By far one of the most exciting things I have had the pleasure of being a part of since staring my audio journey, this week I had the privilege of attending a Queensland Wind Orchestra (QWO) rehearsal, of which one of my previous lecturers was recording. I felt extremely honoured to be chosen to be a part of this team, and to learn more about orchestral recording. As someone who has more encounters with being the musician onstage, it was a new experience getting the be the engineer offstage and getting the learn how a large scale group is recorded, especially in the classical genre.
One day (hopefully), I will be working to record orchestras just like QWO to be used in movies and games, so this project and the skills it will teach me is very important to me.
Equipment List
Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre I/O
IEC Lead for interface
Mac Pro Laptop
2 X DPA 4011As (main pair)
2 X KM184s
8 X Leads
8 Channel Multicore
240 V Extension
240 V Power-board
Thunderbolt interface lead
AVID ProTools iLok
Headphones
Hard Drive
Electrical Tape (important)
Masking tape and marker
One Manfrotto lighting stands for the main mic array
1 X ORTIF stereo mic cradle
2 X Spare stands for outriggers
The set up for this project looked very much like a live sound event rather than a studio recording - and this makes sense, as next weekend we will be using this same set up to record a concert that QWO is holding. Just like a live sound event, we also had be swift, quick, and quiet with our preparations, and of course we had to be making very little noise throughout the rehearsal so as not to distract the musicians...
Every mic input was run through a multicore cable, which allowed us to monitor all the signals in a room seperate from the stage. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the sound quality was - when I put on monitoring headphones the sound was so clear it was like I never left the room!
To set up the microphones we used a Manfrotto lighting stand, which could extend meters above the conductor. Using a pair of DPA 411A's, we were able to set up a large stereo field that captured the whole of the orchestra's sound.
Other microphones used included two Neumann KM184s to capture the outer sides of the orchestra (particularly the double bass and harp as these are very quiet instruments), three Rode NT1s to capture the back lines of the orchestra (mainly auxiliary percussion), and a Behringer B-2 to act as a room mic.
Two days later, we also went into the studio to listen to what we had recorded in a fresh room with a fresh pair of ears. I was surprised at how true the sound was to what we had experienced a few nights prior. We were given a brief overview of how we would expected to mix a performance such as this. In classical recordings there is definitely less processing done to the sound compared to what I had been taught about mixing in other genres of music. I like the idea of not altering the sound too much from the original. I am very excited for the next rehearsal next week and the performance! Stay tuned for Part II!
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