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In my experience off-axis coloration is only an issue when using mics that have a discernible off-axis coloration. Any good directional mics will have minimal off-axis coloration and be fine in a near-coincident pair.agauchede wrote:I find omnis can be useful in less than desirable rooms, since there is less build-up of off axis coloration. Of course, if the room is too small to get the mics away from the walls or ceiling, you can also have comb-filtering issues. Get there early if possible -- classical musicians frequently rehearse a few hours before a performance.
Chris
Case-in-point: I recorded this piece using an ORTF pair in a room that was basically a large shoebox (long and narrow). The room had a distinct low-end rise with a very long RT60 (over 3 seconds) that made almost anything in it mush. But since the near coincident pairs are good at minimizing room sound this recording came out quite well despite all that.
On the other hand, this piece was recorded in a nice sounding room with an ORTF main pair and omni flanks. A noticeable improvement in fullness.
I also have an admitted bias to keeping my main pair near-coincident. The stereo field is more accurate. Omnis tend to be a bit indiscriminate when it comes to rendering the sound stage accurately. Though, I will use an omni main pair when I have to use spots...since the lack of pin-point stereo imaging works to my advantage when mixing in the spots.
Again - this is all my take on it after 9+ years of mostly classical & trad. jazz minimal mic recordings. I've road tested it and it works consistently for me...which is huge when you're doing live location work. You want a repeatable process that yields good results. You usually don't get a chance for a do-over in these situations.
