Ambisonic microphones have long provided a flexible and eloquent method to capture surround sound with a compact microphone array. However, tetrahedral microphones are typically applied to free-field applications and often paired with traditional mono or stereo spot microphones when enhanced control over individual sound source panning, balancing and timbre is required. This paper investigates the use of tetrahedral microphones as a versatile spot microphone technique that can render both direct sound and supporting room impressions for multiple individual sound sources. Multiple recordings were made at New York University in the summer of 2021 to explore these techniques. A jazz quartet was recorded using three spot miking systems for comparison; an ambisonic-only system, a coincident paired ambisonic and omnidirectional spot system, and a more traditional multi-microphone system. In this paper, the techniques used will be explained and evaluated based on comparing Dolby ATMOS mixes rendered for each system.
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