The Importance of Mic Placement

Recently, I recorded high school jazz bands performing performing at the state-level for their music performance assessments. The venue is relatively new and lacks its full acoustic treatments—only the curtains on stage, some acoustic foam backstage, and a full curtain in the back of the auditorium. The walls and ceilings are bare with only their coating of paint on them. Can you figure out which clip in the video was captured by stereo microphones placed on-stage (about 10–15' in front of the band and about 15' above them) and which one was captured by the camera's microphones in the center of the auditorium (about 50' from the stage)? Get involved in the comments below. Want to jump to the sample? - (0:51) Sample 1 - (1:05) Sample 2 For the audio clips in the excerpt, no post processing has been done (e.g., EQ, compression, reverb, etc.) other than matching the target loudness to -25.00 LUFS. The piece being performed is "Portrait of Louis Armstrong" by Duke Ellington. Recording Gear: - Camera: Sony a6700 with Viltrox 25mm f/1.7 lens - Microphones: Rode Wireless GO II (lavalier) Audio excerpt recorded on: - Camera: Sony a6700 - Audio Recorder: Zoom F6 Field Recorder - Microphones: sE Electronics sE8 stereo pair

Added 1 Jun 2026