Klarinet Archive - Posting 000411.txt from 1997/11

From: "Benjamin A. Maas" <bmaas@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Re:Recording the clarinet
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 02:37:06 -0500

I forgot to include this, but one other thing to add.... The less
expensive microphones have a much smaller range of frequencies that they
can pick up. They also tend to accentuate and reduce some that are off
axis giving the mic a particular color or sound.

If a mic only picks up from 70 Hz to 16 kHz, there are a lot of high
harmonics that define the sound of the instrument that aren't picked up.
Most good mics (Neumann, Schoeps, B & K, etc....) will pick up from 20 Hz
to 20 KHz (or above). The pickup pattern is also uniform in front (on
axis) as well as off to the side. This will obviously give the instrument
a much more natural sound.

Benjamin Maas
Clarinetist and Digital Recording Engineer
Student, University of Southern California
Executive Director, Digital Renaissance Consort
bmaas@-----.net
bmaas@-----.edu

----------
> From: Edwin V. Lacy <el2@-----.edu>
> To: Klarinet <klarinet@-----.us>
> Subject: Re:Recording the clarinet
> Date: Monday, November 10, 1997 11:09 PM
>
> On Mon, 10 Nov 1997, David C. Blumberg wrote:
>
> > It has to do with the Odd Harmonics that the Clarinet produces (1,3,5
etc. -no
> > even harmonics). That tends to freak out recorders.
>
> As a technical explanation, I would have to say that "freak out" leaves
> something to be desired. A tape recorder is an inanimate object. It has
> no emotions, and no power of discrimination. All it can do is register
> the input that it receives and play it back. Obviously, some do it a lot
> better than others, and in general, analog cassette tapes are about the
> most limited in terms of their frequency response, fidelity, etc. That
is
> in part because the "track" isn't very wide, about a sixteenth of an
> inch, and the tape is quite thin. That's the way they manage to get up
to
> 60 minutes of recording time per direction on such a small tape.
>
> A tape recorder would have no way of knowing whether a certain frequency
> fed into it was an even or an odd numbered partial. So, I think we will
> have to look elsewhere for an explanation of why recordings of the
> clarinet are more difficult (if they are).
>
> Among the problems are that the clarinet, as well as any other
instrument,
> is producing an infinite number of overtones. A relatively small number
> of these will be within the range of human hearing, but most of them will
> have far too high a frequency for us to hear. However, all the harmonics
> in a sound help to define the tone quality we perceive.
>
> For recording, it is relatively easy to produce equipment that will
record
> and reproduce the lower harmonics. But, if the high ones are not played
> back, the tone of the instrument will not be reproduced accurately. That
> is why the person on the list who was going to try new clarinets and
> record them will likely be disappointed with the results, unless he or
she
> has a professional, digital recording setup, which likely would cost
> thousands of dollars. For the amount of money which would be required,
> she could probably buy several clarinets. While making tape recordings
of
> ourselves can be useful in several ways, it is always a mistake to try to
> make judgements of tone quality based on recordings made on inexpensive
> equipment.
>
> In the "recording chain," there are many points where the frequency
> response may be attenuated. The culprit may be the microphone, the
> recording head, the tape, the playback head, the speakers, the quality of
> the electronics, etc., etc., etc. As some have mentioned in this thread,
> the microphone is often the first place to look.
>
> Now, what this does not address is whether recording the clarinet is in
> some way different and less satisfactory than recording the oboe, the
> flute, the violin or the trumpet. No doubt a technically qualified
person
> will address this issue.
>
> Ed Lacy
> *****************************************************************
> Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
> Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
> Evansville, IN 47722
> el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
> *****************************************************************
>
>
>