If you could record the NY phil, on the following budgets....

[SynthLine09]

Ok folks, this thread is really for fun but I thought I might learn a little about gear choice as well by starting it.

Lets say you've gotten a gig recording the New York phil this weekend...they're playing something big, like a Shostakovich symphony.

Given the following budgets, what gear would you purchase to record this concert.

$500

$1,500

$5,000

$10,000

Unlimited budget

[chris319]

$500

A Sony PCM-D50. I sent a guy to Australia and New Zealand with one. The recordings weren't half bad at all.

Alternative: A pair of Naiant mics with a stereo bar and a Zoom H4n. Unlike the PCM-D50, the Naiants are omnidirectional. The Sabra Som stereo bar is about $40 street and you can replace the bar with a longer piece of hex rod from McMaster Carr.

[RobAnderson]

Hopefully Mark Donahue will chime in on this, since he knows what they are really using - I think in that hall it is KM130 inner pair and MKH800 in figure-8 on the flanks; and then whatever Schoeps and Neumann KM100 spots.

I guess a valid question would be "in what hall?" since that might affect mic choice for the mains. Do we care about visual aesthetics here? If not, a full-on 5-mic Decca tree with M50's might be nice. Otherwise, MK2S, 8020's, or 4003's depending on your mood.

For me, spots would be mostly Schoeps MK4's and MK21's, 8040's, MKH800's.

In case we are doing Mahler Eighth or Britten's War Requiem, 24 - 32 channels of Millennia (or maybe Crookwood mic amps if we really are spending some money) feeding a couple of RADAR systems (redundancy of course); monitor through a Studer mixer on some big B&W's or Lipinski's fed by a good Bryston amp.

I guess that might be a little over budget...

[boojum]

Unlimited? Send Steve Remote!

[jnorman]

yes, i think steve remote would love to do a gig that had an unlimited budget...

just imagine what the cable routing would look like!

[hughesmr]

Unlimited? I'd rent an airliner and fly them all to the Concertgebouw to record!

[Norm@gear]

Originally Posted by hughesmr

Unlimited? I'd rent an airliner and fly them all to the Concertgebouw to record!

+1

[Petrus]

I would just take my Orpheus rig and whatever mics I have, and

$500: Case of single malt
$1500: Send my 3 sons for some via ferrata in the Dolomites (return ticket)
$5000: Send them to trek in Nepal to learn about reality (return again)
$10000: Trade in my old car
$unlimited: get that Nordhavn 68, retire and start the round the world voyage...

(sorry, could not resist)

In real life for unlimited budget I would move them to a hall where I could record them with an AB pair and SD722.

[Corran]

Come on guys, just the built-in mics of the Zoom H4 is good enough. I mean, it's good enough for just about everyone else these days, no?

That leaves $200 for velcro and a really, really tall ladder.

[SynthLine09]

Wow, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned a built-in laptop mic yet

Some humorous responses!

[Plush]

I would record this orch with a Mackie 1202 (original version) and 4 mics.

Main pair would be AKG 451, flanks would be AKG Solid Tube mics.

The sound would be outstanding.

As for the fee, that would be $2500 per show. 3 show minimum.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by boojum

Unlimited? Send Steve Remote!

...and, I'll make sure I have Mark Donahue along side me;-)

[nnajar]

Originally Posted by Plush

I would record this orch with a Mackie 1202 (original version) and 4 mics.

Main pair would be AKG 451, flanks would be AKG Solid Tube mics.

The sound would be outstanding.

As for the fee, that would be $2500 per show. 3 show minimum.

nooooooo not the 451. use the c3000B

[boojum]

Originally Posted by Petrus

In real life for unlimited budget I would move them to a hall where I could record them with an AB pair and SD722.

That is my dream scene, too.

[NorseHorse]

New archives from the NY Phil: http://archives.nyphil.org/

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by Plush

I would record this orch with a Mackie 1202 (original version) and 4 mics.

Main pair would be AKG 451, flanks would be AKG Solid Tube mics.

The sound would be outstanding.

As for the fee, that would be $2500 per show. 3 show minimum.

I don't doubt that the sound would be outstanding, but what mic configuration would you use for the 451's and would you care to elaborate on why the 1202, and why the original version?

I don't disagree with these choices, and am sure the results would indeed be fine, but I'd love to know why this choice. I actually like 451's . Old ones. EB.

Thanks!

Dave C.

[sonare]

Originally Posted by Plush

Main pair would be AKG 451
The sound would be outstanding.

It may interest some that Hudson used an older pair of 451s on the recording that he won a Grammy.

Rich