Room mic
A microphone placed some distance from the source to capture the sound of the room rather than the instrument alone.
A close microphone hears the speaker and little else, so a second, more distant microphone is added to pick up the reflections and size of the space, which makes a recorded guitar sound like it exists somewhere. The room mic is usually blended at a lower level than the close one and often compressed hard, so its reflections become audible as ambience. The quality of the room sets the value of the microphone: a good room rewards the technique and a poor one punishes it.
Example: A guitar track that sounds small and dry until a distant microphone is faded in behind the close one has been missing its room mic.
See also
Related
- PageClose miking
- PageMicrophone
- PageMonitor
- PageAmp mic placement
- PageAudio interface
- PageAux send
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley