In Reply to: Please keep recording the way you do - It's righteous! [nt] ;-) posted by Chris from Lafayette on January 6, 2017 at 00:48:16:
Chris, you are very kind -- and I appreciate your comment! I will be completely honest and tell you, when the maestro and the orchestra musicians express similar thoughts about the recorded sound, I feel as if I've accomplished something deeply satisfying. For many years I recorded the Houston Symphony for radio broadcast, using rehearsals and (usually) multiple performances to place and adjust three or four spaced omni mics "just right" in what is essentially a mediocre space: Jones Hall. Time and again the musicians would tell me: what I hear on your tape is better than anything in the hall itself. So, that's been my paradigm for quite some time. You actually can hear two examples released commercially on Koch International Classics: Bruckner 2 and Bruckner 6 with Eschenbach conducting.
St. Florian is a similar case, in that the highly reverberant Basilica is a difficult listening space for the audience -- a huge, undifferentiated blur of sound with the orchestra up front. My challenge was to find the sweet spot, where we have orchestral focus and clarity and yet capture the fantastic ambience. Multichannel surround, done with as few mics as possible, seems to do the trick and the response from the musicians, in particular, has been positive. Most annoying of course is the individual -- or reviewer! -- who insists on listening -- and reviewing! -- the stereo layer. Totally not the same as multichannel, obviously....
John Proffitt
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Follow Ups
- RE: Please keep recording the way you do - It's righteous! [nt] ;-) - johngladneyproffitt 07:39:19 01/06/17 (8)
- Gotta say, I just don't get surround. - Rick W 15:54:52 01/06/17 (7)
- RE: Gotta say, I just don't get surround. - johngladneyproffitt 16:27:46 01/06/17 (6)
- Aha, got it. - Rick W 16:35:45 01/06/17 (5)
- RE: Aha, got it. - johngladneyproffitt 19:45:49 01/06/17 (4)
- RE: Aha, got it. - Rick W 20:56:56 01/06/17 (3)
- RE: Aha, got it. - johngladneyproffitt 20:59:00 01/06/17 (2)
- Yes, I will if I find somebody that has a good surround setup. nt - Rick W 21:26:52 01/06/17 (1)
- RE: Yes, I will if I find somebody that has a good surround setup. nt - ahendler 13:09:00 01/07/17 (0)