Close and Distant Miking

Distance sets the ratio of direct sound to room sound. Close miking gives detail, distant miking gives space.

Related

Room TreatmentReverbClassical Guitar

The problem

Close miking gives detail but little space. Distant miking gives space but lets the room cover the detail. Decide which one this passage needs instead of recording everything from the same distance.

Signal chain

The microphone hears direct sound mixed with room reflections. The closer it is, the higher the direct share; beyond the critical distance, the room takes over. Close miking still contains room sound, just less of it. Distance also changes proximity effect and the angle at which the instrument radiates.

Placement and settings

Place a voice 15 to 25 cm away, an acoustic guitar 20 to 30 cm away, and a drum head 2 to 10 cm away. For space, move back to 1 to 3 metres or find a favourable spot in the room. Trade distance for the reverb ratio instead of adding space with a plugin.

What to listen for

Close up, listen for breath, fingers and pedals. Farther away, listen to the whole instrument and the room tail. Compare low-end weight, transient edge and image width on the same phrase.

Common misconceptions

• Close miking has no room sound → the room is still there, just quieter relative to the direct sound.
• Distant miking is always more natural → in a small room it picks up standing waves first.
• Reverb can replace recorded space → it cannot create the real early reflections.

Sources

• Eargle, The Microphone Book, 3rd ed., close and distant pickup chapters
• Everest, Master Handbook of Acoustics, direct and reverberant field chapters

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.