Stereo Microphone Techniques

In the early days of sound recording, all recordings were monaural, or mono, meaning one channel of sound. According to Wikipedia, in 1958 the first stereo recording was released, and with it a whole new world of audio reproduction. Now, recordings could have a sense of space, and a better sense of separation between instruments and voices.

The reason behind recording in stereo is very simple; we have two ears, so why not have (at least) two channels of recording? Recording in stereo gives you the best reproduction of an audio event, be it music or speech.

While it's generally the best, you don't always have to record in stereo. All modern multitracks give you the ability to pan a channel to the center, giving it full volume equally in both channels; unless it's something that requires full definition, recording in mono and having it panned equally is the best idea.

Let's take a look at some stereo microphone techniques for recording live. These are best suited for recording live events such as concerts, but you can also use them for recording acoustic instruments such as guitar or wind instruments.

What Do I Need To Record In Stereo?

You need, at very least, two alike microphones - preferably a matched pair, which means they're matched in the factory to sound the exact same. You also need a stand mount that's compatible with stereo positioning, such as the Shure A27M, or the cheaper On-Stage Stands mount I use here. The microphones used in this tutorial are Neumann KM184, courtesy of Neumann Microphones/Sennheiser USA!