The Show & Tell Thread... All are welcomed!!

[zakco]

Originally Posted by 2leod

Nice!

Thanks for sharing, Zak. I don't get "north of the border" often, and I've not been in the Port Theatre - how's the sound in there? What are the symphony's plans for the recording?

Hey Doug,

The Port is a great room. Well designed and the staff is GREAT. They are well paid and NON UNION which is a winning combination in the service dept.

The recording went very well, I'm especially happy with the strings-only pieces. There were some "unfortunate" performances from the brass and winds which were very difficult to deal with at the editing/mixing stage though. Someday I'd love to get a chance to record an orchestra that can actually get through the pieces in a single take. 3 days of editing "professional" musicians tends to make me kinda grumpy.

The Symphony's CD is just back from mastering and is scheduled for a July release to coincide with one of their big outdoor concerts. Next spring we are doing another recording, this time hopefully they'll get proper rehearsals.....

-Z-

[Remoteness]

This thread is awesome and you folks are the cause and affect.

Thanks a lot for making this thread an interesting train of thoughts!

[sonare]

Originally Posted by zakco

There were some "unfortunate" performances from the brass and winds which were very difficult to deal with at the editing/mixing stage though.

Which makes one wonder why the producer didn't have them do cover takes , and do them correctly?

Rich

[zakco]

Originally Posted by sonare

Which makes one wonder why the producer didn't have them do cover takes , and do them correctly?

Where do I start....

They did do a certain amount of cover takes, but in some cases we ended up with 30+ edits in a single movement and STILL didn't have everything covered. Also alot of the "unfortunate" performances that I'm referring to was a sever lack of dynamics/sensitivity on the players part. Overblown flutes, booming french horns, and the most horrendous oboe tone you could possibly imagine.

The root of the problem was the orchestras shedule. To make the recording viable, they scheduled a series of school shows at various locations before, between and after the 2 days of scheduled recording. The result was that the players were tired, some were sick with the flu, and we just plain ran out of time.

Having said all that, I am quite proud of the recording (it's my 2nd orchestral gig) and during the moments where everything came together it really does sound fabulous. I can't wait to do it again....

-Z-

[fifthcircle]

I'm all for using some color in a classical recording. I find that recordings that are too clean will often sound boring, personally. I use a lot of tube gear (mics and pres), and solid state gear with some color. The important thing is to know how to deal with the color in the context of the whole recording.

I may use a really fat sounding tube mic and pre on the mains for an orchestra, but then I'll use a clearer souding mic/pre combination on my flanks to open up the sound and give me the top end "sparkle" that I need.

I recently worked a music festival where we had the main decca tree going through Millennia, the flanks going through Grace and then all of our strings going through A-Designs Pacifica pres. Gave an enormous, lush string sound on the orchestra (it was mostly sound reinforcement). Our soloists (mostly vocal) went through schoeps microphones and Tubetec and A-Designs tube preamps. Once again, a fantastic combination for the given purpose...

As it has been mentioned, some of the favorite classical recordings of all time have been made through chains that by today's standards would hardly ever been choice.

Oh well, I'm rambling.... Give me some API's, Neves, and other pres to go along with a set of Grace or other pres for any recording. I'll be happy to put them to use.

--Ben

[ajfarber]

Originally Posted by fifthcircle

I'm all for using some color in a classical recording. I find that recordings that are too clean will often sound boring, personally. I use a lot of tube gear (mics and pres), and solid state gear with some color. The important thing is to know how to deal with the color in the context of the whole recording.

Amen! Here I am at Clinton with a big fat U47 in front of the violas. There where M49s on the celli and Coles 4038 on the bass. U67s in the french horn section, a c12 on the harp ( I think?) and a Neve 8078 behind the glass.

BTW, UNION ORCHESTRA! Local 802 AFM

[tonymite]

veri mach i like

[ajfarber]

Originally Posted by tonymite

veri mach i like

Oh tay, Pankey.

[jenkel16]

Was the TV on during the session? If so, how were you able to avoid recording the high pitched 16-18K tone that CRT's create?

