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When most people think of stereo recording, the first thing that comes to mind
is a matched pair of microphones, arranged in a coincident (XY) pattern. It
makes sense, of course, since that's the closest way to replicate a real pair of
human ears.
But while XY microphone recording is the most obvious method, it's not the
only game in town. The Mid-Side (MS) microphone technique sounds a bit
more complex, but it offers some dramatic advantages over standard
coincident miking. If you've never heard of MS recording, or you've been afraid
to try it, you're missing a powerful secret weapon in your recording arsenal.
One of the weaknesses of the XY microphone technique is the fact that you're
stuck with whatever you've recorded. There's little flexibility for changing the
stereo image once it's been committed to disk or tape. In some cases,
collapsing the tracks into mono can result in some phase cancellation.
The MS technique gives you more control over the width of the stereo spread
than other microphone recording techniques, and allows you to make
adjustments at any time after the recording is finished.
The "Mid" microphone is set up facing the center of the sound source.
Typically, this mic would be a cardioid or hyper-cardioid pattern (although
some variations of the technique use an omni or figure-8 pattern). The "Side"
mic requirement is more stringent, in that it must be a figure-8 pattern. This
mic is aimed 90 degrees off-axis from the sound source. Both mic capsules
should be placed as closely as possible, typically one above the other.
How it Works
The Side mic's figure-8 pattern, aimed at 90 degrees from the source, picks up
ambient and reverberant sound coming from the sides of the sound stage.
Since it's a figure-8 pattern, the two sides are 180 degrees out of phase. In
other words, a positive charge to one side of the mic's diaphragm creates an
equal negative charge to the other side. The front of the mic, which represents
the plus (+) side, is usually pointed to the left of the sound stage, while the
rear, or minus (-) side, is pointed to the right.
The signal from each microphone is then recorded to its own track. However,
to hear a proper stereo image when listening to the recording, the tracks need
to be matrixed and decoded.
Although you have recorded only two channels of audio (the Mid and Side), the
next step is to split the Side signal into two separate channels. This can be
done either in your DAW software or hardware mixer by bringing the Side
signal up on two channels and reversing the phase of one of them. Pan one
side hard left, the other hard right. The resulting two channels represent
exactly what both sides of your figure-8 Side mic were hearing.
Now you've got three channels of recorded audio– the Mid center channel and
two Side channels – which must be balanced to recreate a stereo image.
(Here's where it gets a little confusing, so hang on tight.) MS decoding works
by what's called a "sum and difference matrix," adding one of the Side
signals—the plus (+) side—to the Mid signal for the sum, and then subtracting
the other Side signal—the minus (-) side—from the Mid signal for the
difference.
Now, if you listen to just the Mid channel, you get a mono signal. Bring up the
two side channels and you'll hear a stereo spread. Here's the really cool part—
the width of the stereo field can be varied by the amount of Side channel in the
mix! Why It Works. An instrument at dead center (0 degrees) creates a sound
that enters the Mid microphone directly on-axis. But that same sound hits the
null spot of the Side figure-8 microphone. The resulting signal is sent equally
to the left and right mixer buses and speakers, resulting in a centered image.
An instrument positioned 45 degrees to the left creates a sound that hits the
Mid microphone and one side of the Side figure-8 microphone. Because the
front of the Side mic is facing left, the sound causes a positive polarity. That
positive polarity combines with the positive polarity from the Mid mic in the left
channel, resulting in an increased level on the left side of the sound field.
Meanwhile, on the right channel of the Side mic, that same signal causes an
out-of-phase negative polarity. That negative polarity combines with the Mid
mic in the right channel, resulting in a reduced level on the right side.
An instrument positioned 45 degrees to the right creates exactly the opposite
effect, increasing the signal to the right side while decreasing it to the left.
The Mid mic acts as the center channel, while the Side mic signal creates the stereo ambience.
What's the Advantage?
Try some experimenting with this—listen to just the Mid channel, and you'll
hear a direct, monophonic signal. Now lower the level of the Mid channel while
raising the two Side channels. As the Side signals increase and the Mid
decreases, you'll notice the stereo image gets wider, while the center moves
further away. (Removing the Mid channel completely results in a signal that's
mostly ambient room sound, with very little directionality – useful for effect,
but not much else.) By starting with the direct Mid sound and mixing in the
Side channels, you can create just the right stereo imaging for the track.
Other Variations
While most MS recording is done with a cardioid mic for the Mid channel,
varying the Mid mic can create some interesting effects. Try an omni mic
pattern on the Mid channel for dramatically increased spaciousness and an
extended low frequency response.
As you can see, there's a lot more to the MS microphone technique than meets
the ear, so give it a try. Even if the technical theory behind it is a bit confusing,
in practice you'll find it to be an incredibly useful method to attain ultimate
control of the stereo field in your recordings.
Here are some drum loops made with Mid-Side microphone recording. The
mics were about 5 feet in front of the kit, head height with the drummer in a
small room. If you have a DAW, you can download the Mid and Side WAV files
separately and set up the sum-and-difference matrix yourself.
— Daniel Keller