Acoustics... or buyer beware!!!
- Thread starter giovannimusica
- Start date
Thomas Dressler
New member
It's certainly an important topic, but one that makes live performances interesting! I enjoy hunting the good seats in churches and small halls, but in big places like the Met where you're paying (sometimes a LOT) for tickets, you get what you get.
I can say from my bit of experience with live recording, that what she says is absolutely true. It is an art to walk around a room and figure out where the best place for microphones will be. And believe me, it makes a big difference when you find the "good" spot!
I can say from my bit of experience with live recording, that what she says is absolutely true. It is an art to walk around a room and figure out where the best place for microphones will be. And believe me, it makes a big difference when you find the "good" spot!
giovannimusica
Commodore de Cavaille-Coll
Hi Tom,
I guess those who rave about front row *orchestra seats* are there only for visual titillation since the sound one gets there hasn't had the benefit of the rooms acoustic, ergo, no developmental bloom of sound which, imho, is the sine qua non of the musical experience - where one can close one's eyes and be carried away on the wings of music - aaaahhhh, the Elysian fields of sweet rememberances but also the ocean of reflection where one ponders the great message of e.g. Bach's B-minor Mass or Passion according to St. John.
Rare is the Acoustic consultant who is both a performing artist and a Ph.D in the Physics of Acoustics. I don't know if Russell Johnson of Artec Acoustics who did the acoustical make-up of the Meyerson Center in Dallas is such an individual but the stunning results they get there leaves one speechless.
Blessings Aplenty,
Giovanni
I guess those who rave about front row *orchestra seats* are there only for visual titillation since the sound one gets there hasn't had the benefit of the rooms acoustic, ergo, no developmental bloom of sound which, imho, is the sine qua non of the musical experience - where one can close one's eyes and be carried away on the wings of music - aaaahhhh, the Elysian fields of sweet rememberances but also the ocean of reflection where one ponders the great message of e.g. Bach's B-minor Mass or Passion according to St. John.
Rare is the Acoustic consultant who is both a performing artist and a Ph.D in the Physics of Acoustics. I don't know if Russell Johnson of Artec Acoustics who did the acoustical make-up of the Meyerson Center in Dallas is such an individual but the stunning results they get there leaves one speechless.
Blessings Aplenty,
Giovanni
giovannimusica
Commodore de Cavaille-Coll
Tom,
I was fooling around with microphone placement at a large church once. At my disposal was an omni-directional microphone which I then placed half-way down the nave and half-way up to the ceiling.
The effect was quite stunning - a full *developmental bloom* of sound, an indescribable reverb effect because of the church's interior stone surfaces and a gorgeous melange of *colors* from the organ which I had never heard before, even when I had been assured by the organist of a certain *sweet spot* in the sanctuary.
I wonder sometimes if the placement of mics too near the organ rob one of the fine nuances a good instrument provides.
Amicalement,
Giovanni
I was fooling around with microphone placement at a large church once. At my disposal was an omni-directional microphone which I then placed half-way down the nave and half-way up to the ceiling.
The effect was quite stunning - a full *developmental bloom* of sound, an indescribable reverb effect because of the church's interior stone surfaces and a gorgeous melange of *colors* from the organ which I had never heard before, even when I had been assured by the organist of a certain *sweet spot* in the sanctuary.
I wonder sometimes if the placement of mics too near the organ rob one of the fine nuances a good instrument provides.
Amicalement,
Giovanni
Thomas Dressler
New member
Hi Giovanni,
Yes, microphone placement for recording organs is one of the most contested subjects in the recording industry, I think!
Some of it is just a matter of personal taste, I think. At a live performance, people can just sit in the seats that yield the sound they like, whereas for a recording, the engineer has a make a decision that everyone has to live with.
Besides finding a spot that gives a nice balance of reverb and presence of sound, there often exist one or more spots where the sound "blooms" as you described. The weird thing about it is that often these microphone spots are in places no one could ever sit, like many feet off the floor. Then you're left wondering if you should use this placement as no one would ever hear it this way in person. But it might sound really good. . .
I will usually go for the good sound, because I am definately one who believes the art of recording music is different than live performance. To my ears, attempting to reproduce a live performance rarely is satisfying in the long run; so to me, recording needs to be approached as a different art, much like the difference between stage acting and acting for TV cameras.
A votre sante!
Tom
Yes, microphone placement for recording organs is one of the most contested subjects in the recording industry, I think!
Besides finding a spot that gives a nice balance of reverb and presence of sound, there often exist one or more spots where the sound "blooms" as you described. The weird thing about it is that often these microphone spots are in places no one could ever sit, like many feet off the floor. Then you're left wondering if you should use this placement as no one would ever hear it this way in person. But it might sound really good. . .
I will usually go for the good sound, because I am definately one who believes the art of recording music is different than live performance. To my ears, attempting to reproduce a live performance rarely is satisfying in the long run; so to me, recording needs to be approached as a different art, much like the difference between stage acting and acting for TV cameras.
A votre sante!
Tom
giovannimusica
Commodore de Cavaille-Coll
Hi Tom,
I like your way of seeing the matter. Reproducing live performances are only as good as the speaker system is and the *make-up* of the room you're in. It does become very subjective about mic placement and the engineers role in the *crime*.
A great truism you have shared in your last sentence: *recording needs to be approached as a different art..."
Blessings To You,
Giovanni
I like your way of seeing the matter. Reproducing live performances are only as good as the speaker system is and the *make-up* of the room you're in. It does become very subjective about mic placement and the engineers role in the *crime*.
A great truism you have shared in your last sentence: *recording needs to be approached as a different art..."
Blessings To You,
Giovanni