[2leod]

Originally Posted by zakco

The Symphony's CD is just back from mastering and is scheduled for a July release to coincide with one of their big outdoor concerts. Next spring we are doing another recording, this time hopefully they'll get proper rehearsals.....

-Z-

I'm looking forward to hearing it! We'll be visiting with some friends in Chemainus in August so I'll be sure to head up and grab a copy. Frustrations aside it sounds like you had fun doing it - right up near the top of the list in my books!

[ajfarber]

Originally Posted by jenkel16

Was the TV on during the session? If so, how were you able to avoid recording the high pitched 16-18K tone that CRT's create?

Oh yes, I was watching the Yankee game.


Actually, the session was a scoring date for a TV/cinema commercial. We did a :60 two :30s and a :15. It took about an hour and 1/2. We had a click track and I conducted some cutoffs to picture. No auracle opperator, no streamers or punches.

There are always CRTs in the studio for scoring sessions, in NYC anyway. Perhaps in LA they have projection for big features or they have switched over to plasma, but in NYC it's just a plain old TV set. I did a feature in LA about 10 years ago at Warner Bros. scoring "A" (now called the "Eastwood Scoring Stage") and at that time there were only CRTs in the studio. There was a big-ass movie screen on the back wall that remained blank the whole time.

Is it ever a problem? The high pitched 16-18K tone that CRT's create? I mean, they weren't exactly close mic-ing the TV. Surely the click bleed and the musicians breathing are more of a nuisance.

[TriTone Digital]

Hi guys and gals,

I just noticed this section of the forum. I do quite a bit of remote work these days for WNYC Radio here in...NYC. Both for live local and national broadcast or for later broadcast.

We run our multi-tracks right after the preamps, then to the mixers and generate a live stereo mix, which is what is (obviously) used for any immediate broadcast, but often is used for later broadcast as well, unless we really feel the need to remix something from the multi-tracks.

Broadcast is usually relayed over multi-line ISDN back to the station and then either broadcast locally or additionally sent down fibre channels to the national NPR facility if broadcast nationally.

Mixers are older Studer 10 or 12 channel consoles, strapped together. Preamps are all Millennia (up to 48 channels worth). Rarely if ever any compression or EQ. Lexicon 480 reverb if needed. Tascam DA78s for multi-track. DAT, CD and ProTools for the stereo mix. Mic cabinet is extensive with multiple varieties of Schoeps, Neumann, Sennheiser, AKG, RCA, Calrec, etc. Suitcases full of old ribbons. WNYC is older than the BBC (by about 6 months), so old mics abound.

Anyway, I'll try and post more later. But here are a few photos. One set is from a show we did at Carnegie Hall with the Berlin Philharmonic (no photos were allowed on stage, which is often the case). Here we are in the control room of the Carnegie Recording Studios using their crazy top-of-the-line B&W monitors.

The other set is from a show at the World Financial Center. This was a large show with a 70+ choir and 35+ orchestra, performing Richard Einhorn's score "Voices of Light" live against the silent film "The Passion of Joan of Arc".

The partial body you can see in the photos is Ed, the technical director.

You can see part of the load-in (everyone's favorite part of a gig, next to the load out!) and a few snaps of the "control room"...errr....dressing room. We had only a thin curtain between us and the craft services area for the musicians :)













Damon

[Remoteness]

Ed Haber rawks!

[TriTone Digital]

Ha! That's hilarious. Good ole' Ed.

I learn something from him every show.

He also shames me every show with his ability to maintain a high level of energy and enthusiasm, even after 15 hours on the block. After so many years you think he'd be tired! But no, 2am and he's still ready to go and Im dead on my feet (though Im younger :) ) and can't lift another rack of gear.

Damon

[Remoteness]

Yeah, he's the greatest and knows his sh*t.

[pkautzsch]

Finally here's some pics of a concert in january, 14 mics.
Top: the church's interior at showtime. Note the VERY large Tree setup on three separate stands (the one with the weight is the Center), and the Oktava 219 above the timpani. The woodwind pair is nearly invisible (and were from the audience, too!).
Second: The rig. On top my Toshiba notebook (that red thing) running Nuendo, below MOTU 896HD, Audient ASP008, some B-inger line mixer for basic hardware monitoring, Fostex D2424LV backup recorder, dbx 386 mic pre (not used), Tascam DA-20MKII (backup for the backup).
Bottom left: KM183 with DIY eyeball.
Bottom right: the woodwind pair of CMC5/MK4.

