Hi all,
I'm back on the age old topic of microphone placement. There is an organ that I've had my eye on for a while and it is looking like I may be able to get access to sample it – it is a wonderful organ of about 50 ranks situated in a very large building with a significant acoustic (greater than 5 seconds). The organ is located in one corner of the building and raised about 16 feet above floor level. The console is located at the same height on the other side of the building. The following little text-drawing should give a visual impression:
It would be convenient to place the microphones near the console (mainly to reduce the mess of cabling and prevent the need to pack-up the microphones at the end of each night – the console is also at the right height for the microphones) but the pipework faces into the building and not at the console. The instrument however still sounds fantastic at the console because the buildings acoustic carries the sound everywhere.
Has anyone with experience sampling in very large cathedral buildings got any ideas on this? I realise that if the acoustic is not particularly dense, placement in front of the pipes is beneficial - but is there a significant advantage when the organ is in such a wet acoustic? Equally, how important would you say is it to get the microphones at the height of the organ pipework? I have recorded an elevated organ and choir at ground level with a single stereo microphone at quite a low height with a slight upward slope - the result was fantastic... Again, the height wouldn't be a problem if I record from the console.
Either way, I'd experiment for a while before sampling to try and find a sweet spot but any advice on this matter would be appreciated.
Nick Appleton
WWW: http://www.appletonit.com.au/nickspage/
I'm back on the age old topic of microphone placement. There is an organ that I've had my eye on for a while and it is looking like I may be able to get access to sample it – it is a wonderful organ of about 50 ranks situated in a very large building with a significant acoustic (greater than 5 seconds). The organ is located in one corner of the building and raised about 16 feet above floor level. The console is located at the same height on the other side of the building. The following little text-drawing should give a visual impression:
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| ORG | | CON |
| AN | | SOLE|
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| BUILDING |
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It would be convenient to place the microphones near the console (mainly to reduce the mess of cabling and prevent the need to pack-up the microphones at the end of each night – the console is also at the right height for the microphones) but the pipework faces into the building and not at the console. The instrument however still sounds fantastic at the console because the buildings acoustic carries the sound everywhere.
Has anyone with experience sampling in very large cathedral buildings got any ideas on this? I realise that if the acoustic is not particularly dense, placement in front of the pipes is beneficial - but is there a significant advantage when the organ is in such a wet acoustic? Equally, how important would you say is it to get the microphones at the height of the organ pipework? I have recorded an elevated organ and choir at ground level with a single stereo microphone at quite a low height with a slight upward slope - the result was fantastic... Again, the height wouldn't be a problem if I record from the console.
Either way, I'd experiment for a while before sampling to try and find a sweet spot but any advice on this matter would be appreciated.
Nick Appleton
WWW: http://www.appletonit.com.au/nickspage/
Nick Appleton
WWW: http://www.appletonaudio.com/
Please avoid contacting me using private messages. Contact via the email address provided on my contact page is preferred.
WWW: http://www.appletonaudio.com/
Please avoid contacting me using private messages. Contact via the email address provided on my contact page is preferred.