Soundtrack Sound vs. Live In Concert (Classical CD) Sound

[Tim Snyder]

OK, so I have searched the forums and have fond very little on this topic. Basically I have a quandary. Whether to mic, mix and EQ towards my preferred orchestral sound, i.e. film soundtrack - like the sounds that come from Abbey Road on the Star Wars tracks or stay true to the microphone and let the concert be.

My problem is I listen to classical recordings and I just feel I want more on the bottom, more presence in the brasses and winds. I like the percussion to be forward in the mix and have a heavy bottom with accent and punch as they sound live.

Classical recordings, even the best, to my ears, just sound a little mid based.

Are my ears wrong? When I look at the threads on here I feel I am doing injustice to my recordings by boosting the bottom end slightly revealing the lowest C (only on a few tunes mind you) on the string basses or the true feel from a tuba playing in the pedal range and really revealing the true nature of these instruments. I am a trained classical musician and I try to mix to what my professors and teachers always preached, "PYRAMID OF SOUND" whereby the bottom is bigger than the top. Thats why Grainger wanted 100 tubas for his bands, to get that lush rich bass.

Please help me understand the difference and why I should or shouldn't create mixes and mic these ensembles the way I hear them in my head. Thanks much in advance.

Tim

P.S. to give you a point of reference - One of the best classical recordings in terms of sonic clarity (FOR ME) is the Chronochromie CD by Oliver Messian by the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Ken Anton Rickenbacker conducting. This is one of the classical recordings I try to model outside of the soundtrack world.

[eusagc]

I am a fan of classical music and recordings and I think I understand where you're coming from. But if I understand it correctly, the supposedly "ideal sound" of an orchestral recording is the one you would hear if you were standing on the conductor's podium. As I would imagine, this sound would be the supposed ideal spectral balance. Thus esp in the early days, the classical miking techniques relied on mic configs that capture the sound as a whole. And that's why Decca trees would be put on top of the conductor's head for instance.

If we go by the various instruments and their ranges, and their population in a standard full orchestral setup, the resulting sound if they all play crescendo at the same time would ideally be a well-balanced deep and rich sound. But most of the time, it will not be like this. And as melodies and movements are carried by the majority of the midrange instruments, the sound will consequently be predominantly mids.

In all the other genres of music, I think this is also the same sound that we try to achieve when we do a mix. And so really, the midrange is the key.

I'm not very familiar with the recording you mentioned. The best sounding CDs in my collection are the ones from Chesky. I can recall one in particular, a Wagner CD, which is very well-balanced spectrally, and whose dynamics are superb.

All the best!

[fifthcircle]

The "soundtrack" sound and the classical sound are achieved in completely different ways.

Film scores are recorded in a way that everything is controlled. Lots of mics are used and mixed carefully. Part of the imact that you get with those recordings is also due to the choice of mics- lots of great gear and management of color.

In contrast, the classical world these days is more about transparency and fewer mics. IMO, as great as super transparent gear is, you also loose the impact from your recordings.

Things that will help with a classical orchestral recordng include careful placement and choice of main mics. My personal choices are usually either MKH8040 in ORTF as a main or a decca tree of 4006's with balls. Flanks will broaden the sound and if they are omni, will help the low-end response. Spot mics need to be treated with care. They'll help with clarity, but can also diminish the depth of sound.

Just a few thoughts...


--Ben