Decca Tree

A stereo miking technique. A Decca Tree configuration is characterized by having three omnidirectional microphones in a “T” shaped setup. Two of the microphones are positioned about two meters apart. The third microphone is positioned between the first two, but about 1.5 meters forward (closer to the source) of them. This configuration is sometimes used for orchestral recordings and film scoring due to its natural sound with good separation. It is useful in film because the image doesn’t usually cause problems with Dolby or other surround processes. In many cases the Neumann M50 (or now, the newer TLM50) is used as the center microphone because of its unique directional characteristics and smooth sound.