What's the rule of thumb for this reverb scenario?

[unclebob6958]

Genelec 8030A

As has been discussed with you frequently on the other forum, Harmonica, speakers only get you 40% of the way there technologically. You need to treat your listening environment as well. Nice speakers won't do you a bit of good if your room is untreated.

You're always looking for the "magic button" that will solve all of your problems - it does not exist. You need to actually listen, then listen some more, then listen A LOT more. You need to spend hours and hours and hours playing with your toys. You need to rely upon your own talents and wits, and not rely on others to solve your problems for you.

 

[Noiz2]

No you don't need a sub. If your not tuning the room and calibrating your speakers it's probably better to not have one.

RE: Subs and surround set ups. A sub is required to mix 5.1 since it is the .1 part of the spec.

How much you need a sub has a lot to do with what you are mixing and what speakers you are using.

If you are not mixing for playback on systems that will have a sub and you have decent main speakers (with a bass cone of say 7" or more) you should be fine.

You may want to slap a steep low cut filter at 20Hz on your mixes to keep subharmonic sounds out that you won't be able to hear (feel) with out a sub since they can cause problems.

 

[AndersonSoundRecording]

Howdy

Didn't see anyone bring this up (sorry if I may have missed it)

There is another way - mid/side recording.

Use your shotgun and capture the best direct on-axis sound you can get. Record this to the "L" channel on your recorder or camera (this is your "Mid" mic). Attach a figure-8 capsule to it, coincident and perpendicular-to the shotgun capsule (this is your "Side" mic). Record this to the "R" channel on your recorder or camera.

In post, use a Mid/Side encoder (decoder?). If you've done your work correctly, the shotgun will have the nice direct sound and the figure-8 will have captured the natural ambience of the space. Hopefully it is quiet enough and controlled enough that you can dial in a bit of natural space back in to match the camera perspective (if you wish).

There is the caveat that this will not always work out, so make sure that the voice is well captured with the shotgun and/or lav's to give yourself the best range of options later.

Here are a couple of options for this capture technique if you already own a shotgun:
http://www.ambient.de/en/products/ambient-recording/microphones/emesser.html
http://vintageking.com/Schoeps-Microphones-CMC68-Set
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/...ign=googleps&gclid=CL_zqoCDr7YCFYbc4AodWV8A1A
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=79495&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Otherwise, Sennheiser makes a purpose-built mic for this:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/255366.html?gclid=CMHHg7eDr7YCFckx4AodggwA2Q

It's basically a 416 with a built-in figure-8 capsule. Something to keep in mind with this mic: it needs a 5-pin XLR with tails, and both capsules have to be powered.

Hope that helps.

 

[GaryNattrass]

You can record M/S on location but it is very critical that you get the levels right when decoding it, the BBC used to record M/S a lot but I personally prefer to use an M/S mic but record it as an encoded A/B signal.

Most digital edit systems have an M/S plug in so you can adjust the width of an A/B signal but it works better if you use an M/S mic at the front end!

 

[AndersonSoundRecording]

Not sure what you mean by A/B? Do you mean matrix to stereo on the fly?

If you have good monitoring on-site, or if you are comfortable doing the encoding in cans, that's a perfectly good way to do it - may as well commit up front. You can tweak in post with M/S, even if it's already encoded.

My suggestion for someone who is maybe not so familiar with the technique is to record Mid and Side to separate tracks, spend your energy monitoring the Mid channel (since that's going to be the money channel), and then fiddle in post if you have the time and inclination.

YMMV

Whatever you do: DO NOT PAN THE MID MIC TO THE LEFT AND THE SIDE MIC TO THE RIGHT in post. This will result in the strangest "stereo" sound you have ever heard. Drives me crazy when I hear it.