Topic: Mic config/placement when off center

[Myco]

What would be your recommendations for mic config/placement when your off center at an outdoor festival? In many outdoor situations, and indoor for that matter, you end up slightly left or right of center in the venue. Should you change the config/placement of the mics at all to accomodate this? Would you still aim your mics for each stack in a DIN config, or would you choose the stack closest to you? Also, I saw the config Oade bros. has recommended for outdoor taping on the link provided in the sticky thread, has anyone ever used this wide angle config in their taping attempts? What was the result?

Thanks! 

[stevetoney]

Perdy much the same question asked in this query a day or two ago.

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,85921.0.html

C'mon you experienced guys, give us the poop!

[BobW]

get near-ish to the stack a few dozen feet or so, use your ears
Stack tapes at large outdoor venues can be some of the best pulls
It is the impact zone, so wear hearing protection

[Myco]

I've pulled some great tapes shooting for both stacks even though I've been setup slightly left or right of center. During a recent fest I saw some fairly seasoned tapers aiming for the left stack as you look at the stage because it was closer to us than the other side. Having not heard any of their tapes yet I can't say who's config would produce a better tape, but it seemed kind of odd to me seeing as though we were right near the soundboard and the need to focus on one stack wouldn't be necessary because we were far enough back to catch both stacks. Just curious if maybe they knew something I didn't.

[boojum]

If each set of stacks is blowing out the same tracks, it is all mono and makes no difference.  If the stacks both carry different tracks get them both.  If you are a little off center it can be fixed in post to make the levels about equal.   

[stevetoney]

If you are a little off center it can be fixed in post to make the levels about equal.   

I don't think that's the point.  If it were strictly a level issue that can be corrected in post, then there wouldn't be any point to all the different mic configs (DIN, DINa, ORTF, etc).  So, while I'm no expert, I do want to point out that it's not strictly a level issue at play but how the sound interacts with the spacing between two microphone capsules to provide a sonic image that hopefully replicates what you would like to hear in the recording. 

For example, spreading the mics into a DIN configuration suggests that there is slight time delay between the sound coming from, for example, the right stack to the left mic vs. the delay from the same stack to the right mic.  This approximates the distance between our two ears, so in theory at least, this 17 cm DIN mic spacing replicates what we hear when we are standing out in the crowd.  This has nothing to do with bumping the level of one channel, but everything to do with the one or two milliseconds (or whatever the lag is) time difference for sound to reach one ear versus the other...or in the case of recording, one capsule versus the other. 

So, this time lag is one aspect at play in recreating the authenticity that some of us are after when we tape live recordings. 

On the other hand, for coincident setups, the sound reaches both mic capsules at exactly the same time.  What I've read is that some people say that their recording 'loses space' or 'loses depth' when they record in coincident...although since I'm still learning, I'm not real sure what is gained with coincident...maybe better stereo imaging (versus 'live sound recreation').