17 April 2025
In order to test out some new mics, I recorded the bells at a local church. I decided it might be a good idea to compare two common stereo mic techniques, spaced pair omnis (AB), and omni mid-size (M/S).
I varied the M/S balance to demonstrate the flexibility of the technique.
Distance to bells: ~ 150m.
Wind protection: default Schoeps foam screens, DIY windscreen for the M/S pair.
Recorder: Zoom F8n Pro, recording 32-bit (no time to set levels) @ 48kHz.
Post Processing: Mixed audio in Harrison Mixbus. Adjusted clip gain to bring each single track up to -10dB for the loudest bell section (without wind), then added a high-pass filter to both tracks of the figure-8 due to a massive wind burst at ~ 01:35. (Clearly, my DIY windshield isn’t quite up to the task for that type of wind on that mic. I ended up using the Schoeps during that section, anyway.) Audio exported to FLAC (-14 LUFS) prior to editing video in Kdenlive.
Next time, I’ll try the same recording with a slightly wider spaced pair, to see if I can widen the bells a bit. I’ll probably also try a cardioid mid for the mid/side pair.