realize that using two mics like the SM57 on two recorder channels at the same time might be better for recording acoustics and control but I'm just exploring my options. Not only that, using one mic simplifies things.
Thanks for any input.
Re: Mics for recording more than one player at a time
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 5:03 pm
by harrisonreed
You will want two channels so you'll need two mics. Or a Zoom with an XY pair built in.
I would do two cardioids, spaced apart.
You could do like pop singers used to do with a figure 8 mic to do duets, but having only one channel for two instruments really limits your options, both for setting gain to ensure a good recording, and editing in post.
Re: Mics for recording more than one player at a time
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2025 9:40 am
by Rrova
Hey Harrison,
What kind of mics and configuration is Jonathan using here? I've been so impressed with the sound quality Jonathan and Christopher get with the Southwest Trombone Conference sound folks.
Plus, I'm sure it would capture two trombones just as well.
Re: Mics for recording more than one player at a time
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2025 9:49 am
by harrisonreed
Rrova wrote: ↑Thu Apr 24, 2025 9:40 am
Hey Harrison,
What kind of mics and configuration is Jonathan using here? I've been so impressed with the sound quality Jonathan and Christopher get with the Southwest Trombone Conference sound folks.
Plus, I'm sure it would capture two trombones just as well.
That is what is called a Blumlein coincident pair. It's basically two figure-8 pattern mics stacked on top of each other at 90⁰ angles.
It shares some similarities with the spaced-omni pair, since the perpendicular figure 8 patterns cover the entire room and it's a stereo technique, but because the two mics are coincident (no space left/right), you won't have any issues with phasing or comb filtering. This is at the expense of losing the slight delay between left and right signals that you'd get in real life, since your ears are basically a spaced pair, which is why I tend to prefer spaced omnis, but obviously the Blumlein technique can work really well!
What is not so easy to see is the main pair, which is mounted up high off the edge of center stage (the stand is visible in the pianist's shoulder cam view). That is probably the main component of the stereo image here, and I'll bet it's a spaced omni setup. The piano and trombone mics that are visible are just spot mics used to add clarity to the main image. So there are at least 6 mics making the sound you hear.