Klarinet Archive - Posting 000636.txt from 2001/03

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Re: sound/close miking in studio
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 17:16:02 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: stewart kiritz [mailto:kiritz@-----.net]
>
> Benjamin,
>
> The information on recording is very interesting! I am trying to record
> myself to work on my sound and am using a Sony ECM MS-957 along
> with an old
> Walkman Pro.
>
> So while this project is not for professional recording it is important to
> me to try to do as best as I can to capture the sound others will
> hear so I
> can work on my tone production. I find the recording is very
> useful in many
> ways, regarding little lapses of breath support and other technical
> imperfections. But I am not sure it sounds a lot like me. My
> wife says it
> doesn't. How would you characterize this mike, and is there a "step up" I
> could take without spending the $1200 for the Coles? Or can I find a used
> Coles somewhere? Or would that be overkill? Interestingly I saw the RCA
> you mentioned on ebay but bidding has reached $1050, bringing it close to
> the Coles.

There are several ways that you can "step up" in recording quality depending
upon how much you want to spend. The easiest way would be to buy an Audio
Technica Stereo microphone and a DAT machine or a Mini-disc (get a Sony if
you do).

The mics that I have mentioned are all professional tools. Just like with
your clarinets (from Bundy to Buffet R-13), there is a big difference
between a $100 SM-58 and a $1300 Coles or a $7000 Neumann U47. (We just
need to buy a bunch of these very expensive tools). When you get to this
level you really need a mixing board or microphone preamplifier that can
supply phantom power. Condensers need it, but if you put phantom through a
ribbon mic, you end up ruining your mic. As for the RCA's on ebay, many of
them need new ribbons. Ribbons stretch and wear out and need to be replaced
periodically. Add another $400 for that re-ribbon job per mic.

If you want to get something better than a mic plugging into a minidisc, I'd
suggest a Mackie 1202 mixing board, a pair of Shure SM-81s or Marshall
2003's, and a Tascam DA-20 DAT machine. That setup (plus a mic stand,
cables, and stereo bar) will run you about $1600 or so.. {Perhaps more, I
don't know exact prices)

> Great to have an audio expert on the forum. And as I recall, a former
> Mitchell Lurie student. How did he seem at the celebration for him? And
> did he play? I just relistened to the recording he made of the Brahms
> Quintet and found it amazing in the way he blended with the strings,
> phrasing, control, everything.
>
> Stewart Kiritz

I am indeed a former student of Mitchell Lurie (and Peter Hadcock/Ken Grant
from Eastman). Mitchell's doing great.... Getting old, but he's still
doing well. He didn't play at the celebration as he has officially stopped
playing as of a year or two ago... However Michelle Zukovsky, David Howard,
David Peck, Yehuda Gilad, Hokan Rosengren, Clarence Padilla, and others
did... The Brahms quintet recording is in my opinion one of the great
recordings of that piece. He also has another great recent recording of the
Hindemith Quartet and Reger Quintet on the same label with the same players.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Fifth Circle Audio
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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