New mic for classical violin - advice

marco.swe

New member
Hello guys,
I aim to record classical violin solo pieces and, sometimes, duo piano violin and trio piano violin Cello.

The gear I have at the moment is:
-Zoom F8N
-Rode NT55 (with cardioid and omni caps) stereo matched pair

I am considering investing in a good violin solo mic. I was thinking the DPA 4011A.

In case of violin solo recording, the DPA with cardioid caps in front of the violinist and the 2 NT55 with omni caps for stereo ambient recording.

In case of duo piano violin, I was thinking to use the rode NT55 pair for the piano and the DPA for the violin.

In case of trio, I would only use the rode pair in ORTF or AB setup (omni caps) in front of the ensemble. Maybe not the best choice but the only one that come in my mind with my actual setup.
Anyway the main focus is on violin solo recordings.

Do you have any comment or advise?

Thanks a lot!
 
The first thing is that mics o0f that calibre are wonderful, BUT - very unforgiving of the acoustics of your recording space. If the idea is to go to wonderful sounding locations and capture everything (AND you have the budget) they're great - but they're rarely mics to start with. The idea for me would be to solve deficiencies of the Rode - when you listen on your expensive studio monitors in your carefully controlled studio acoustics. This is the snag. Your DPA idea is a superb one but is a 'building the lily' solution. I like your single mic and then the pair for the space approach and the only concern I'd have is the stereo miking of the piano and the solo micing of the violin - which means a simulated natural acoustic created in the studio. Perfectly fine, I'd add, but if you really like the sound of the Rotes, then which not buy a couple more, and have many more techniques open up - stereo space and blended spot mics, or multiple stereo techniques you can balance and blend later or lots of other ideas. As they'd all have the same characteristic sound, they would multi-mic very well.

I borrowed a pair of older DPAs and frankly I had trouble justifying the price difference between my AKG 414s and 451s - my studio just 'hid' the subtle differences.
 
My musical collaborator is a violinist, and we have rtied a variety of mikes. For a long time our goto mike was an AT 853 which is more commonly used as a choir mike. However, it had a lovely warmth about it, as well as capturing a lot of detail. For a while we used an AKG C414, but reverted to the AT, preferring its sound.

A little while ago we were just capturing a few ideas, so rather than setting up the AT, I just swung around the black Rode NT1, which was already on a stand, and used that. Since then, we have stuck to that, and not used the AT 853 since.
 
The current mag not only contains a review of a novel dynamic mic but also a pair of good but afforadle SDCs...AND! A great article from Hugh on how to use them in a "Gerzon Array"

Alternatively, ribbons are said to be the absolute dogs on fiddles.

Oopps! Missed "Sound on Sound" Nov issue.

Dave.
 
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Would you buy a Range Rover without a test drive? At this level unless you can afford to make mistakes, I would seriously ask the supplier for a test deal - find one who keeps both and ask for a real test. For mics of that price it's essential to be able to do a real world comparison on your kit, including your monitors and studio treatment.
 
I have decided to get a less pricy KM184 stereo match pair to combine with my Rode NT55 pair.

Which of these 2 setups (or if you have other suggestion) do you think could be a good start setup for violin/piano recording in church using all 4 mics?

1. KM184 for violin solo (mono) – KM184 for piano (mono) – NT55 omni caps far away for ambient recording (A-B stereo)
20201026-094327 — ImgBB

2. KM184 X/Y for violin solo (stereo) – NT55 for piano (X/Y or AB) and no ambient recording
20201026-094250 — ImgBB

3. KM184 ORTF as main mic (stereo) – NT55 for piano (spot mic) and NT55 for violin (spot mic)
Whats-App-Image-2020-10-26-at-10-49-40 — ImgBB


Thanks for advices!
 
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try them all out and see which you like best.

I won't have time to test, sorry....

I like the idea of the setup nr. 3:
KM184 in ORTF setup as main mics and a spot Rode NT55 mic for the violin + a spot Rode NT55 mic for the piano.

Is this a reasonable setup?
 
Hello guys,
I aim to record classical violin solo pieces and, sometimes, duo piano violin and trio piano violin Cello.

The gear I have at the moment is:
-Zoom F8N
-Rode NT55 (with cardioid and omni caps) stereo matched pair

I am considering investing in a good violin solo mic. I was thinking the DPA 4011A.

In case of violin solo recording, the DPA with cardioid caps in front of the violinist and the 2 NT55 with omni caps for stereo ambient recording.

In case of duo piano violin, I was thinking to use the rode NT55 pair for the piano and the DPA for the violin.

In case of trio, I would only use the rode pair in ORTF or AB setup (omni caps) in front of the ensemble. Maybe not the best choice but the only one that come in my mind with my actual setup.
Anyway the main focus is on violin solo recordings.

Do you have any comment or advise?

Thanks a lot!
this is just my opinion of course:

why worry about mics? It's what & how it's being played that counts.. An example:

would you prefer to listen to Jascha Heifetz (as 1 of many examples) in mono analog using cheap mics- or me (who can't play the violin) via the best mics money can buy? Think about it;)
 
this is just my opinion of course:

why worry about mics? It's what & how it's being played that counts.. An example:

would you prefer to listen to Jascha Heifetz (as 1 of many examples) in mono analog using cheap mics- or me (who can't play the violin) via the best mics money can buy? Think about it;)

Broadly I agree, but you can only take this argument so far.

There are mikes that I've tried on violin that result in an unpleasant sound that no amount of great playing can overcome.

And if you have a great player, and a locker of mikes from which you can choose, then you get better results choosing one that complements the violin, rather than detracting.
 
this is just my opinion of course:

why worry about mics? It's what & how it's being played that counts.. An example:

would you prefer to listen to Jascha Heifetz (as 1 of many examples) in mono analog using cheap mics- or me (who can't play the violin) via the best mics money can buy? Think about it;)
Well, to echo/amplify what [MENTION=45599]gecko zzed[/MENTION] typed, you do the performer a disservice if you don't capture the best representation of that performance that's available to you at the present time. There are limitations in budget, availability, et al, but especially for most of us, these are fairly personal endeavors, even if "home" recordings. We may know the performer(s) and since we're actually there, it's a little different than hearing a recording made by someone else. We actually know whether what we capture is a good reflection of the performance, and whether something may have been "left behind" in the room. It may or may not be the mic, but if you can rule that out, why not fuss over it a bit?

Sure, a performance of Heifetz is great, even if recorded to wax cylinder, but I'd love to hear a recording if it had been made in his peak performing years recorded with equipment available even 20 years later.
 
I bought a dirt cheap Chinese electret from AliExpress and it came with a clip on mute style clip for mounting on the violin and with a bit of eq, it's absolutely 100% usable. I managed to jam it onto my double bass and that worked nicely too. Never discount a mic till you try it.
 
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