great sounding rooms....

[hollywood_steve]

The old "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" joke is also applicable to those of us who are have only recently become dedicated remote recordists. The jobs I get are much more likely to take place in a basement jazz club or some community “performance space” than in a proper, acoustically engineered concert hall. This isn’t a complaint about recording in clubs, many of my favorite records where made in cramped, sweaty clubs where the performance made everyone forget that the room itself didn’t sound very good.

But I’m sure that most of us would really like to have a chance to record in a truly great room; the kind of room where your gear and your skills are the limiting factors, because the room itself sounds remarkably good.

Unfortunately, I’m reasonably certain that I won’t have any jobs at the Disney Concert Hall any time soon. I started thinking about how I could arrange for a non-business session in some great facility, but the only thing I could come up with was asking some professional ensemble (orchestra, choir, whatever…….) if I could record one of their rehearsals. But even two minutes of rational thought and that idea was D.O.A. (any facility that sounds that good is going to be heavily booked with actual performances, not rehearsals. And, in 2003, no professional performance organization is going to allow any “casual” recording due to countless legal issues. The days of allowing “hobbyist” recording are long gone.)

So, can anybody suggest any more feasible (and less stupid) ideas for getting a chance to record in a really great sounding hall? (preferably without paying a bribe, resorting to blackmail, or being forced to do anything too unpleasant)

Thanks.

[Remoteness]

I don't have a great suggestion on "How to get to Carnegie Hall?" But, I bet you can find your way to a great sounding space...

Finding a commercial space for a casual recording may be difficult to make so. An old (great sounding) church or synagogue maybe the answer. You should have a better shot at working a deal with a space like that. Perhaps a barter deal of sorts -- You get to use the space and in return, you'll record their choir, or something to that effect.

Now, all you need are the musicians. You could cut a similar deal with the orchestra or band. They get a free recording of their rehearsal or performance, you get a great sounding demo, et cetera, etc.

IMO, the chance to record in a truly great room is closer then you think my GS friend. Look around in your area. It maybe seating right beneath your nose.

I hope this helped.

[bjornson]

Thats exactly the way the remote services part of our business started. Most arts organizations in pittsburgh were unaware of the results they could get on location. They were used to the audio from uncle louies video camera.
Most of the great sounding churches/halls we contacted were more than willing to exchange services in some way, and many paying gigs resulted, many of which happen on a regular basis. Plus it makes for great Altiverb impulse responses!

[fifthcircle]

Unfortunately, there are precious few great sounding rooms in LA... The ones that are out there are bloody difficult to get into. Colburn School comes to mind (Zipper Hall), Disney I'm sure fits that description, Royce Hall at UCLA, Little Bridges at Claremont, a couple churches around are decent for choral music...

I can describe exactly what issues you'll run into at each hall in doing work there off list if you want to know (sound-wise and logistically)...

--Ben

[Steve Smith]

How many of us have walked into a room and said to ourselves " man, drums would sounds boss in here..." well, for us remote folk, that thought gets played out on occasion, and if you are lucky, they do!

[hollywood_steve]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas. The church choir idea (record them for free for the opportunity to work in a great room with a well rehearsed choir, although it doesn' have to be a choir) is probably the best solution.

But even that is still limited to a room that sounds great by accident - a big old stone church. Gaining access to a real concert hall is probably hopeless until my clientele have improved a few levels.


How many of us have walked into a room and said to ourselves " man, drums would sounds boss in here..."


Yeah, of course that kind of situation is always great to encounter. But my main point here was trying to gain access to the type of room that was designed to sound extremely good - and that's pretty much limited to concert halls. But that goal is going to go on the back burner for the near term, while I try to talk my way into some incredibly impressive stone church where I can record their choir, or maybe their huge pipe organ...... Either of those will be a big change from the little jazz club or hotel bar type gigs that I am more familiar with.

Now I just wish that I was back home on the east coast where there are awesome church buildings on every corner. Out here in LA, they are a lot less common and the few really nice ones are almost as hard to access as the VIP room at this week's hot club.

Thanks again for the suggestions. One thing this has taught me is that I definitely made the right choice in walking away from the studio I shared with two other guys. I couldn't stand working in that 200sf fuzzy walled, lifeless box - now I can look forward to someday recording at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo (the largest concert hall I know of). I'm thrilled that I kind of fell into the remote recording scene, its an unusual little niche that offers countless benefits compared to the standard studio scene. I almost feel guilty not telling all my studio friends about it ..........

[fifthcircle]

Originally posted by hollywood_steve
Now I just wish that I was back home on the east coast where there are awesome church buildings on every corner. Out here in LA, they are a lot less common and the few really nice ones are almost as hard to access as the VIP room at this week's hot club.

Thanks again for the suggestions. One thing this has taught me is that I definitely made the right choice in walking away from the studio I shared with two other guys. I couldn't stand working in that 200sf fuzzy walled, lifeless box - now I can look forward to someday recording at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo (the largest concert hall I know of). I'm thrilled that I kind of fell into the remote recording scene, its an unusual little niche that offers countless benefits compared to the standard studio scene. I almost feel guilty not telling all my studio friends about it ..........

2 of the 3 best rooms I think I've ever worked in are on the east coast- both concert halls (the churches are pretty impressive, too). I did my undergrad in Rochester, NY and I got to work regularly in Eastman Theatre and Kilbourn Recital Hall- both on the Eastman School of Music campus. Here in LA, the best sounding room to record in, I think, is Royce Hall at UCLA. I've gotten some great sounding orchestral recordings there...

There are a couple great churches here in LA, too- they just aren't usually old buildings. There is an Episcopal Church in Monrovia (off of Foothill Blvd.) that is amazing, but the name escapes me right now. St. Francis Episcopal in Palos Verdes is good, the chapel at Loyola Marymount Univ. is amazing. Mt. St. Mary's college chapel is good, too, but a bit noisy. I've worked with mostly choral and early music recordings in those rooms.

--Ben