The spoken word
Derek Taylor (revised by Peter Wisbey) · 1995
Abstract At the outset it should be said that all microphone balancing is an art or a technique, not a science. It is impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules. If you say something must always (or never) be done, the next day some combination of programme requirement/studio acoustic/equipment characteristic will prove that the only practical solution is the exact opposite. The only criterion is: will it sound right to the listener? The only way of being sure is to try something and listen. This may take time, and this chapter is designed to help to obtain the desired result more quickly by using well-tried methods and avoiding some of the pitfalls. In practice the method adopted will be controlled to a large extent by the facilities and time (that is to say money) available.