Brass Quintet Sample

[Empiria]

Just a piece of nice music to share:

Medium size church, Oktavas MK-012 in ORTF, DAV BG1 into Tascam DVRA1000 in 24/88.2, no processing.

Any opinions are very welcome. Would be thankful!

[mljung]

I think this mp3 [would love to hear a wav] demonstrates how important good musicians, fine acoustics and good microphone placement is in a recording.

One could maybe obtain a tiny bit better sound quality with the best available microphones, but frankly, with this kind of quality from mk-012, who needs Schoeps.

Was it a perfect ORTF [17cm 110] or a somewhat eyeballed ortf..?

thumbsup

Mads

[Empiria]

I tried to stay to a true ORTF as much as I could. I measured everything, but of course, there might be 2-3% difference.

BTW, now I have a pair of Schoeps MK21, AEA R88 and Earthworks QTC30MP. Today my choice would probably be different, but I agree that MK-012 is a very good starting point.

Greetings

[mljung]

Originally Posted by Empiria

I tried to stay to a true ORTF as much as I could. I measured everything, but of course, there might be 2-3% difference.

Of course there is - the reason for asking is that I realize that some [but not you] use the ORTF name for different more or less ORTFish near-coincident techniques.

Interesting to hear how well the MK-012 renders the room and keeps things in focus. Even though they don't have the the most linear response off axis, of all sdc mics, they really work well for this. Are these modified MK-012, and are they new or old?


BTW what stereo-bar do you use for pencil ORTF such as MK-012 [do you have a picture of the setup?]
ORTF is a truly remarkable, under the right circumstances. Your sample clearly shows that this was one of them!

Mads

[Empiria]

Yes, you are right that for some people ORTF means ORTF or something like that. For such a purpose Schoeps MSTC64 is a perfect tool, but... a lot of money. Good for those who can afford ten more mics of that class.

The Oktavas were not modified. At that time almost new. Stereo bar made by Oktava. Sorry, no pictures.

Thanks for your interest, Mads. Anybody else willing to share a thought?

[d_fu]

Originally Posted by mljung

I think this mp3 [would love to hear a wav] demonstrates how important good musicians, fine acoustics and good microphone placement is in a recording. One could maybe obtain a tiny bit better sound quality with the best available microphones, but frankly, with this kind of quality from mk-012, who needs Schoeps.

Vey true - nice sound indeed.
Given identical positions and preamps/AD, it's hard to imagine how this could sound much "better" with other mics - but of course a comparison would be interesting...

Daniel

[sonare]

Very nice! My only question is if you think that the horn may be a bit lost? Very hard left, and in the section with horn, trb, and tuba it does not sound like a trio-- in fact it is difficult to hear the horn, and his sound being quite a bit later than the others doesn't help.

Very fine group. Really nice acoustic-- perfect for brass quintet.

Rich

[Don S]

Originally Posted by sonare

in fact it is difficult to hear the horn, and his sound being quite a bit later than the others doesn't help.


Rich

Agreed - other than that a great ensemble sound. Is there a track with a horn spot?

[Corran]

I recorded brass quintet once with 012s in ORTF and augmented with one Earthworks QTC-1 omni for the bass frequencies. Loved the results. I really think the Oktavas handle brass well.

Sounds very good! I personally like a slightly dryer sound myself but I can definitely appreciate this.

[Audiop]

Very nice recording and I don't really miss anything. Clear, dynamic, well balanced.

And as Mads wrote, who needs Schoeps! :-)

I've not been impressed with the 012 clips I've heard earlier but this is really good.

Empiria, may I ask about the height of the pair and distance to the performers?


/Peter

[Empiria]

Well, I agree the horn may sound a little bit "hidden". I used just two mics (my only ones at that time), so what you hear is just how the band sounds. They made quite a large semicircle with the horn on the left, as you can hear. All of the sound of this instrument went back and left. Beside this, other musicians complain he plays too soft. I agree.

No spots on anything, just two microphones. I can't remember exactly, but the mics were like 2,2 m high and about 1 m back from the horn and the trumpet line. The distance to the tuba player could be like 2,5 m.

Thanks for your interest, gentlemen.