Stereo linking
 

Hi all,

What is the preferred mode of operation for stereo linking inputs on an SD-302? I have a matched pair of MSH-1's. Should I use an X/Y stereo link or an MS stereo link? Thanks in advance.

Michael

It depends.

In part, it depends on what you're micing and what you want it to sound like.

But we're not just talking about the linking mode on the mixer, these are stereo micing configs - x/y is a configuration, usually two small-diaphram cardoid condensor mics, stacked one above the other at a 90 degree angle. X/Y has a fair stereo image and good fidelity when collapsed to mono.

M/S (mid/side) consists of one cardoid mic and one bi-directional mic (uncommon), or, a single mic body that includes both elements, stacked with the cardoid to the front (mid) and the bi-directional to the sides (side). Such a mic or mic array's signal needs to be decoded to stereo, which can happen during recording or during post-production. M/S has a good stereo image and excellent fidelity when collapsed to mono.

There's a third stereo micing config called ORTF, a fourth called A/B...

What is it you're trying to record, and why use stereo micing techniques? Applications are limited to collecting background ambience (sometimes), recording of acoustic music performances...

Thanks for the reply Seth. I figured that it wasn't a simple answer I was going to get. I'm recording a solo baby grand piano performance. I have a stereo bar that the mics will be mounted on. It is kind of a "T" bar and will not allow for vertical stacking. The SD-302 only supports X/Y and the MS modes. The mics I have are what they are. It's a good thing it's not a live performance. I'll be working with the artist at her home. I can try the MS config in the mixer and see what I get.

Thanks again,

Michael

Do not use MS unless you have a MS pair (cardioid & figure-8). And if you had that kind of combination it would not be by chance and you would know it...

The X/Y stereo linking just locks the channels 1 & 2 together so that you can adjust the levels of the stereo pair with one knob, which guarantees that the levels are equal on both lines. That is mandatory for truthfull stereo image. This would work with any standard stereo pair, be it ORTF, AB, XY, Jecklin disk, DIN, whatever.

DPA has a good microphone university at http://www.dpamicrophones.com/ explaining all different stereo micing techniques.
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What MS linking does is take line 1 and line 2 and put them out as 1+2 on left out and 1-2 on right out channel. Doing that with a standard pair of mics would make one funny stereo...

Thank you for the clarification Petri. I definitely do not have the proper mics for MS.

Regards,

Michael