Hello Thomas
I'm sure there is someone here who has infinitely more knowledge than I have on this topic, but with Christopher Hogwood's catalogue you'll find a lot of different setups; everything from Neumann M50 (omni) and U47s on orchestral works to Schoeps cardioids in X/Y for keyboard works. These are a couple of setups that I know about, but I hope there's someone here who can go into greater detail.

Given the history of Neumann and Decca, I suppose it would be surprising not to find an M50 in there somewhere :wink:

As far as other equipment goes, I would speculate that you'll find some ad hoc equipment (at least on the older recordings), given that those were the days when Decca engineers were engineers in every sense of the word. I could be wrong :lol:

John

Also interested in these as I have a few and they are cherished. Love the Mozart Requiem and the Bach Double Violin Concerto. These and the early Archiv English Concert recordings (Pinnock, Standage) were my first CD's and they made a real impression. Has anyone seen any videos or documentaries of these sessions?

Thank you for the responses so far. Also I am glad to hear you also like these recordings. On a side note I must say the vinyls versions are far superior to the CD versions.

Best,
Thomas

Thomas_Vingtrinier wrote: Thank you for the responses so far. Also I am glad to hear you also like these recordings. On a side note I must say the vinyls versions are far superior to the CD versions.

Best,
Thomas

I'm not surprised at all. I don't think I've ever bought a CD version of an old vynil favourite that measured up. However, IMHO more recently mastered CDs are way better than some of their earlier counterparts. I also believe that when it comes to equipment, you can spend a lot more on vynil gear before the law of diminishing returns becomes apparent. If only I had 30 grand for a front end :wink:

John

I asked Mick Hinton (one of the Decca engineering staff) about this and he replied:

"I believe Peter Wadland was the producer for most of these recordings
probably with Simon Eadon engineering.
The later recordings used an earlier version of the BG No 2[without high
pass filters and pads these were added later but they don't affect the
sound!]They most certainly used 49's or 50's[these would have been
transistorised by me,we did this because the valve versions were too noisy
and unreliable]
The recordings were probably recorded straight to a Decca stereo digital
tape recorder[made by IVC in the states and the digital electronics made by
us] or 4 track digital recorder and mixed down thru a Decca digital mixer
at the studios."

I will email Simon and seen what he can add.

Rich

Simon Eadon emailed:

"Generally a three mic Decca tree would have been used with M50s -
especially for orchestral recordings."

He also added:

"I now use Schoeps MK2S microphones with
a custom-made ball on the end. They sound even better than M50s."

I know what you are all thinking-- I will now try to get some details on THAT comment.

Rich

On this subject, how many of you are using "balls" on your omnis. I know Neumann and DPA have them in their catalogs, and I have often wondered whether its worth getting some.

I have the large ones for my DPA 4003s and they do a nice job when using them for hall mics pointing at the rear. Moderate rear rejection without the off-axis nasties of cardioids, plus upper-mid lift for grabbing a little more decay. Also good for sticking inside a piano for jazz. Nice passive EQ without proximity effect of cardioids.

I am told that Shawn Murphy, who has several M50s for Decca tree film scoring, thinks the Schoeps M222/MK2H with balls sounds nearly identical to the M50. I am sure it is more quiet! I am working on an opportunity to compare.

Rich

I always work with balls.

:lol:

Plush wrote: I always work with balls.

:lol:

Well... I suppose somebody had to say it...

I'll be working the setup for a scoring session next week that I'd assume Shawn Murphy will be recording... Since we're talking decca trees, I can let you know what they use for that one.

--Ben