recording Live Help me please!!!!!

[MINDCRIME]

I am recording a concert in 48 hours, a Cello and Piano 9'grand
nothing elaborate, just 2 Mics into a mackie 1402 into a DAT recorder
my question is which 2 mics,
its in a small 200 seat recital room, they just want a decent recording of this event, I own 2 Shure KSM32 2 MXL63M
2 AT4040 4 shure sm57 4 Octavia small condenser mics cant recall the model number, and 2 MXLV67
if this was all you had and you only wanted to use two mics three tops, also they want to avoid direct mics on the instruments, they just want to have mics pointing at the stage, so if you could only use 2 or 3 tops which would you use,
any help would be a blessing

Thanks
Mindcrime

 

[Harvey Gerst]

I'd use two of the Oktavas on the piano, and try one of the MXL mics or the Shure on the cello. Put the two Oktavas about 2 to 5 feet out, pointed at the inside of the top of the piano.

Try the Shure, the V67, or the 63 about 18" to 24" away from the cello, about even with the bottom of the fingerboard, but about 6" off to the right of the fingerboard.

You may have to move the mics a little bit up or down or side to side to find the best spots, but the above settings should get you pretty close to start with. Good luck and let us know how it turned out.

 

[knownuttin]

It'll only embarrass him if he reads this, but damn are we lucky to have Harvey! I know most of us realize it, but it doesn't hurt me to say it again.
-kent

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Uhhh,

Let's hold off on the applause till we hear how the session went. There are so many other factors that his information didn't include, it's still a crap shoot.

Hopefully, the stuff I suggested will be a good starting point (and maybe even the final setup), but it's all subject to change without notice.

 

[knownuttin]

See?
-kent

 

[littledog]

Ummm.... it's not that Harvey's advice isn't impeccable, it's just that he missed a key condition in the original question: the mic's can't be on stage with then instruments, I'm assuming for visual reasons.

(You might be able to sneak an Oktava or two inside the piano or attached to a music stand for a spot mic on the cello.)

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Good catch, littledog. On reading it quickly, I thought they meant they didn't want to use contact mics, but you're right, it sounds like they don't want mics on stage.

Pity. "If" I were doing this, I would explain (very forcefully) that the mics won't be that intrusive and that anything less will severely compromise the sound quality, especially in a small hall, where the audience is relatively close to the performing area.

I'd show them how small the Oktavas are to alleviate their fears of the audience's view being blocked, and explain that this is a "once in a lifetime moment" and doesn't it deserve the best possible treatment? I'd also put a thin black sock over the body of the Oktava to show them how little it would interfer with the audience's view of the stage.

If that didn't convince them, I'd set up the 2 Oktavas in an X/Y array at the front of the stage, angled somewhere between 60° and 90°, about 5 feet in the air (assuming a 2 foot high stage), turn on the recorder and sit back and enjoy the show. I'd keep the peak levels between -12 and -6dB.