Klarinet Archive - Posting 000988.txt from 2001/01

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] recording
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 01:43:28 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob and Deborah Shaw [mailto:theshaws@-----.com]
>
> After a very frustrating afternoon at my church (who by the way has
> state of the art recording equipment) trying to record a piece for
> clarinet and piano. The problem is that we keep getting key noise and
> the clarinet is much too loud. Are we supposed to use 2 mikes for the
> clarinet? Or is one below the bell okay. I need a recording yesterday
> and am at my wits end.
>
> Deborah

First of all, search the Klarinet archives. I've written at great length
about how to make good sounding recordings (esp. of clarinet).

If you are hearing lots of key noise, that means your microphone is *way*
too close. I don't know how you are going about doing this (you didn't
mention anything about your setup), but I'll make a couple of suggestions.

Unless you (or your engineer) is experiences with doing multi-microphone
recordings, I'd stick to a stereo pair only. When you start introducing
multiple microphones into a session, you run the risk of *many* problems.
These can range from basic sound problems to imaging problems to phasing
issues (the worst problems to have). If you stick to a stereo pair in front
of you, you'll have a much better chance of getting a good recording.

I find that the placement of those microphones needs to be in the midfield
of the sound. (In acoustics, there is near, mid and far field. Near is all
direct sound--usually very close- mid is a combo of direct and ambient, far
is all ambient and no direct sound) Micing music too close or too far can
result in a rather undesirable sound. The distance varies in the acoustics
of the room. A very dry room will require micing farther away. A very
ambient room, closer. What ever you do, keep the microphones AWAY from the
bottom of the instrument. You'll end up with a nasty, honking sound
whenever you enter that part of the instrument (low e, f, etc... or middle
b, c, c#, etc...) The clarinet seems to radiate sound out and up. Keep
that in mind when micing... Try about 6-10 feet out and 6 feet high for
starts.

Put two microphones on a stereo bar. Angle them at about 110 degrees and
keep the capsules roughly 17 cm. apart. This is called the ORTF micing
technique. Another thing to try is on that same stereo bar, place the
capsules at a 90 degree angle directly over each other. This is known as
the X-Y configuration. The closer the capsules and the less the angle, the
more concise the image. If you get wide and separated, you'll get a wider
image with a bit more ambient sound (not as clinical sounding). These are
standard micing techniques that any engineer should know about. You can
print directly to your stereo tape (one microphone for each channel).

If you don't have a lot of engineering experience with classical music, go
minimal. It will be harder to mess it up. The most important thing, though
is to USE YOUR EARS. If you don't like the sound, change something. See if
it gets better. If it does, do some more. If it gets worse, go back and do
the opposite.

Recording is not rocket science, but it does require you to listen. You
obviously got the first part down, as you weren't happy with your product.
Now, do something about it. If you hear production sounds, you are too
close. If you only hear ambience and no direct sound, then you are too far.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Freelance Clarinetist and Recording Engineer
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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