Recording a pipe organ

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KJohnson

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Hello friends,

Total newby here...both to high-level recording and this message board. I am a classical pipe organist, working on my doctorate in performance. I would like to start doing some self-recording, in anticipation of doing a "vanity pressing" of my own CD to sell at my concerts. I would like to begin learning more about what types of recorders/microphones to buy.

I realize this isn't studio-type recording. I anticipate simply setting up a microphone somewhere in the church where the organ sounds naturally lovely, and recording directly to a CD-type recorder (is it called a "stand alone CD recorder"???). Then, I guess I would edit the various tracks somehow, and record a "master CD" that could be reproduced.

Is there anyone out there with any suggestions at all? Do any of you have experience recording a pipe organ (or other concert) in a church? What sort of recorders/microphones should I look for? Can I do the editing on my home computer?

ANY advice would be warmly welcomed. Thank you in advance!!! I realize I'm going to have to save my pennies for this endeavor, but it's something I really want to do someday.

Thanks again,
Kyle Johnson
Kansas City, Missouri
 
Hello Mr.Johnson, First of all I am excited to talk to a real Pipe organist. It is so rare nowadays to hear acoustic sounds from an instrument. Anyway regarding your question, I haven't done a pipe organ recording but I should tell you that it all depends on your budget but since you mentioned that you are going to record directly into a CD recorder, I should say you dont expect the high end stuff.
Since your pipe organ produces all kinds of sounds I would recommend you to go with a pair of SM81 condenser mics. They are the studio standard for miking acoustic guitar, piano, and cymbals. I've used it for piano recordings and they sound great as advertised. http://www.musicalinstrumentsearch.com/
Well, hope that would work out for you perfectly... if you exactly want to know the mics used for Pipe organs by professionals you may try contacting the King of Keys at http://www.bobralston.com/index.html
(hope you assumed that I am 81 years old by now, but sorry...I was born in 81 :p )
 
I know this isn't the answer that you were looking for but I would recommend just hiring someone to do this recording for you. There will be at least some editing involved and you will get better sounds with someone who has the experience and the equipment that you probably don't want to pay for. I personally would probably only charge a few hundred dollars to do something like that, I can't help but think it would be well worth your money.

PS- I don't mean this as an advertisement, I live in Texas but I'm sure you could find someone locally who would do it reasonably for you.
 
Thank you Jeyan and jmproductions for the helpful, cheerful, and honest advice! This is such a fascinating area, that of sound recording. I'm enjoying learning more and more about it.

Again, thank you!

Kyle
 
If you have a lap top then read this thread:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=81883

the lap top setup we discussed in there would cost $300 - $400 and would give you a lot of portable recording / editing power. All you would need is a USB cd burner and you would be all set to record, edit and publish on the road.


Other option, my voice teacher uses mini disk to record his performances and concerts. He has a good stereo mic... small but picks up sound well. Look at bootlegers sites, they rave over this setup.
Its not going to give you a professional sound like studio quality mics... but it's cheap, portable, easy to use... and might not sound so bad if you place the mics right. It might be good enough for your needs.
 
I've recorded choir and organ concerts with a Sound Room matched-pair of Oktava MC-012 hypercardioids. I'm pleased with the sound and separation.

My setup was MC-012s-->AudioBuddy Pre-->VS840 digital recorder. I'm reasonably happy with the result:

Vivaldi Magnificat (excerpt)

Some of the harshness is the sanctuary - sort of gymnasium acoustics. Der orgel is a 17-rank Casavant, ca. 1961 - a bit underpowered for the room.

MC-012s are a little bright, but handle the full spectrum pretty well. I think the MC-012 spec is similar to the SM-81. Maybe if you have a 32' Bombarde, you might want sometihing with a bit more meat in the low end.

What kind of organ?
 
aahhh, the ol' pipe organ. nubs loves those things. Yep, you'd be better off just paying someone to do the recording for you. The pipe organ is kind of an unruly beast. If you get to close (to the pipes) it sounds unnatural, the farther back you get you lose definition. Organs are definately built to interact with natural ambience so a balance needs to be struck. generally, for the larger organs, really high boom stands are needed and I use large diaphgragm condensors in xy. I set up my monitors and mixer as far away as i can get, in a different room, so I can hear clearly what is being picked up from my mics. I have my assistant move those suckers around until I find a sweet spot. The last organ I did I ended about 30' out from the pipes, with the mics aimed directly at the middle of the pipes. (both horizontally and vertically) I think they were roughly about 18' in the air. It seemed the best ccomprise between definition and the oh so lovely ambience of the church. phasing problems can be a real nightmare in a church so I generally opt for simple xy in this type of situation.
 
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