Royer Labs SF-12 - Manual (Page 10)

Percussion
The SF-12 records percussion instruments naturally, without upper frequency hype or low-end
boominess. Congas, bongos and the like can be recorded with left/right stereo effect by
positioning the mic within a few feet of the instruments. Shakers, bells, triangles and other
instruments that are often problematic in the upper frequencies will record naturally and non-
abrasively.
Vocal with Acoustic Guitar
For recording a vocal with acoustic guitar, two separate mono tracks
are required with little leakage between the tracks. One stand and one
SF-12 can do the job nicely when the two axes of sensitivity are
correctly oriented (see illustration).
Note:
The SF-12 is not recommended for close-miking loud amplified
instruments. Its sensitive ribbon elements were not designed for
extremely high SPL applications like close-miked electric guitar. For
close-miking high SPL sound sources, ruggedness is a must and we
recommend using our R-121, R-122, or R-122V ribbon microphones.
Specialized Stereo Recording Techniques
Classic Blumlein Technique
For many years, “coincident” microphone setups have been widely used for picking up sounds in
stereo as naturally as possible. The “Blumlein” technique, named for A.D. Blumlein, involves the
use of two figure-eight microphones positioned as in
the sketch (see Figure 1); one mic faces left and the
other faces right, at an angle of 90¼ (i.e., each
displaced 45¼ from center).
Each microphone ultimately feeds one speaker in a
stereo system and, due to the directionality of the
microphones, the result is a very well defined stereo
image on playback. For classical music particularly,
the reproduction can be very satisfying.
The SF-12 stereo microphone is two identical ribbon
microphones in just this Blumlein orientation: if the
microphone is placed in front of the performance,
with the Royer logo facing the center of the ensemble
to be recorded, the microphone will give a stereo
recording as per the Blumlein technique. Because of
the togetherness of the SF-12’s ribbon transducers,
sound will arrive at both ribbon elements at the same
Figure 1
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