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Ok, here's one for the class to ponder and give their esteemed advice. (I think I know what I'm going to do already after attending their rehearsal last night, but I'm curious how others would approach this.)

Here's the situation that just landed in my lap, as of 2 days ago:

A concert with a "Texas Jazz Swing" band (combo) and a group of classical brass players with percussion. (Yeah, why NOT, eh? :twisted: ). Venue is a downtown city Cathedral converted for mutli-faith use; sandstone floors (No pews) and stone & stained glass upper areas. Reverberation time is manageable, about 3-4 seconds, and of course worse the farther one gets from the front/altar/performance area.

Musicians are onstage (in front of where the original altar used to be), flooring is mostly marble. Area above altar is a high, ornate half-dome. (Yeah, lost of extra mush bouncing around there as well.)

Band is on clustered together over on the left (stage right). Jazz drums, upright bass w/DI-amp, pedal steel guitar (He's got a stereo amp rig, too!), hollow body jazz guitar w/amp, sax w/mic, all of whom have vocal mics and all of whom are routed to a small PA (which is thankfully well outside of the performance space and will NOT be part of the sound I intend to capture, other than as reverberant sound where needed in the mix. (I will mic & DI the band with a splitter and give their PA the same feeds.)

Brass & Percussion is off-center, over on the right (Stage left) in something of a "flying v" with the conductor in the middle. Left side of the "V" is two fr. Horns, two trombones, tuba in the middle, and four trumpets to the right. Percussion (Tympani, field drum & other toys are in the back, dead center of the V, directly behind the tuba.

Both groups are playing separately and together on various pieces, for about an hour total. At times they are simply the "horn Section" for the Swing band, other things they are working together on a few short commissioned works. Other times, the brass section is performing a series of specially written fanfares (WITHOUT the band), so we've got quite a selection of styles going on.

I'm multitracking it all, of course...my estimated track count is 16 now for everything, and holding; I don't intend to go any higher (Unless they bring in singing dolphins or roller-skating monkeys. :? )

Anyone care to give any advice Micing the brass, etc. in such a reverberant, and um. .'diverse' space?

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JoeH Sun, 04/17/2005 - 21:21

Ok, smarty-pants :lol: .....I guess you don't want to hear how GREAT it came out (try to guess what I used on the Brass, Jeremy....yet another great use for our beloved AT 4050's hehehe :twisted: )

The band was totally professional and showed up earlier than "I" did...sound check was a breeze, and the charts they had worked out with the symphony brass section were terrific.

We got a great set of the band going on first, then a bunch of excellent fanfares from the brass section (featuring local composers, etc.) and then finally a 20 minute set with them all playing together. A GREAT way to spend a spring saturday afternoon, (not to mention getting paid to do so).

Now, I have 16 tracks (counting vocals & the band) to play with.