0

Hello there!

I am about to assemble a MS microphone set for field recordings; after some testing and researching I have decided to go the Sennheiser route with a MKH 30 for the side, and either a MKH 8040 or 8050 as the mid channel.

At the moment I am bit stuck though in my decision between the cardioid and the hyper-cardioid: I am both into recording spot effects as well as ambiances - from what I have learned so far a cardioid in MS setup should give a more natural and consistent stereo image, hence it is recommended if the focus is more on stereo/ambience recordings. A hypercardioid though would offer a more focused mid channel apparently for anything that does not require a shotgun (and I would like to avoid a shotgun in a MS setup), which would be nice when recording spot sounds of course.

So, what to do? I can't afford all three mics yet, nor would I want to carry around a second mic for the mid channel with me in the field & having to open the Rycote everytime I need to replace the mid mic.

Best would be to do a shootout, but there's no real rental service around here where I live; maybe somebody can share his experience with hyper vs. cardioid in a MS setup?

Cheers

Felix

|improve this question
  • just remember. the 8050 will flip the stereo image with anything that moves behind the microphone. it's called stereo swapping. this might not be ideal in certain situations. – user5936 Apr 13 '13 at 22:39
2

I'd go with the cardioid, it's more versatile. for example if you'd buy a second 8040 in the future you'd have lots of options for useful setups: Double MS, MS + spot-mic, XY, ORTF, AB and so forth. Many ambiences sound a lot better/wider/real recorded in setups that consist of spaced mics, like ORTF or AB. Just an opinion of course...

|improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.