Mic'ing a Choir for Live Sound,Regarding 3:1 Rule

Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:32 am

Thanks. I'll stick with that then. We have a couple of the Sabra-Som shock suspensions, and find that they are pretty good.

Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:22 pm

About that 3 to 1 rule, if you record with all your mics on
separate tracks, you can either synchronise them later in
a sequencer, by lining up the waveforms, or adjust them to
be out of sync to your liking.

Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:23 pm

About that 3 to 1 rule, if you record with all your mics on
separate tracks, you can either synchronise them later in
a sequencer, by lining up the waveforms, or adjust them to
be out of sync to your liking.

Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:43 pm

aracu wrote:

About that 3 to 1 rule, if you record with all your mics on
separate tracks, you can either synchronise them later in
a sequencer, by lining up the waveforms, or adjust them to
be out of sync to your liking.

This can be very effective, especially if there are only one or two microphones to synchronise *and* you place them with the intention of synchronising them later.

As an example...

One month ago, in the studios of Music Nepal (Kathmandu), I made an album of 'ghazal' singing - a wonderfully lugubrious form of Indian music with vocal, harmonium and tabla. I captured the vocal and harmonium with a single Neumann U87 in omni mode (the singer also plays the harmonium, and will take care of the voice/harmonium balance at least as expertly as I could), and used a TLM103 cardioid on the tabla.

I placed the TLM103 about 25cm above the tabla to get the desired balance of the left and right hand drums along with the desired LF response (ever so slight proximity boost at that distance). Knowing I was going to synchronise the tracks in mastering, I angled the rear of the tabla mic to reject as much of the voice as possible. Why? The singer rocks back and forth and side to side while singing, which makes it virtually impossible to synchronise two microphones because the time differences between them keep shifting as he moves around. The closer you get them to sync, the worse the comb filtering becomes!

Although the TLM103 was capturing the majority of the tabla sound, in mastering I treated it like a spot mic, delaying it to put it in time with the tabla spill captured by the vocal/harmonium mic (almost exactly 3ms, as it turned out). Very, very simple and very effective. The end result has all the solidity of a direct-to-stereo coincident recording, and there are no comb filtering problems as the singer moves around.

Having said that, considering the distances between the microphones and their instruments, I was well within the 3:1 requirement.

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:38 pm

The classical and folkloric music of India is a very beautiful
and rich world. I've been listening to recordings of the sarangi
player Ram Narayan. Sometimes the recording quality has
problems but the music is always exceptional.

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:09 pm

I also like the Sabra for light-weight mics ... I suspect my 4 mounts are all broken in the same place as Cucco's. I got my longer hex rods from www.mcmaster.com.

For a stronger stereo bar that doesn't break the bank I have a Bogen/Manfrotto Triple Microphone Holder #3110 coupled with a Bogen/Manfrotto #2905 umbrella adapter

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5365-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_3110_Triple_Microphone_Holder.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5156-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_2905_Swivel_Umbrella_Adapter.html

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:40 pm

aracu wrote:

The classical and folkloric music of India is a very beautiful and rich world.

Agreed. I am finding it more and more attractive as time goes by. At first it seems very alien, but it is very accessible, very appealing, and very 'fresh' after spending a lifetime listening intently to Western music.

aracu wrote:

Sometimes the recording quality has problems but the music is always exceptional.

I am hoping to rectify some of that recording quality problem at the end of this year, when I visit Chennai. Rfreez and I are going to join forces and solve *all* the problems involved in recording Indian classical and folkloric music. Then we'll have lunch and hang out on the beach for the rest of the day. Very Happy

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:04 pm

Quote:

Rfreez and I are going to join forces and solve *all* the problems involved in recording Indian classical and folkloric music

simmo, you disappoint me with your lack of ambition and faith. I was hoping that we would be able to solve *all the problems in the whole wide world* this december. Twisted Evil

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:19 am

rfreez wrote:

I was hoping that we would be able to solve *all the problems in the whole wide world* this december.

Not before lunch... Rolling Eyes

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