stereo" positions

[bajde]

Hi, my 1st post here, so, greetings to ya all music lovers!
I'm asking for some suggestions about stereo pair mic placements in a middle sized church with wooden ceiling, for a percussion duo(2marimbas, multi-percussion set-ups...). We do have Royer SF-12, pairs of DPA 4006A, 4009 and Schoeps MK4 pair.
TNX! p.s.:ocupated space is 4x4m

[rumleymusic]

I personally like DPA over Schoeps for percussion. I would suggest simple AB placement about 45-50cm a couple feet in front, or more if they are widely spaced with all the various percussion instruments.

[bajde]

Great! Also hope for some help from above

[recordinghopkins]

hate to say it, but you're gonna have to use your ears.
Every room is different, and you'll have to fine tune placement to find the spot that provides a nice balance of direct and reflected sound.

I'd use the sf12 out in front and flank it with a wide pair of your DPA omnis. You'll get perfect stereo imaging from the sf12, and the omnis will provide extra width up top and extended low end for big sounding bass drums, toms, and the bottom octaves of the marimbas.

Then use the schoeps for marimba spots or whatnot.

Be sure to put the preamp for the ribbon as close to the mic as possible, and run any long lengths of cable at line level.

[bajde]

Theoretically, on paper, I ended up with Royer at 2r height, right in front of a "percussion circle", aiming to the middle
Are omnis in the same plane??

[recordinghopkins]

Yes, the omnis should be on the same L/R plane as the sf12 to avoid timing differences. Adjust their spacing from one another for a wider or more narrow image.

Here's how I would do it.
Once you have the royer just where you want it and sounding great, place the omnis so that when you push up their faders the stereo image blooms open nicely and the edges of the performance area come into focus. Listen to what happens to the low freq content as you slowly push up their level, and adjust their spacing to find the best compromise between width and phase correlation.

Here's a recent gig where we used flanking omnis to support a central stereo pair. Granted, this was an orchestral recording with lots of players on stage, so they are pretty far apart to grab the outermost players. Hope this helps.

[recordinghopkins]

Excuse me, this was not an orchestral recording exactly, that was a wind band.

And yes, the baby sitting on it's mother knee in the loft behind the band cried the whole time.

[hbphotoav]

Bummer... major.

Was this a concert or a dedicated recording session where they rented the hall? If it was the former, and she paid her ticket, I can maybe understand a bit of hesitation in asking her to leave and enjoy the concert with her infant from the lobby (where, unless they had the paging system down, she could have heard it). If it was the latter, well... nobody is happy when that happens. The 5 minutes it would have taken to negotiate a "settlement" (or, rather, a "resettlement") solution would have been well spent. Was the conductor (or, at least the party who commissioned your presence) at least informed that the infant was audible? Hard to believe otherwise.

I have a piano/orchestra gig in Mississippi coming up in November. It's a repeat. The conductor/music director is the piano soloist's husband. The first time (2009) the rehearsals were held in the hall all day, with no airco running. The first half of the concert was recorded, very successfully, with no airco running. But the temperature was slowly rising... so, at intermission, they kicked on the airco... just in time for the piano concerto. Rumble, rumble... nothing to be done. The piano tuning also suffered. When I reminded the fellow about that, he said... "Well... we'll see..." Amazing how faithfully a pair of M296 reproduce the subtle nuance of rumbling sheetmetal and belt squeaks.

But... there it is. There is a very good reason for "concert etiquette"... unfortunately, more and more people have absolutely no idea what it is.

[recordinghopkins]

Hey Harry,

This was a concert setting at the Schermerhorn. One shot to get it right.
Everyone knew the child was making noise, in the picture you can see the guy in front of the mother turned around, presumably giving her the stink eye. After 30 mins or so of intermittent crying, she took the child out into the hallway.

Credit where credit is due, I was an A2 for this date, assisting John Hill.

Good luck with the repeat, but please, don't get me started again about concert etiquette. Unbelievable, but not all that surprising. Nobody is teaching etiquette anymore. I do around 100 or more student recitals a year, and you wouldn't believe some of the s*** that ignorant students do during a concert.

I've got a doctoral percussion recital on wednesday, my favorite kind of recital! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a polite crowd.

Sorry to hijack the thread, bajde. Oh! And wecome to Gearslutz!

[bajde]

Thanks, no problem! Well, it was almost a sucsess, since "windows are weak, some high, tight cords on marimba generated bird-calls from outside, have to play pussy/hawk.. And, also, as a rookie on scene, didnt want to be an ass-hole, so royers were 15m from preamp, omnies 1,5 m behind..

[bajde]

OK, now I have what I wanted, good gear, nice hall... Please, comment mic positioning and its angle, since my monitoring is far out. It`s a SF12.

Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring

or

R.Wagner:Siegfried Idyll

Thanks!

[rumleymusic]

OK, now I have what I wanted, good gear, nice hall... Please, comment mic positioning and its angle, since my monitoring is far out. It`s a SF12.

Silky smooth. The positioning is fine. For my taste, it could use some flanking omnis for cohesion and high/low frequency extension.

Great playing, too bad it is the brass-less version of A.S.

[boojum]

Far effing out! Ya did great. Yes, brass would have been nice and that is how we are used to hearing it out here. But the playing is very, very good. The recording is so clear. A bit more spacious would be nice, as has been said. But if I made that recording my head would be too big to get through the door for a week or so.

[bajde]

Credits are all yours, guys, you are the best!! So, I really dont want to use condensers, will pair of ribbons add some room? Happy with results, just if I can get close enought, 4m is max distance from first stands. Anyway, which omnis, cond., will blend well with SF?