classical violin with piano accompaniment

O

o-ron

New member
I don't currently own these mics, but will be purchasing them very soon:
Marshall 2003
Oktava mc012
Behringer ECM8000

The venue: it will either be a small, warm concert hall, or a moderate luterhan-style church. It will be a stradivarius violin played by a professional, and probably a grochensteinveg (sp?) grand piano.

The music: classical music - all possible genres (baroque up through contemporary, with an emphasis on 20th century)

The recording equipment: Mixer: Mackie 1402 or 1604 (trying to figure out if i can afford a 1604) or a Soundcraft M8.
Recorder: 4-track digital usb into WinXP laptop.

So here's my question(s):

What are some possible good mic setups (obviously experimentation, but where to start) and even more so, i'm not sure what to record to which tracks since i'm limited to 4 simultaneous recorded tracks. SUggestions??

Thanks!
 
i would use two ambience mics, but not too far away, and then spot mics on each intrument. you could get away with one ont he violin, but it may have to be a clip on mic, depending on how much the violinist moves. a stereo pair of condensor on the piano should do the trick.



get the soundcraft if you can, a mackie 1402 will work allright though, providing you have enough outputs.
 
The USB will be the limiting factor- isn't it only four total audio streams (in and out) possible? So if you are monitoring in stereo, that only leaves two for input, so all your mixing will have to be done on the way in.
 
well, here's another opinion i can get out of you guys:

here's the possibilities:

4-in *and* 4-out: 16/44.1
4-in and 2-out: 24/44.1 or 48
2-in (monitor on computer): 24/96

for the most amount of tracks and best post-mixing possibilities, obviously either the 4i/4o or the 4i/2o would be best, but then i don't get the high resolution...
 
Do you plan on specializing in classical recording or is this a one shot deal?

Doesn't look like you really have, or are getting the best equipment for recording classical music.

barefoot
 
well, i'm trying to get as universal (and inexpensive) and yet still quality equipment as possible. I will mainly do classical / acoustic in the future, but also occasionally rock groups. Emphasis, however, on classical choral works and piano/violin combinations. (the choral stuff, however, is with a group who has some of their own equipment).
 
Is this a live performance or a recording session? If it's live you may be limited to room mics out of the view of the audience.

Since orchestral music is usually written for the group to play in a hall together they sorta all function as one big instrument. Often the best way to record classical is to find a sweet sounding spot in the hall and set up a stereo pair. This way you get a natural balanced sound with the natural hall ambience.

With the gear you mention I would try the ECM or Octava very close to the violin and use the MXL and the other as the piano mics a few feet above the piano. Use the MXL on the low end and the other omni closer to the highs.
 
i was thinking of buying these mics in pairs. would it be better to not have stereo pairs, but instead more variety??

I understand about recording a live orchestral concert - i occassionally do that and for that I would use the best stereo pair of mics i have available.

However, the main job here will be a solo violin with piano accompaniment, and it will be recording session, not a live performance.

hope that clarifies

Thanks!
 
it will be better to buy stereo pairs of mics, but only if your budget allows.

like i said, a pair of stereo "abience" mics, and then spotlight mics. record in 24 bit but id forget about 96kHz. you cant afford to loose the track count really.
id go for 24/44.1 or 48.

the amount of outputs you have doesn't really matter at all. its the amount of tracks you can get IN that counts.

you can mix later and mix down through a stereo output.

im a bit drunk so i apoligise if there are any spelling mistakes.
 
I agree. i think best option would be to just bite the bullet and buy a stereo pair of the MXL 2003, the Oktava 12, and the ECM8000. Then for this partcular recording gig I can use two mxl's on the piano, two oktavas on the violin, and two ecm's for ambience. Plus, this combination of microphones in my "locker" is a good spread of abilities for future gigs.

One question remains, though, from my original post. That's 6 mics i have going there. I have 4 inputs tracks.... what are some options in putting those together? Ambient tracks separate? or...?


Thank!
 
Just do the 24/44.1 config. Unless you have a couple avalon pre's and a Lucid clock I doubt you will really get any significant benefit to the 96khz.

I would just try to get the best possible recording with a stereo pair of the duo and use the other two mics a little closer to punch up either instrument if it's needed. Especially if you are recording in a nice hall.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top