Klarinet Archive - Posting 000455.txt from 1997/11

From: "Benjamin A. Maas" <bmaas@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Recording the clarinet
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 02:36:45 -0500

> It is my experience that it is not the medium that is the problem
> (cassette tape, open reel tape, DAT tape, etc), but the type of
> microphone.
>
> Obviously, a low quality cassette recorder will not give good
fidelity
> results. But even a high quality recorder fed by an improperly
> matched microphone will also result in poor fidelity.
>

When one deals with high-end mics, you will soon realize that different
mics have their own distinctive sound (Based on their pick-up patterns).
Some are brite and some are smooth and warm in their sound.

> I have found that the key to good sounding clarinet recordings is
the
> use of a microphone with a large diaphragm. These types of
> microphones tend to be condenser microphones, and the large
diaphragm
> versions are always more expensive than their small diaphragm
> brethren.
>
> It has to do with the way the wave front interacts with the
diaphragm,
> and the fact that the clarinet produces (mainly) odd order harmonics
> which produce a signal with fast rise times that tend to make
> microphones ring or oscillate.
>
> Jeff Chan
> jeff.chan@-----.com

As it is true that large diaphram mics often sound very good, The diaphram
size is not the sole reason they sound good. True: Large diaphram and small
diaphram mics have different ways of picking up the sound. False: They
are selective in the harmonics they pick up. False: Microphones ring or
oscillate as a result of this.

The large diaphram mics often have thinner diaphrams than their smaller
counterparts. The diaphrams are also mounted differently inside the
casing. Condenser Mics are always going to be more sensitive then their
dynamic counterparts. This is because of the way they are constructed. If
you want a description of different diaphram mechanisms, find about any
book on recording. A good book with a description is "Practical Recording
Techniques" by Bruce and Jenny Bartlett, pub. SAMS. There are also many
others out there (go to a Border's Books and check it out).

As an aside, one of my best clarinet recordings was made using a pair of
Schoeps CMC-5 (small diaphram omni pattern) microphones.

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