M/S stereo 'new' variant for surround

[paulears]

Have a look at this video from Salford University.

 

It's a in a little pretty horrible sounding studio, and has a very strange set-up. the usual centre mic, but then the side mic set behind it, and then another set for surround recording. While I love M/S in really nice spaces where the reality of the space gets recorded, in a studio situation this is just going to sound very strange indeed, and the spacing will make the stereo field very perculiar because out won't match the mid mic, being slightly delays because it's further away. If they really want surround from a space, they have sufficient mics to do a Blumlein with two of them. I always find it very odd that in education there is always great emphasis in needing microphones to record the room, when the room is doing it's best to not be audible! A guitar has such a narrow sound producing width, I'm always amazed when people try to widen them, as a solo instrument in a studio - especially as the sound is always so dry it has to have reverb at the least, applied - which are always stereo! Not the same stereo, of course - but I really don't get this process. I can only assume it's what Salford are teaching?

[stagemanagement]

I'm a little surprised to hear a graduate at one of the country's premier audio university's also refer to "phase" inversions?!!

I would have thought that Salford of all places should be emphasising this error and ensuring their students refer to polarity inversion?...

[paulears]

Indeed, especially as phase in this case is a component of extra distance - but it's very messy all round. Mind you, could explain the odd sound the BBC seem to produce from that part of the world?

[sandall]

I can't work out whether this is a really badly presented "lecture" or a student spoof.

[paulears]

It's getting lots of internet group comments - none good, and plenty scathing! I wonder if Salford know the attention they're getting. Mind you, it is getting M/S talked about.

[GaryNattrass]

It's kind of like a bodged Calrec soundfield although with that mic all the capsules are arranged in a closer array.

 

We us them all the time for 5.1 at sports stadia.

 

I use M/S mic's a lot and the small Sony ECM ones have been used on numerous TV drama productions for sound effect recording to mini disc.

 

M/S has limited use in the studio though and I agree with Pauls comments about it's validity here and I would certainly never record M/S but also use the A/B wide controls a lot in film and TV dubbing.