cont.

I must first explain that I do not do every stereo recording as a Blumlein Pair. In a mix where the main stereo sound field is supplied by either a Blumlein Pair or a Decca-Tree three micropnone set up, I will use what is called "Point-Source" microphones to spot or re-inforce a solo or an instrument that I want to feature.

A thorough understanding of the Decca-Tree microphone system is very important....

The Decca Tree is a technique of recording that grew out of Decca's research and development into stereo which started in 1954.

Decca Records has a long tradition of developing their own methods and technology, and so they set out to develop their own method of recording stereo as well as developing their own proprietary designs of mixing consoles and other recording equipment.

The use of the three microphone technique that has come to be known as the "Decca Tree" grew out of the desire to maximize the clarity and depth of opera and orchestral recordings. The actual "tree" is a triangle of microphones is placed roughly ten to twelve feet above the stage level, above and just behind the conductor, arranged on a specially designed and constructed microphone stand. The orchestra’s image is adjusted so that the center mike goes equally to both left and right channels of the stereo buss. The right tree mike goes to the right stereo buss, and the left tree mike to the left stereo buss.

When this technique was first used in 1954, the microphones used were Neumann KM 56s, tilted 30 degrees toward the orchestra. Other microphones were tried including the cardioid M 49 (in baffles), in 1955. Soloists with the orchestra are usually spot miked.

The use of the tree has remained virtually unchanged since the '60s, although Decca engineers have made minor modifications to the microphone placement on the tree. In a typical Decca recording session, every effort is taken to find a suitable recording venue with desired reverberation characteristics.

As for the spacing of the three mikes themselves, this varies with the venue used and with the size of the ensemble. The size of the triangle itself varies with the amount of width and spaciousness desired. Here I am adjusting one of the ‘Sweetener” mikes that I placed in the orchestra to bring out a part.

Digest this a bit and then we will talk further....

Bruce Swedien

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@Nick Batzdorf said:

By the way, I like the way Giga 3 deals with levels and panning - concentric width and tilt controls, plus a stereo fader.

Yes very nice feature which I would love to see in VI. I'm currently trying to figure how to narrow the stereo field of certain instruments. Using the Surround pan is very tricky and time consuming.

@Another User said:

The predicament with monophonic single microphone technique or placement is; (especially when it will be used as a single source point in a stereo mix) that we could say that since you only have one channel there is no incoherence, so you might as well get close and not risk the "off mic sound". That statement, of course, is gross generalization. It also runs the risk of seriously limiting our creativitly in certain recording situations.

Since we're off to the races...you know how every proverb has an opposite? "He who hesitates is lost" and "Look before you leap," for example?

Well, the opposite to the above is "If everything is stereo, nothing is stereo." That applies to pop mixes more than orchestra, but it's true. [:)]

About Bruce "Expensive Mono" Swedien's comment: he's right, of course, but his only objection to stereo faders is that you don't have independent control over each channel's level. Tilt and width controls solve that problem with a more convenient interface, in my opinion.

Nick...

have to add that Bruce never mixes on a computer, i render always the tracks for his pro tools which is hooked up to a Harrison console etc.

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That doesn't surprise me, because I know he's very much into the subtleties of different equipment. I remember from a visit to his studio in the outskirts of Los Angeles in the early '90s that he used different mastering formats for different songs - DAT for one, different reel-to-reels at different speeds for others, etc.

I also remember him playing a Michael Jackson mix that started with a jet engine at a level that really frightened me! This was to demonstrate his system, which of course was impressive and big. Everyone else there was fine, though - I obviously have a lower pain threshold than most people. [:)]

[:)]

well we all work at calibrated 85 SPL peak, and the favorit volume level is 90dB spl=0VU where judgements are done right.

Shouldn't hurt. at least not in the right environment

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well i found a little helper, where you can turn the constant power panning off, and modify the stereo field as i like:

http://home.netcom.com/~jhewes/StereoPan.html

Haven't checked with the oscilloscope if it workes properly, but will do that on the next occasion

Ladies and Gentlemen,
if this little plugin works in the VSTi effect slot after the sample player, it will revolutionize the way you can manipulate the position of your sounds in the stereo field, right in the VSTi track

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@Angelo Clematide said:

well i found a little helper, where you can turn the constant power panning off, and modify the stereo field as i like:

http://home.netcom.com/~jhewes/StereoPan.html

Haven't checked with the oscilloscope if it workes properly, but will do that on the next occasion

Ladies and Gentlemen,
if this little plugin works in the VSTi effect slot after the sample player, it will revolutionize the way you can manipulate the position of your sounds in the stereo field, right in the VSTi track

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Angelo, I just started to look for such an application today, so this couldn't have come at a better time. I am using it in Chainer, which is my current VST host. So far it works exactly as the panners do in Nuendo, but I can then link and move around as in GS3, so that now I don't have to have multiple outputs streaming across the network. Hence I can run a full orchestra (or will when it arrives!!!) with a very low latency.

Thanks again for the link.

DG

DG

is what you say, that Nuemdo could do that natively on a VSTi track?

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@Angelo Clematide said:

DG

is what you say, that Nuemdo could do that natively on a VSTi track?

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Yes, although not with as many controls as "your" app. This is what I've been doing, but with VI not being multitimbral it has meant having far too many audio channels streaming over the network to be able to track and playback at low latency. By using Chainer I only need 1 audio channel for 10 instruments. However, this means that it all comes into Nuendo via one stereo track, so using your little app on each instrument in Chainer means that the audio (not MIDI..!) is already panned before it reaches Nuendo.

DG