Recording an mixing surround

[Al Schmitt]

Originally Posted by Andreas Leonhard

Hi Al,

thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.
Please allow me to say only some words about my rare devotion for you and your work.
To me your experience is exceptional in the business and spans not only decades but also genres. I also know that your methods are only one part of the story.
The biggest part are your ears and your enormous talent; and that´s the most fascinating fact .

I enjoyed the albums you did for Diana Krall so much.

Therefore my question refers to your surround sound recording and mixing.
To my ears you´ve transferred your great and very spatial sounding stereo mixing to the new surround format in a unqiue way.

Do you use special recording techniques for surround ?

Do you use ´surround gear ´ for your mixing (TC 6000, Lexicon PCM 96 Surround D etc.) or a special technique using delay and stereo reverb ?

Many thanks for your answer and I do hope that you will continue your great work for the music and for all of us for years to come.

All the best.

Andreas Leonhard
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Hi Andreas

My approach to mixing in surround is very similar to mixing in stereo. In surround I try and just spread things a bit wider and use the surrounds. We do use 5.1 reverbs, usually my TCM6000, and my Lexicon PCM96. If I'm doing the recording, I like to hang extra room mics that I can use in the surround mix also.

AL