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Audio Recording Microphone Technique Basics - Orchestral Recording Basics

 

 Orchestral Recording Basics

 Under the proper conditions, an orchestral recording will most closely capture of the actual performance.  If the number of instruments is large, it is the only practical way to capture the entire orchestra.  It is the technique least prone to operational errors, and can also be the simplest and quickest to set up and take down. If the acoustics of the performance space are good, the recording will capture the "sound" of the space.  If you are making a "live" recording with an audience, but without amplification, you will capture the ambiance and applause of the audience in the recording.

There are a number of different orchestral recording techniques, many dating from the earliest experimentation with stereo in the 1930s and some of more recent origin.  All are based on the performance characteristics of the particular microphones employed (especially their directional patterns), and the laws of acoustics and physics.  All of these techniques have particular advantages and disadvantages. Some may work better than others in a particular environment and for particular applications.  Be aware that all of these techniques involve using specific microphones at particular locations, often oriented in particular directions.  They all require that the microphones be located some distance from the musicians, in order to pick up a sound field that has been acoustically mixed. To some degree this is analogous to what your ears hear in the vicinity of the microphones.  A further description of some of these techniques is on the next page.

As I will repeat several times, setting up two nondescript microphones at random locations directly in front of the musicians is not a proper orchestral recording technique and will, in all likelihood, result in a poor recording.