Want to hear my Jazz trio though the Edirol R44?

[leddy]

I just put this up in the MP3 section. I was looking for some feedback on my jazz trio I recorded at a recent gig.

Live piano trio - please critique

It's a pair of stock Oktava MC012 omnis (one on piano one on drums) and another small omni in the bridge of the bass, all straight in to the stock preamps on the new R44.

I had an R4, and I think the R44 sounds way better.

[joelpatterson]

Wow, nice and clear! Piano sounds a little crunchy, but just compared to the bass and drums which sound spacious with a really great perspective. You guys are cookin', too!

[leddy]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

Wow, nice and clear! Piano sounds a little crunchy, but just compared to the bass and drums which sound spacious with a really great perspective. You guys are cookin', too!

Thank you very much.

The piano is a challenge. It's not that great; it is not tuned that often and seems to really lack some fundamentals on the low end. Not sure I'm mic'ing it the best I can either.

I am thinking about picking up another pair of Oktavas and getting them modded. I like some of the smeared quality of the Oktavas for jazz, but a little more detail would be nice. I have a pair of Beyer MC930's I've used for the same gig, but they just seem a little too crispy and bright for this situation. Modded Oktavas may be the ticket.

I'm open to other suggestions - leaning towards staying with omnis, but I'd consider wider cardiods.

Schoeps CMC6 / MK2's may be next if I can put some more cash away.

[joelpatterson]

Any kind of compression in play to step on the "blistering" aspect of the piano? It sounds like that's the only flaw in an otherwise perfect take, I also especially love hearing the crowd in the background, you feel like you're right in the midst of the action.

[leddy]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

Any kind of compression in play to step on the "blistering" aspect of the piano? It sounds like that's the only flaw in an otherwise perfect take, I also especially love hearing the crowd in the background, you feel like you're right in the midst of the action.

It's going through the comp on the UAD Neve channel strip, with maybe 1-2 db of reduction. I can hit it a little harder and see what happens, or try some other comps. In the future, I think I need to pull the mic a few inches further away.

The crowd is ok in the first set. By the end of the night they get pretty noisy. It's a bar gig, not a concert , so we are at the mercy of the drinkers...

Thanks again for the listen.

[joelpatterson]

Now... if you could just get them to sing along... to free form jazz... what a show!!!