jnorman wrote:

i tend to use ORTF for my main stereo pair for live venues. i
understand that i typically must place the mics a bit closer than
where i might actually want to stand to listen the the group. in the
studio, i face a similar problem. i do lots of overdubs and recording
of solo tracks for classical instruments, and i like to choose mic
placement by ear. since in a live venue, i place mics closer than my
ears migt suggest, should i also use this rule inthe studio, placing
the mics a bit closer than my ear tells me to? i generally track all
solo lines in stereo, and i am about at the point where i am going to
just start throwing up a pair of schoeps cmc64s in ORTF about 4 feet
out for everything from violins and flutes to horns and classical
guitars. any thoughts on why this might not be a good idea? danke.

Because, as the man says, "Your mileage may vary." Basically any time
you quit listening and start engineering/recording by formula, you're
setting yourself up to record less than the best sound you can. Don't
get lazy, this is the fun part. If you start to notice that this
position is where you end up most of the time, then it's obviously
going to be a position to try on pretty much every occasion. But if
it's the position you end up using ALL the time, then you're not paying
attention because instruments and music and musicians vary a whole lot
more than that.

ulysses