Topic: Two cards and one omni?

[vwmule]

Picked up a ck62 (omni) cap and while I'm searching for another, I'm wondering about the viability of running the single cap along with a ck61 (card) pair in an outdoor setting.

Waste of time?

[datbrad]

I used to do it during my old GD taping days from the taping section. I had a Nak 300 tri-mic set and a Nak MX100 3 mic mixer, and indoors usually ran the CP4 shotguns with a card in the middle, and outdoors I ran omni in the middle, and either cards or the guns L/R. Making a live mix this way was tricky because there seemed to be very little tolerance for the center mic gain setting. If the center mic is just a tiny bit too loud with respect the gain of the L/R pair, the soundstage collapses into mono and may even sound muddy, depending on the amount of bass from the source. But when it's set correctly, it adds a controlled "crosstalk" that can really fatten up a recording made from a distance too far away to use cards or omnis alone, but too close to run shotguns only.

If you are using a multitrack recorder, then you won't have to worry about any of this since you can dial in everything in post.

[Gutbucket]

It's easier and IMO you'll get better results by using a microphone configuration which is more suitable for 3 microphones.   

If using the cardioids in a typical stereo near-spaced configuration, you won't get as much improvement from mixing that with a single omni positioned in the same place, and are more likely to have issues when mixing them.  Level adjustment is touchier and harder to mix on the fly for one thing.

Instead, I suggest A-B spacing the cardioids 6' or more apart with the omni centered in the middle between them.   Typically I wide-space the omni pair and use a cardioid or supercardioid in the center, but the other way around works too.   Still best to record all three channels separately so you can adjust mix levels later while listening if possible, but if you need to mix them prior to recording only two tracks, the mix ratio will be less critical this way.

Here's a link to the Suwannee Springfest 2015 section thread in rig pictures, containing the link below to a set recorded last weekend in an outdoor ampitheater using a pair of 6-8' spaced cardioids (no center omni).  Sounds good on it's own IMO, and provides a good basis for mixing in a third center mic without potential problems, regardless of the center microphone's pickup pattern-

Hey Colin, weren't you running your Gefell cardioids wide A-B spaced one day, clamped to two different stands?  How'd that work out?

(suspect setup circled in red, both mics pointing directly forward, far one under umbrella is barely visible)

Link to Hot Rise set

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugqsb807vxob2kt/150321195834.hot%20rise.wav?dl=0

mg200 > V3 > digi > R44

mics split 6' - 8'

[vwmule]

Thanks for the replies. Not sure if I'll experiment but good info.