Irish band in a dining room

Jimbo · 30th November 2006

I'll be recording a traditional Irish band (guitar, bodhran, 2 fiddles, uilleann pipes, flute) on Sunday, and I'd like to get some input.

They want a "live" sound to preserve the energy, and we'll most likely be tracking in a mid-size dining room with 9 or 10 foot ceilings.

My plan is to put the group in an oval with a fiddle on each end of the oval, the guitar and bodhran opposite each other on the sides of the oval, and the other instruments in between them.

I plan to drop two Avenson STO-2 (think Earthworks) omni mics spaced several feet apart, 5/6 feet high, pointing down, closer to the ends of the oval. I'll suplement the guitar with a 414, in omni, 3 feet off the floor, in the center of the oval, and adjust its distance to the guitar accordingly. Since there is no bass player, I'm hoping that this 414 arrangement will allow me to boost the low end of the guitar and bodhran

The bodhran player has a clip-on mic which I'll track to boost the bodhran as necessary. I might DI the guitar as well, just in case -- but I think the 414 in omni will grab the guitar pretty well.

Given that the room is a mid-size dining room, do you think I should leave the carpet on the floor to help reduce all the reflections? I'll also have four, 2x4 acoustic panels set up to help. My fear is that w/o carpet underneath, those pipes and fiddles will bombard the room. However, since the STO-2s will be pointing down, I don't want to lose any good reflections.

I appreciate any thoughts on this approach.

Thanks,

- Jim

Jimbo · 30th November 2006

Anybody tried M/S in this situation?

Bob Bickerton · 30th November 2006

I've done a reasonable amount of recording of Irish musicians and play all the instruments mentioned myself.

It's good to record the band 'live' in order to boost the energy of the performance, but of course the downside is lack of seperation.

Also I'm wondering what will happen to the stereo image working in the oval if you're using the omnis as your main stereo pair, it may be confused, but I haven't worked this way before.

You may find the melody players want to be together and the accompanists want to be close too, so a tight arc may work better, using the omnis as a stereo pair and perhaps moving players towards and away from the mics for balance.

If you could run a channel for each instrument you'd probably achieve better control, but there would still be a lot of bleed.

Could you run another couple of channels?

As with this situation you'll need to experiment. Do you have time to try various scenarios?

Cheers

Bob

30th November 2006	#1
Jimbo Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,520 Thread Starter	Irish band in a dining room I'll be recording a traditional Irish band (guitar, bodhran, 2 fiddles, uilleann pipes, flute) on Sunday, and I'd like to get some input. They want a "live" sound to preserve the energy, and we'll most likely be tracking in a mid-size dining room with 9 or 10 foot ceilings. My plan is to put the group in an oval with a fiddle on each end of the oval, the guitar and bodhran opposite each other on the sides of the oval, and the other instruments in between them. I plan to drop two Avenson STO-2 (think Earthworks) omni mics spaced several feet apart, 5/6 feet high, pointing down, closer to the ends of the oval. I'll suplement the guitar with a 414, in omni, 3 feet off the floor, in the center of the oval, and adjust its distance to the guitar accordingly. Since there is no bass player, I'm hoping that this 414 arrangement will allow me to boost the low end of the guitar and bodhran The bodhran player has a clip-on mic which I'll track to boost the bodhran as necessary. I might DI the guitar as well, just in case -- but I think the 414 in omni will grab the guitar pretty well. Given that the room is a mid-size dining room, do you think I should leave the carpet on the floor to help reduce all the reflections? I'll also have four, 2x4 acoustic panels set up to help. My fear is that w/o carpet underneath, those pipes and fiddles will bombard the room. However, since the STO-2s will be pointing down, I don't want to lose any good reflections. I appreciate any thoughts on this approach. Thanks, - Jim

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30th November 2006	#3
Bob Bickerton Gear interested Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Nelson, New Zealand Posts: 26	I've done a reasonable amount of recording of Irish musicians and play all the instruments mentioned myself. It's good to record the band 'live' in order to boost the energy of the performance, but of course the downside is lack of seperation. Also I'm wondering what will happen to the stereo image working in the oval if you're using the omnis as your main stereo pair, it may be confused, but I haven't worked this way before. You may find the melody players want to be together and the accompanists want to be close too, so a tight arc may work better, using the omnis as a stereo pair and perhaps moving players towards and away from the mics for balance. If you could run a channel for each instrument you'd probably achieve better control, but there would still be a lot of bleed. Could you run another couple of channels? As with this situation you'll need to experiment. Do you have time to try various scenarios? Cheers Bob