There are many methods of recording a grand piano with their various pros and cons which are suitable for different applications. I recently did some experiments to try and figure out the best way of making a stereo recording in a reverberant room (in this case, a church). This video demonstrates six different methods but it is just […]
Read more "Microphone techniques for recording grand piano"I’m becoming interested in surround-sound (5.1) recording. For me, this doesn’t mean upmixing a multi-track recording and encoding as 5.1, but capturing the real ambiance of the environment in true 5.1. There are several methods of using multiple microphones in array to record in surround, and they are discussed in reasonable detail at DPA’s Mic University. […]
Read more "5.1 recording with a Williams star array"This article is specifically about capturing classical or other acoustic music with multiple microphones in a format that is suitable for playback on a 5.1 surround speaker system. 5.1 surround is desirable with classical music in particular to give the listener a sense of being in the midst of the music. If I can get 5.1 recording […]
Read more "Recording in 5.1 surround"Recording a choir and organ in a church is one of the hardest things a recording engineer can do. There are loads of guides on the internet that explain how to use which type of microphone to use and where to put it, but most of these guides fail to give clear advice on recording […]
Read more "Side by side comparison of choral recording techniques – XY vs AB"Tonight at St Mary’s, the (acting) Archdeacon of Bristol visited. The church band (who usually play at Taste) were on good form and so I made these recordings. Click the links to listen, or right-click to save them. Enjoy! Be still for the presence of the Lord Holy holy holy is the Lord Credits Anja […]
Read more "Archdeacon’s Visitation"For several years I’ve been making recordings of church choirs, usually accompanied by an organ. I’ve been using a pair of Behringer C-2 small diaphragm cardioid condenser microphones, and until now I’ve been reasonably pleased with my technique – and then I tried the ORTF technique. X-Y technique In the past, I’ve always used the […]
Read more "ORTF microphone technique"I shoot a lot with my vintage cameras. Many date from the 1950s and have probably never been serviced. I’ve no idea how accurate the shutter speeds on them are. For the mostpart, they are probably acceptably accurate, since they seem to produce reasonably well-exposed negatives. Except for my newest lens, a Horseman 65mm f/5.6 […]
Read more "Using a microphone to test your shutter speed"