Do some acoustic guitar tracking using the mid technique

[atticusedwards]

Hi everyone.

I am going to be doing some acoustic guitar tracking using the mid / side technique over the the next few days / weeks / months--with the pandemic, who's really counting?--and was wondering whether there are any rules of thumb for pairing the mid and side mics?

The side mic will be a Lewitt 441 Flex (a wonderful mic I bought based largely on the strength of the SOS review), and my choices for the mid mic are a Lewitt 140 Air (another wonderful mic), an AT2035, and an Aston Element.

Thanks,

[Sam Inglis]

The only hard and fast rule is that the Sides mic needs to have a figure-8 polar pattern. Beyond that, you're free to try anything! Personally I try to avoid situations where the Sides mic is significantly brighter than the Mid mic, as I feel that can sound a bit odd, but potentially any of your mics could work as the Mid.

[Trent in WA]

Atticus, I have the three mics you mention, and my standard M/S pairing is the 441 with the 140 Air. I've never tried the Element as a mid mic, but to my ear it's kind of thick and midrange-y to use in that application, particularly if the acoustic guitar is important enough to be tracked in stereo.