omni mid side

[aracu]

Clip from experiment in using mid side set to omni, placed in the midst of a
baroque ensemble playing in a reverberant church.
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/8/...9/Esth.g.b.mp3

[mljung]

Just had a quick listen!

On headphones it sounded very convincing. Open and more stereo info than I would have guessed. And the omni helps the lows to bloom.

Which omni and fig8 did you use?

This setup + outriggers could be very tempting trying out!

::
Mads

[rumleymusic]

Wow, that worked really well! Sounds like a winner combo.

[7rojo7]

This is the way MS was first used by Alan Blumlein

[_Morph_]

Originally Posted by aracu

Clip from experiment in using mid side set to omni, placed in the midst of a
baroque ensemble playing in a reverberant church.
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/8/...9/Esth.g.b.mp3

Noisy audience - but that's just the way it is - yet it's a lovely recording. Very nice!

[ptr]

Sounds lovely! Full and harmonic .. Tho I would perhaps opted for a spot on the Mezzo, she's a bit distant! (but that's my taste in baroque (vocal)recording..)

I too would like to know what mikes you used!

/ptr

[aracu]

The mic used was an AKG426 stereo mic (with Sound Devices 722 recorder) which has a remote so that once it is more or less set up it can be "tuned" from 9 polar patterns to suit the acoustics and ensemble. The mid capsule was precisely one polar pattern shy of omni, or three patterns wider than cardioid, placed in the middle of a large ensemble, between the choir/soloists and intruments, at the height of the soloists on stage (the intruments are on the floor in front of the stage). If it was set one polar pattern further towards cardioid, the soloists became too prominant.

On louder, fuller sections some of the instruments didn't blend well together.

I hope to try a similar set up adding a DPA 4060 pair, based on listening to clips that have been posted, such as the recent clips posted by Gaston which have a similar singer and genre of music.

It's a recording of the Handel Oratorio "Esther" (about biblical stuff like murder and praising god) so although the soloists don't move around nearly as much as in an opera, it is hard to predict exactly where they will be standing during a concert.

[Larry Elliott]

Very nice sound indeed. Cant quite determine where the mic was placed. Do you have a picture. Thanks
Larry

[mljung]

Originally Posted by aracu

I hope to try a similar set up adding a DPA 4060 pair, based on listening to clips that have been posted, such as the recent clips posted by Gaston which have a similar singer and genre of music.

[Corran]

Wow, nice! So it was in between the instruments and the choir/soloists? Doesn't that mean the instrument locations in the stereo field would be opposite of how they actually were on stage? Since the mic would be looking at them "backwards."

Still sounds very nice and full! I'd love to have one of those AKG stereo mics.

I almost always use omnis in an M-S setup, but never inside an ensemble (or in such obviously nice acoustics). I have not done M-S though with LDC's, only ribbons and SDC's, which might be the problem. I really need to get the Schoeps fig8 capsule...

[mathieujm]

Originally Posted by aracu

The mic used was an AKG426 stereo mic (with Sound Devices 722 recorder) which has a remote so that once it is more or less set up it can be "tuned" from 9 polar patterns to suit the acoustics and ensemble. The mid capsule was precisely one polar pattern shy of omni, or three patterns wider than cardioid, placed in the middle of a large ensemble, between the choir/soloists and intruments, at the height of the soloists on stage (the intruments are on the floor in front of the stage). If it was set one polar pattern further towards cardioid, the soloists became too prominant.

The sound is really great, but the stereo field is not so good for me. Not enough spaciousness and surprisingly there are some phase issue with the double bass.

In these situations I often prefer a real ORTF.
Here are some samples of a recent concert ( Magnificat - Bach ) recorded with a single pair of sdc in ORTF

JMM

EDIT : I replaced the 256kb Et Misericordia by the same at 320kb. It's better, but mp3 is really not good on these sounds

[NorseHorse]

Aracu,

Really love the spaciousness of your sample. It really flatters the strings.

[aracu]

Originally Posted by Corran

Wow, nice! Doesn't that mean the instrument locations in the stereo field would be opposite of how they actually were on stage? Since the mic would be looking at them "backwards."

No, the mic is pointing in the same direction as usual, and is summing what is in front and in back of it, like recording a concert with the music in front and the audience in back. In this case between the instruments and singer(s) there was a space of a few feet, the singers being on a typical stage-like platform in the front of the church (which probably has a technical name rather than "stage"), and the musicians on the floor.

The church is too reverberant, noisy, and crowded, and the conducter too noisy, for easily recording in a more standard way.

"In these situations I often prefer a real ORTF.
Here are some samples of a recent concert ( Magnificat - Bach ) recorded with a single pair of sdc in ORTF"

Very smooth, symetrical sound, but with the strings sounding slightly synthetic. I'm curious about which mics you used.

[mathieujm]

Originally Posted by aracu

Very smooth, symetrical sound, but with the strings sounding slightly synthetic. I'm curious about which mics you used.

You are right and it's a problem of mp3 on the strings with sourdine. The original wav don't have this problem.
This was recorded with a pair of Beyer MC930.

JMM

EDIT : I replaced the Et misericordia with a higher rate one.