classical music produktion. got any tips/links?

[silkysmell]

hi guys, ive been engineering pop/rock music for a couple of years now. lately i got more into classical music.

people tell me classical music production is all about mics and micplacement. well im not a mic guru so i was wondering if anyone got any tips or links to some usefull sites.

what about dynamics and fx....??

any help appreciated

[Jules]

My classical music recording friends are VERY secretive about their techniques...



I dont dig that but have to respect it.

[silkysmell]

yep youre right!

i heard that a/b is the standard these days for the main stereo mic. and that they squish during mastering (squish = raise gain, i dont know if i used the right word!) but never compress the mix bus......? ? what about limiting...

[Roland]

Well I would think long and hard before going this route! As Jules said a lot of the guys guard their techniques closely. The main problem is that over the last ten years there has been a major decline in the amount of classical recordings being made, however there are more people working in the field than ever before. I do location recording work myself, but I am glad I do not rely soley on it for my main source of income.

A few years back Decca closed down their own recording operation and made about 30 guy's redundant, now most of these guy's are trying to work as freelancers too. I personally know of several talented engineers/producers in the field who are barely scratching a living. As for mic techniques, there are several common ones and variations on a theme, but if you do a search on some of the following you will get plenty of good information.

Decca tree

AB spaced pairs

Orft

Blumheim


Microphone techniques


Good luck!!!

Regards


Roland

[fifthcircle]

There have been a number of threads about classical recording in the remote section of this site (as most classical work is remote). If you do google searches for rec.audio.pro, there are tons of threads there... Otherwise read about mic placement.

Most classical guys are pretty secretive about how they get their sounds... It is a combination of high-end microphones, preamps, and conversion. In classical, less is often more. If you have to EQ or compress, you haven't done your job correctly.

In classical work, creating your soundstage is an organic process that is directly related to which microphones you use and where you put them. Stereo techniques or combinations of stereo techniques are used to get this... Because there are so many ensembles to learn about and so many different instruments to learn about, it is difficult to tell about them in one thread..

If this is something that you really want to do, I would suggest finding an engineer near you and offer to work for them. There is no substitute for learning how to record/edit classical music on the job. In the meantime, find every book and website on stereo micing techniques you can and devour them. A good place to start is Ron Streicher's book- The New Stereo Soundbook. I bought my copy from AEA in Pasadena, CA (www.wesdooley.com)

--Ben