Solo flute in the studio - stereo vs mono, close vs distant?

[jnorman]

in a decent hall, i would likely use either a spaced pair of omnis at 5-6 feet, or an ORTF pair of cards at 8-10 feet. should i use this same approach in a medium dry studio setting? or should i consider a single close mic, like a tlm193 or a ribbon at 3-4 feet? or some other setup?

or should i just set up both and choose later? thanks.

[Teddy Ray]

Originally Posted by jnorman

in a decent hall, i would likely use either a spaced pair of omnis at 5-6 feet, or an ORTF pair of cards at 8-10 feet. should i use this same approach in a medium dry studio setting? or should i consider a single close mic, like a tlm193 or a ribbon at 3-4 feet? or some other setup?

or should i just set up both and choose later? thanks.

What sort of music? that makes a big difference.

[7rojo7]

unaccompanied solo flute? will it move a lot?
even in a dry studio an A/B will give you more depfth.
You might have problems pointing a ribbon.
i would try 3 omnis, put the insrument where it sounds best, 2 where the room gives you the most and one close to the instrument

[jnorman]

hi teddy - some of this material is classical, and some is more traditional, like irish folk tunes. a few will have piano or pedal harp accompaniment, not necessarily recorded at the same time.

[Teddy Ray]

Originally Posted by jnorman

hi teddy - some of this material is classical, and some is more traditional, like irish folk tunes. a few will have piano or pedal harp accompaniment, not necessarily recorded at the same time.

In a good room, I would suggest Blumlein, because really, in a good acoustic, and provided that the source can fit in the 90deg angle of incidence, there is nothing better.

Jecklin Disc works well too. I've got a CD here somewhere that I did for a flautist in a church last year... I used Blumlein and the sound was exactly what we wanted.

also..check this out.

Ian Anderson's Equipment - The Official Jethro Tull Website

"The only way to accurately mic a flute is from about six feet away, with an omnidirectional mic or more than one uni-directional, or cardioid, mic. This is, however, clearly impractical for all but the entirely unaccompanied flute performance."

[fallforward]

I find M/S to be the most successful when recording solo classical pieces from solo istruments. You still retain the focus of a spot mic and the can still pick up the 'body' of the instrument through the stereo field, as well as having the instrument identify the entire space. This is assuming that the flute sounds good in the room.


Good Luck man!
Robby