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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: Roving Sign on January 09, 2009, 08:32:50 AM
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Does anyone ever adjust the timing between two channels...?
We're all familiar with the delay issues involved mixing 2 sources that are far apart...like with a soundboard+aud matrix....
But arent some of those same delay issues still in play (but to a lesser extent) when setting up off-center or with certain mic patterns...?
If Im off the the left in an arena...I might be 20 ft from one stack, but 40 from the other...could anything be gained by changing the timing of the two tracks?
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Your recording doesn't just contain the direct sound from the P.A. system; it also contains a substantial amount of reflected sound from the environment; depending on your distance and the room, it could be as much or more as the direct sound. And only the direct sound component has the undesirable timing relationship between channels. Since you can't separate the direct sound from the reflected sound after you've already made the recording, you can't process them separately.
There is only one fundamental solution to this problem, and that is to put the mikes where they will pick up the desired musical balance with the arrival times that you really want to have in your recording. I don't think that there can really be any technological fix otherwise.
--best regards (and sympathies)
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There is only one fundamental solution to this problem, and that is to put the mikes where they will pick up the desired musical balance with the arrival times that you really want to have in your recording. I don't think that there can really be any technological fix otherwise.
--best regards (and sympathies)
Oh! - such the purist! ;) ;D
Although it does sort of sound like you're saying..."It depends" (on the content of each channel)
Wouldn't small shifts in time cause different phase re-inforcement/cancelation effects once it comes out of your speakers? Seems like there is some wiggle room before it starts to sound like "delay"
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Does anyone ever adjust the timing between two channels...?
Not really, for reasons that DSatz says.
I've heard of people doing this with guns, which might tend to have more separation. I tried it once, with a tape I made outside with guns, and after fooling around with it for an hour decided "this isn't getting me anywhere", because there is still some left stack in the right mic, and vice versa, and it only seems to make it worse.
In theory it's a clever idea, but in practice it doesn't work out.
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I've done this, I think, on one occasion. I've tried it a couple times and only one time did it work out to the point where I said... yeah this is better, I'm going with it.
I use guns so that may account for my ability to do so (more direct sound, less reflected).
What I listen for is an imbalance. Does it sound like the music is leaning to one side or the other?
If so I compare wave forms. What I'm looking for is the peaks and zero-crossings to match up. On most occasions they do, and no adjustments can be made.
On this rare occasion that I speak of, they did not match up, and the adjustment ended up centering the music much better.