Great Session

[Gary Eickmeier]

I have begun recording my concert band again for the new season. They
normally make me stay in the audience, in the first row of seats, so that I
won't be in the way visually with the mike stands. But recording from that
far away was never real good. This year, I coordinated with the conductor to
put my tall stand right in front of the band, between the first row of
players and the podium. What a deal! It ends up virtually out of sight of
the band, the conductor, and everyone else because it is all black and there
is a black curtain behind the band. The wires are taped down and run
sideways to the wings and I sit at a table and record where no one can see
me and I can read or get up and get a drink or whatever.

I wanted to use a technique that my recording engineer friend uses for all
of his recordings, two spaced DAP omnis on a tall stand and on a bar with
about a 2 foot separation. Fantastic stereo from those omnis at such a
separation! But I could not find a bar that wide, so mine is only about a
foot long and I chose to use two cardioids at 90 degrees. This gave me about
a perfect 180° spread of pickup and the cardioid pattern is the flattest one
on my AT 2050 mikes. The sound was so luscious I couldn't take the
headphones off, and it is just as good at home on speakers. The perspective
is a little too close, but oh those bass drums! Just socks knocking. Also
able to take the house system from their board and plug into my 6 channel
Zoom H6 instead of my usual separate recorder, so now I don't have to sync
up two recorders in editing.

It was a lot of taping down cables, but oh dear what an improvement over
last year! I might try some more MS with the stand at this position, but it
is just a little more tedious in the editing'

Gary Eickmeier

[PStamler]

You might also try a "phased array" if you have to keep the mics back at another session. A "phased srray" uses a pair of Figure-8 mics, placed parallel and spaced 6" - 12" apart. This was devised by a UK engineer and used on the recording of music by Hildegard of Bingen on, I think, Hyperion. The engineer notes that this technique has good "reach" and sounds like the mics are closer than they really are.

Peace,
Paul

[Gary Eickmeier]

"PStamler" > wrote in message
...
You might also try a "phased array" if you have to keep the mics back at
another session. A "phased srray" uses a pair of Figure-8 mics, placed
parallel and spaced 6" - 12" apart. This was devised by a UK engineer and
used on the recording of music by Hildegard of Bingen on, I think, Hyperion.
The engineer notes that this technique has good "reach" and sounds like the
mics are closer than they really are.

Peace,
Paul

Amazing! I might try that at one of the rehearsals and see what happens!

Gary

[Scott Dorsey]

Gary Eickmeier > wrote:
>"PStamler" > wrote in message
...
>You might also try a "phased array" if you have to keep the mics back at
>another session. A "phased srray" uses a pair of Figure-8 mics, placed
>parallel and spaced 6" - 12" apart. This was devised by a UK engineer and
>used on the recording of music by Hildegard of Bingen on, I think, Hyperion.
>The engineer notes that this technique has good "reach" and sounds like the
>mics are closer than they really are.
>
>Amazing! I might try that at one of the rehearsals and see what happens!

I wouldn't recommend it, the stereo imaging is very strange and is almost
entirely phase imaging. However, it DOES have that reach due to the very
narrow angle of acceptance.

If you have two good figure-8s, you're better off with a Blumlein pair or
a slightly separated Blumlein _unless_ you are fighting side reflections in
the room. The thing about the spaced figure-8 array is that the side walls
are directly in the nulls of the microphone so any slapback from the sides
disappears almost completely. With a Blumlein pair it will drop down quite
considerably but the effect with the microphones parallel is even more
dramatic.

It's a useful technique but it's in the category of good tricks to get around
room problems. (And it might be an interesting thing to try if you have
monitor leakage that you want to reject, as Paul suggests.)
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Gary Eickmeier]

Aha I see! Thanks for that Scott. Actually the problem now is more of a too
close perspective with the mikes right on top of the orchestra. I was
wondering if some post processing with reverb might "fluff" them out a
little more.

My next effort will be with a technique that a recording engineer friend has
found always works with groups such as mine, two omnis spaced about 2 or 2
1/2 feet apart. I admit that he uses DAPs, which I do not have, but I do
have the variable pattern Audio Technicas. My friend also mentioned that
omnis actually hear less of the room in a questionable acoustic space. Then
next time probably MS, which I have found has super great stereo. I like
spacious, what can I tell you.

Gary


"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
> Gary Eickmeier > wrote:
>>"PStamler" > wrote in message
...
>>You might also try a "phased array" if you have to keep the mics back at
>>another session. A "phased srray" uses a pair of Figure-8 mics, placed
>>parallel and spaced 6" - 12" apart. This was devised by a UK engineer and
>>used on the recording of music by Hildegard of Bingen on, I think,
>>Hyperion.
>>The engineer notes that this technique has good "reach" and sounds like
>>the
>>mics are closer than they really are.
>>
>>Amazing! I might try that at one of the rehearsals and see what happens!
>
> I wouldn't recommend it, the stereo imaging is very strange and is almost
> entirely phase imaging. However, it DOES have that reach due to the very
> narrow angle of acceptance.
>
> If you have two good figure-8s, you're better off with a Blumlein pair or
> a slightly separated Blumlein _unless_ you are fighting side reflections
> in
> the room. The thing about the spaced figure-8 array is that the side
> walls
> are directly in the nulls of the microphone so any slapback from the sides
> disappears almost completely. With a Blumlein pair it will drop down
> quite
> considerably but the effect with the microphones parallel is even more
> dramatic.
>
> It's a useful technique but it's in the category of good tricks to get
> around
> room problems. (And it might be an interesting thing to try if you have
> monitor leakage that you want to reject, as Paul suggests.)
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."