AW: y2k7 mp3s

["Rainer Thelonius Balthasar Straschill" <rs@moinlabs.de>]

[miked recording at y2k7 vs directly from board at y2k5/6]
> Yes, it was a lot easier to record live with two microphones 
> in the back of the room, rather than running two very long 
> stereo cables from each stage board, into an smaller board, 
> and then sub-mixing each one, and with each performance.

I understand, so this had in part to do with the extraordinary situation
that the main festival uses two PAs?

> With the mic setup, I was able to use a more consistent level 
> for all the performances, and walk away from the recorder for 
> long period of time. I couldn't do this with the direct 
> recording system. Levels were too erratic. 

So using a) a FOH engineer who would give you more or less consistent 
levels
on a subgroup and/or b) using a limiter/compressor/normalizer/whatever in
you signal chain would help?

> Based on my own experience, and especially for this type of 
> music where there a lot of folks doing some intricate stereo 
> imaging. The stereo mics just don't capture that well. 

Have you tried a) placing the microphones more to the front (e.g. stage 
lid)
(for a X/Y setup) and b) working with M/S signals in postprocessing to
increase the S part?

> The dynamic range of the soundboard recordings is much better 
> too. I can hear freqencies on direct recordings that just 
> don't come across clear in live mic recording....despite the 
> fact that the mics claim an appopriate frequency response.

This may also have to do with PA and room properties.

> The whole proximity effects with mics, just as air acting as 
> a natural compressor, also reduces frequency response.

In the frequency range that matters most, microphones used for such
applications (recording a room instead of close-miking) are optimized in
their frequency response to somehow battle the proximity effect. However,
below, say, 50Hz, you're at a loss. Solution: use A/B miking with omnis.


Summarizing:
I believe that the negative effects of the musician out->FOH
board->PA->room->recording microphones->recorder signal chain as opposed to
your directly from laptop to harddisk mostly happen in the PA->room and to
some extent also in the microphone placement part. My experience shows that
for recording small acoustic ensembles, a setup with a small-diaphragm
condenser pair as X/Y or ORTF direct to recorder works outstandingly in
capturing what the audience hears.

This is different when recording amplified sources - for that, you'd
normally want a combination of direct, FOH sum and room mikes.

Finally, experimenting with microphone placement can also change a lot (for
the better or for the worse).

        Rainer