Stereophonic Microphone Technique
Classic Blumlein Technique
For many years, several “coincident” microphone setups have
been widely used for picking up sounds in stereo as naturally as
possible.
The “Blumlein” technique, named for A.D. Blumlein of England,
involves the use of two figure-eight microphones positioned as in
the sketch (
see Figure 1
), so that one faces left and the other right,
at an angle of 90º (i.e. each displaced 45º from center).
Each microphone ultimately feeds one speaker in a stereo system,
and due to the directionality of the microphones, the result is a
very well defined stereo effect on playback. For classical music,
particularly, the reproduction can be very satisfying.
Mid-Side Technique
In the early days of stereo radio broadcasting, there was a need
for a mic setup that would allow for simultaneous stereo and
mono feeds from the same mic array and for electronic “fiddling”
with the severity of the stereo effect.
18
Figure 1
Classic Blumlein or “coincident” miking
technique
Sound Source
(CENTER)
45 Degrees
45 Degrees
Coincident pair as seen from
directly above
Summary of Contents for R-122
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