Non centered singer in a classical concert

eldaniel · 18th October 2008

Hello,

I have recorded several concerts recently where the singer was placed at the left side of the ensemble and could not be moved to a more centered position. I have tried to place a spot microphone for the singer and trying to center the singer later but I have had little succes due to phase issues when the singer moves a little, so I use to let the singer at the left side. What do you use to do in a case like this? How important is to you having a centered singer in a live classical recording concert?

Here is a clip for you to know what I am talking about.

Thank you.

sonare · 18th October 2008

The reality is that the singer will NEVER be in the center of a live concert. How far to the left you must pan is something that you must do on a case-by-case basis. Mains placement will affect this.

Rich

mohthom · 18th October 2008

Have you tried binaurally panning the signal rather than just using 'normal' pan? Sometimes that does the trick for me.

MohThoM

Plush · 18th October 2008

May I suggest that nothing is wrong with having a singer left or right of center. Usually the singer will be on the left.

It is better to keep the singer in the actual concert position than try to pull the voice to the center. The reason that it is better to leave it alone is that once you try to pull the voice to the center, your stereo picture can collapse.

There is no convention that says the voice must appear in the center.

boojum · 18th October 2008

^^^^ Thank you! If the singer is stage right, the singer is stage right.

sonare · 18th October 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mohthom

Have you tried binaurally panning the signal rather than just using 'normal' pan? Sometimes that does the trick for me.

MohThoM

Sorry to be ignorant, but what is the difference?

Rich

mohthom · 18th October 2008

One is purely level based (standard panning) - the other is not. Binaural panning takes into account HRTFs and the mass of the head. Binaural panning can be expressed in 360 degrees, along with distance and width of source, and (particularly when wearing headphones) can sound more natural for live concert recordings (which is something I find useful!).

Logic 8 has binaural panning built in as standard, but many plugins offer it as well (Wave Arts Panorama, many others).

MohThoM

eldaniel · 18th October 2008

I think you are right, and if it was wrong the conductor would be the first in trying to fix it when he arranged the position of the performers.

Thank you all for your replays.

ogamik · 18th October 2008

With singer I use Decca Three. So the singer is always between center and a side.
It s for me the only way with singer.

18th October 2008	#2
sonare Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: southeast Posts: 1,321	The reality is that the singer will NEVER be in the center of a live concert. How far to the left you must pan is something that you must do on a case-by-case basis. Mains placement will affect this. Rich __________________ Sonare Recordings www.sonarerecordings.com

18th October 2008	#3
mohthom Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 638	Have you tried binaurally panning the signal rather than just using 'normal' pan? Sometimes that does the trick for me. MohThoM __________________

18th October 2008	#4
Plush Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: EARS/Chicago Posts: 4,119 1 Review written	May I suggest that nothing is wrong with having a singer left or right of center. Usually the singer will be on the left. It is better to keep the singer in the actual concert position than try to pull the voice to the center. The reason that it is better to leave it alone is that once you try to pull the voice to the center, your stereo picture can collapse. There is no convention that says the voice must appear in the center. __________________ Atelier HudSonic, Chicago EARS-Chicago (Engineering And Recording Society) visit me at https://public.me.com/hudsonic1 to hear recordings and ephemera

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18th October 2008	#5
boojum Lives for gear Join Date: May 2007 Location: Astoria, OR, US&A Posts: 2,141	^^^^ Thank you! If the singer is stage right, the singer is stage right.

18th October 2008	#8
eldaniel Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 14 Thread Starter	I think you are right, and if it was wrong the conductor would be the first in trying to fix it when he arranged the position of the performers. Thank you all for your replays.

18th October 2008	#9
ogamik Gear nut Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Switzerland Posts: 88	With singer I use Decca Three. So the singer is always between center and a side. It s for me the only way with singer.