Next time, I'm gonna use 6 fig-8 mics for the strings, since this church is very nice to the brass (which in this orchestra are all alpha-wolves).

[allaccess]

Steve-

Have you seen my old man's new truck?

Ryan Hewitt

[allaccess]

And the outside...

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by allaccess

Steve-

Have you seen my old man's new truck?

Ryan Hewitt

Hey Ryan,

Yes I did...

Well, sort of. I was driving to a dinner date to meet up with Mike Pappas and the folks from Sennheiser and I saw the rig outside a church in NYC a few weeks ago.

After dinner, I came back with Duke Markos to see if anyone was inside so we can take a tour. They were deep in session with the client so we did not get a chance to hang inside. We glanced through the studio door and said hello to Phil but, that was it. The rig looks sweet.

Question: What kind of A/C units are above the cab?
I assume they're a split air units.

All the best to you and your Pop!

[allaccess]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

Question: What kind of A/C units are above the cab?
I assume they're a split air units.

Well you're ahead of me... These pix are as close as I've been yet! Can't seem to be in the same town as the new rig...

Not sure what the A/C units are, but my brother-in-law installed them, so I'll ask...

Best to you too!

Ryan

[d_fu]

Zakco, what kind of mic stand are you using for the main mic there...?

Daniel

[zakco]

Originally Posted by d_fu

Zakco, what kind of mic stand are you using for the main mic there...?

Daniel

that's a $199 Quicklok Cheapo. It's actually a complete piece of crap. But hey what else can you get for 200 bones? What you don't see in the picture is the sandbags and gaffer tape...but it works. sort of.

-Z-

[ajfarber]

What, no tree?

This is the best sounding room in NYC. Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS). The only drag is, they don't have any tube gear. No tube mic, pres, nothing. OK, maybe a Pultec or 2 but that's it. However, the room sounds so good that TLM170s all around sounds great.

Imagine this, KAS's room with all the gear from Sear Sound.

We did this jingle date there with a small orchestra and Roger Rhodes was the engineer. I noticed he didn't use a Decca tree or stereo pair and when I asked him about it, he said that ALL the mics where ROOM MICs and the bleed is part of the sound.

It sounded great! Roger has been doing this for over 40 years and he has it down.

Other orchestra engineers I like: Josh Abbey, Kevin Halpin and Lawrence Manchester.

[Robobo1]

Originally Posted by ajfarber

Other orchestra engineers I like: Josh Abbey, Kevin Halpin and Lawrence Manchester.

What has Lawrence Manchester been up to? Do you know him? I know him via Peabody Conservatory... he wouldn't know who I am, but he used to come down for recording events and also to give master classes.

Any particular recordings of his that you like?

[Jim vanBergen]

Originally Posted by ajfarber

Other orchestra engineers I like: Josh Abbey, Kevin Halpin and Lawrence Manchester.

I'm curious, and gotta ask: what about Max Wilcox?
Max was my classical recording mentor, long before I ever knew he had grammys. But if he is rank & file in your opinion, I'd like to know and promise not to be offended.

I haven't seen or spoken to him in some time, but he had a great impact in my early career & as a result, on my recordings.

Best regards,

Jim

[ajfarber]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

I'm curious, and gotta ask: what about Max Wilcox?
Max was my classical recording mentor, long before I ever knew he had grammys. But if he is rank & file in your opinion, I'd like to know and promise not to be offended.

I haven't seen or spoken to him in some time, but he had a great impact in my early career & as a result, on my recordings.

Best regards,

Jim

I don't know Max.

Sounds like I should.

[cjogo]

Originally Posted by cjogo

Location recording ==Just a Roland 2480 & a great room Amazing the quality the VS can produce...

[







http://www.redshift.com/~cjogo/TUNES...N%20BREEZE.mp3