The most common stereo recording technique is a Spaced Pair of microphones. When using this technique or any stereo technique it’s common practice to use a matched pair of microphones. This gives consistency to the left and right field for a traditionally more accepted sound. However recording music is a field where the rules and norms are bent and broken for the sake of artistic expression so if you’re interested in something exotic experiment with any combination of microphones in a variety of stereo positions.
Technique
Spaced Pair technique is traditionally used with a matched pair of microphones and can found in a multitude of recording applications implementing a variety of microphone polar patterns. A Spaced Pair is defined by two microphones placed at a distance from each other beyond near-coincident microphones techniques. The most common practice when using a Spaced Pair is to position each microphone left and right around the center of the sound source, creating an equilateral triangle giving level balance to the stereo image. Using Spaced Pair technique is known for giving a less accurate stereo image, but adding a uniquely recognizable and artistic image that is popular when recording room or ambient microphones. Using Spaced Pair technique allows for the largest number of microphone placement options giving the recording engineer a variety of sonic results.