Organ Recording

[enterprise11]

Hi Friends of Organ Music,

next month I have to record an organ recital in a big church. For several reasons I only can use 2 mics.
I decided to record with 2 Sanken CO100k and my Apogee MiniMe.
Additionally I could borrow (for two or three beer) a d.a.v bg1 preamp.
Do you think it makes sense to use the bg1 instead of the apogee built-in preamps? Has anybody heard the differences between the two preamps?
Is it possible to use just the a/d converters from the Mini-Me (I think, the line-in signal from the bg1 would be amplified, too, or not???)
Would it make sense to buy a complete different a/d - converter for very fine results (should be able to beconnected to a notebook via usb or firewire)
Thank you for helping and apologizes for my bad english...

Gregor

[mathieujm]

The positionning of your mics will have a lot more influence on the final result than the choice between MiniMe and dav BG1.

And if you want some advices from organ recordists, you should first give us some details on the organ, church and repertoire.

JMM

[enterprise11]

It will be this Organ in this church:

Die Orgeln im Münster zu Herford

I don't know the works, but I recorded the cd's you can see on the site...
But all these (sa)cd's I've done with big surround-equipment which I can't use for this recital.
Therefore my question about the bg1 versus MiniMe.

Thanks

Gregor

[Nobilmente]

I don't know the MiniMe, but I would have no hesitation in using the DAV BG for this, none at all.

All of the pipes appear to be in one place, as opposed to being in different places or split around a corner as some are. So a spaced pair of omnis will work well. Setting them for the best position though (as you know) will make the greatest difference.

With the frequency response of the Sanken CO100k, you should be able to move back some way and and have the room and the higher frequencies.

But the DAV will be great on this, it ranges 10Hz-150kHz and is flat at 100kHz. I would love to know how the Sanken records. When I used to go into the BBC servicing department, they had a rubbish bin in the corner with Sanken written on the side, and this has stuck in my memory for some time since. It's unreasonable I suppose, but it lingers there!

Would you be able to put some WAV's on this site after you have recorded it? - It would be great to hear that.

[enterprise11]

Thank you for your answer, I think, it will be no problem to load up some wav's after the recording.
but again I may ask how the preamp of the MiniMe would affect the line-output of the bg1? Or is it "off" if it,s turned in "line - in" position and I just would use the A/D section? (hope, you understand me...)

[ptr]

Originally Posted by enterprise11

but again I may ask how the preamp of the MiniMe would affect the line-output of the bg1? Or is it "off" if it,s turned in "line - in" position and I just would use the A/D section?

yes! When turned to "line" the preamp section of the Mini-Me is "disabled"!

I also would love to hear the CU100K on organ! And the Münsterinstrument should be a prime beast to try them out on!

/ptr

[hbphotoav]

I have both the Apogee Ensemble (to my understanding, its mic amps are in the same league as the MiniMe) and a DAV BG8 (which I often use with the Ensemble). In the choral and orchestral recordings I've done, they work together nicely... I sometimes use the Apogee's four mic amps (which have a bit more overall gain... helpful with ribbons) and drive the other four line inputs from the BG8; other times I use all eight of the Ensemble's inputs as line inputs and all eight of the DAV's mic amps. On other occasions I use the BG8 with a Mackie Onyx 1220 or 1640i, where I need to double as PA and foldback provider and want a wee bit better mic amp than the onboard.

I'm relatively new to recording at this level (with Gefell, DPA, Sennheiser, Shure and BeyerDynamic transducers), and monitor mixes/edits through Tannoy Series 800A, mainly for video projects and local church musicians. Both my clients and I have been very satisfied with the projects' outcomes, regardless of the combination. If there's a difference, it is minute... at this level, mic choice and placement decisions are, for good or ill, much more obvious than Apogee or DAV front end...

[enterprise11]

Finally the recording is done and I am very satisfied with the Sanken!
They sound very accurate and neutral. We decided not to use the DAV BG1 but the preamps from the MiniMe because they were at least a bit clearer in this very big church.
You will find two downloads of the same work:
Hans Martin Kiefer: Bach-Rumba played by Stefan Kagl at Herforder Münster
Kirchenmusik im Münster zu Herford

Kiefer Bach-Rumba.WAV Download at remiXshare Filehosting | Fast & Anonymous Bach-Rumba.WAV
Kiefer Bach-Rumba 44.mp3 Download at remiXshare Filehosting | Fast & Anonymous Bach-Rumba 44.mp3
The one file is MP3 for all the modem-user the other is the original file recorded in 88,2/24 (86mb)
This is the only work I am allowed to post online due to copyrights (the concert was nearly only 20th/21st century [Hakim, Langlais etc.])
The sound is a little bit distant, but the Organ player liked it this way.

Best regards
Gregor