Mixing a Chamber group and choir

[The Studio RI]

I recently recorded a chamber group with a choir at the Cathedral in Downtown Providence. (the sound of the room was mind blowing!).

I used two mics about 8-10 feet away, 2 mics about 30 feet away, and one choir mic.

I'm very hesitant to use any compression at all, but the mix is not as cohesive as I would like. I contemplated compressing the two close mics to bring up the low parts, and then some light compression on the whole mix.

Does anyone have any tips as to mixing this type of music? this is my first forray into anything classical.

[tINY]

Generally, for this type of music, you don't actively mix the levels. The blend is part of the performance.

Go and find the parts where the emsemble is a bit unbalanaced and move the gains around a bit to make it sound best in these parts. For checking the level of the mics 30 feet back, use the loudest and quietest parts and find a compromise.

Lock the levels down for the whole performance durring mix-down.



-tINY

[The Studio RI]

During the performance, I just made sure I got the most signal without clipping. Looks like I may have a lot of fader riding to do I guess.

[GearHunter]

Transparent peak limiter? There are a couple invisible peak limiters out now that might be able to help. It's not compressing and there are no artifacts, but it may allow you to bring up the overall signal where needed.

Prism makes one (bookoo bucks)

or the one I'm familiar with is the Pendulum PL-2. It has two types of limiting, both of which are totally in-audible. (How does Greg do it?). Pretty reasonable price too.

[tINY]

Don't ride the faders.



-tINY

[The Studio RI]

Yeah, after I posted that it hit me. No fader riding. that would completely mess with the image and dynamics.

I tried a few different compressors and plugs but none of them sounded good. Some too hyped, some too pumpy. I'll do some more experimentation.

[astronmr20]

Originally Posted by The Studio RI

Yeah, after I posted that it hit me. No fader riding. that would completely mess with the image and dynamics.

I tried a few different compressors and plugs but none of them sounded good. Some too hyped, some too pumpy. I'll do some more experimentation.

What did you use and how did you set them?

[The Studio RI]

I used a URS on 1176 and Fairchild. The L2, L3 multiband, and Rvox. I only tried them on the two close mics, I didn't want to compress the room mics and mess with the reverb characteristics of the room.

the URS ones were set for about 4-5db reduction with gain makeup. Moderate attack and slightly quicker release. Those are the ones that sounded hyped and pumpy. Too over the top.

The L2 was set for about 3bd reduction, but that really didn't accomplish what I wanted it to, it just sounded a little louder. The L3 multiband was just not what was needed!

The Rvox sounded the best, believe it or not, just not as smooth as I would like.

I'm going to try compressing the whole mix I guess and see if that gives me a better result. Apparantly, I shouldn't touch the raw tracks except to set the relative levels.

[GearHunter]

So it's all in the box with plugs then, is it?

[MichaelPatrick]

Why compress at all?

Getting a pleasing ratio of direct to ambient/room is the most important goal of such a mix, and deal effectively with frequencies below, say, 500-650, preferring the direct mics in the low frequencies.

Maybe a little parallel compression on the direct mics. The music can't soar if you press the top down.

[The Studio RI]

Ahhhh yes, parallel compression. Good call. I'll try that.

I think I need to EQ the low end on the close mics to add some beef.

[loujudson]

Originally Posted by The Studio RI

During the performance, I just made sure I got the most signal without clipping. Looks like I may have a lot of fader riding to do I guess.

This makes it sound as though you were riding the gains during the recording. Yes? If so, BIG MISTAKE!!! You need to set the levels so that the loudest peak does not overload, and then leave it alone. It is a musical performance that counts and does the dynamics in classical music, not engineer's moves.

Now what you need to do is precisely undo all the moves you did during the original performance, so that the dunamics of the performance are restored.

One of the most important lessons in doing sound, either live or recording, is when to leave it alone and just record the music! It is more important to capture the performance accurately than to have the level as hot as you can at all times. I'd bet that is why the mix does not sound good.

L

[The Studio RI]

you are absolutely right. That's why I did NOT mess with the levels during recording. Set it and forget it, no EQ, nothing. So, I've got a good foundation to work with. I think I just need to set the levels, print and just do an extra nice, but subtle, mastering job. This is my first chamber project and I just needed some good input. Thanks all!

When I'm done, I'll post some samples and some pics.

[loujudson]

Originally Posted by The Studio RI

you are absolutely right. That's why I did NOT mess with the levels during recording. Set it and forget it, no EQ, nothing. So, I've got a good foundation to work with. I think I just need to set the levels, print and just do an extra nice, but subtle, mastering job. This is my first chamber project and I just needed some good input. Thanks all!

When I'm done, I'll post some samples and some pics.

Great, you are doing good then. For this kind of mix, I like to set the closer mics, balance with the choir (too bad they aren't stereo too) and then bring up the distant mics until the room sings along. Should be simple, take you time listening as you go along.

Looking forward to hearing the result!

L