Fake string section - mono or M/S?

[AppleEyes]

Hello there

I'm new to this board - I've been reading it for a few months but now I have a question I think is worth asking:

A friend of mine's band is recording an album - in a studio in Vienna, working with a producer, some budget behind it - but they've run out of money for live strings. I said I'd help out and record some strings at home (which they will mix in with samples), overdubbing myself and my girlfriend playing violin a few times per part to get a string section sound... maybe not ideal but it'll work in the background.

But, I don't have matched pairs so usually I do this sort of thing with one mic and spread each take I record across the speakers. However, I wondered about experimenting with a M/S arrangement and have us (the players) move across the speakers a bit for each take. The only figure-of-8 mic I have available is a large diaphragm sE multi-pattern mic, which would mean I would have to use and old AKG C1000s for the M mic, on cardioid.

So my question is, would it be better/more realistic to use only my higher quality sE mic as a mono mic, or use a combination of the sE and AKG in M/S (I know neither mic is amazing). We're recording in my living room which (while not sounding great) doesn't sound too bad...

I would experiment myself but this has to be recorded by tomorrow night(!) so can't really afford the time.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Matt

[AppleEyes]

I wondered about experimenting with a M/S arrangement and have us (the players) move across the speakers a bit for each take.

Meant "move across in front of the mic" there!
Matt

[GussyLoveridge]

hey matt,

i think what i might try is a M/S set up with a great mono signal on the cardioid. that way you know if the M/S thing ends up sounding a little squirrely, you're still confident that you're recording something usable for your friends band. If your room is sounding good and you can get a good stereo image when you decode the M/S, I'd think all the better.

Keep an ear out for bad reflections, etc. You should be able to try a few different places in your room rather quickly and maybe keep some headphones on while moving about until you hit a real nice spot. You can move yourself about the mics, but also move the mics about too.

good luck, post some samples when you're done if you have time.

have fun.

[Wlouch]

For strings, I would always try to capture it in stereo. ORTF, M/S, Decca Tree etc. If it is a solo violin or something then mono and a few takes maybe, it depends on what you are after. but I would try to capture them as perfectly as possible so you end up leaving them totally dry in the mix, the ear appreciates unchanged sonic events during a highly manipulated hyper-real mix.

[Gebo]

If your not mixing and they are going to be simulating a larger string section I would get the cleanest most untouched (no room) sound you can, be it stereo or mono. M/S sounds great in a great room, but will your room still sound ok with multiple layers of strings recorded in there? Will the room sound jive with their mix? Will your room sounds make it hard to blend in the sampled strings? It could work, but it could not work. Maybe do them in M/S but real close?

[IanWalker]

Maybe do them in M/S but real close?

This strikes me as a good idea, but not TOO close. Too close and you loose some of the authenticity of the strings, which is precisely the reason you're tracking some real strings to augment the synth ones.

You need some ambience to capture the tone of stringed instruments.

Give omni a shot too. You can get a bit closer without proximity effect being a concern, and if you're doubling things up anyway, the mix engineer can pan those around and get things placed anywhere, and as wide as s/he wants. The right verb and I can see that sounding pretty authentic if the engineer knows what they are doing.