{{Short description|Microphone placement technique}} 300px|thumb|right|This photograph of a drum kit shows the overhead microphones in a "spaced pair" arrangement {{Listen | filename = Overheads.ogg | title = Drum recording using just overhead microphones | alt = Sound recording of a drum kit through just two microphones positioned above the kit | description = On this recording of a drum kit, the overhead microphones provide a clear stereo image of the kit as a whole | filename2 = No overheads.ogg | title2 = Drum recording using microphones on each drum, but no overhead microphones | alt2 = Sound recording of a drum kit with microphones placed on each individual drum, but no overhead microphones to gel the recording or provide ambience | description2 = On this recording of a drum kit, the lack of overhead microphones leaves the recording without much ambience, as the sound is only provided by the close microphones | filename3 = Drum beat.ogg | title3 = A full drum kit recording | alt3 = Sound recording of a drum kit | description3 = On this recording of a drum kit, overhead microphones are balanced with the close microphones to blend the stereo sound of the kit and ambience together }}
'''Overhead microphones''' are those used in sound recording and live sound reproduction to pick up ambient sounds, transients and the overall blend of instruments.<ref name="Huber 2005 165">{{harvtxt|Huber|2005|p=165}}</ref> They are used in drum recording to achieve a stereo image of the full drum kit,<ref name="Huber 2005 166">{{harvtxt|Huber|2005|p=166}}</ref> as well as orchestral recording to create a balanced stereo recording of full orchestras.
== Overhead positioning == There are multiple arrangements for drum overheads, which are often based on personal preference of the musician, engineer, or producer.<ref name="Huber 2005 165" /> These include "A-B" spaced pairs (where two directional microphones are suspended above the left and right clusters of cymbals),<ref name="Huber 2005 165" /> "X-Y" coincident pairs, where the two directional microphones are centred on the drum kit with their capsule are very close without touching, and angled across each other at 90°.<ref name="Bartlett 2006">{{harvtxt|Bartlett|2006}}</ref> Coincident placement give a wider stereo image than spaced pairs, and some engineers prefer it for this reason.<ref name="Eargle 2004 220">{{harvtxt|Eargle|2004|p=220}}</ref>
Other drum overhead positions include the Recorderman Technique (where the distance between both microphones and the snare drum is equal, as is the distance between both microphones and the bass drum<ref name="McKinney 2007">{{harvtxt|McKinney|2007}}</ref>) and the Glyn Johns method (where one "overhead" is placed to the drummer's right, aiming across the floor tom to the centre of the kit<ref name="Griffiths 2007 3">{{harvtxt|Griffiths|2007|p=3}}</ref>).
In orchestral recordings, particularly those for film score recordings, the Decca tree is often used.<ref name="Streicher 2003 2">{{harvtxt|Streicher|2003|p=2}}</ref>
== Footnotes == {{reflist|2}}
== Sources == {{refbegin}} * {{citation|last=Bartlett|first=Bruce|title=Stereo Microphone Techniques|year=2006|publisher=Delta Media|place=Guasti, CA|url=http://www.deltamedia.com/resource/stereo_microphone_techniques.html|accessdate=14 April 2011}} * {{citation|last=Eargle|first=John|authorlink=John M. Eargle|title=The Microphone Book|year=2004|publisher=Focal Press|place=Kidlington, Oxfordshire|isbn=0-240-51961-2}} * {{citation|last=Griffiths|first=Ed|title=The Glyn Johns Method – A Quick Primer for Recording Drums|year=2007|publisher=Blaxploitation|url=http://www.blaxploitation.com/drums/glynJohnsMethod.pdf|accessdate=14 April 2011}} * {{citation|last=Huber|first=David Miles|title=Modern Recording Techniques (6th ed.)|year=2005|publisher=Focal Press|place=Kidlington, Oxfordshire|isbn=0-240-80625-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/modernrecordingt01hube}} * {{citation|last=McKinney|first=Des|title=Recorderman Overhead Drum Mic Technique|year=2007|publisher=Hometracked|place=Toronto|url=http://www.hometracked.com/2007/05/12/recorderman-overhead-drum-mic-technique/|accessdate=14 April 2011}} * {{citation|last=Streicher|first=Ron|title=The Decca Tree – It's Not Just for Stereo Any More|year=2003|publisher=Audio Engineering Associates|place=Pasadena, CA|url=http://www.wesdooley.com/pdf/surround_sound_decca_tree-urtext.pdf|accessdate=14 April 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719020728/http://www.wesdooley.com/pdf/Surround_Sound_Decca_Tree-urtext.pdf|archivedate=19 July 2011}} {{refend}}
Category:Sound recording Category:Microphone practices