Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mini-disc setups?


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Posted by Rick Denney on December 05, 2002 at 13:31:01:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mini-disc setups? posted by Mary Ann on December 05, 2002 at 11:14:49:

No, the AT-822 is good enough to deliver pro-quality results. What isn't is your room. It is almost impossible to record acoustic music well in most rooms in a house--they just have too many strange resonances.

If you can record in an auditorium, you can do better.

But there is a limitation on the microphone: it uses a binaural approach. Both channels are next to each other and point at a 120-degree angle, similar to your ears. Thus, the imaging is perfect for headphones, but not perfect for widely separated speakers. However, a lot of professional location recording is done using a binaural arrangement (even using fabulously expensive Neumann microphones), so I don't think this is enough to cause a noticeable difference to most people. You may be sensing it, though.

If you really want pro results, use a room with a reasonable amount of reverberation but no echo, and use three microphones. Two mics point at the musicians from a separation of about 20 feet, and the third microphone points backwards and records room ambience. That third channel is usually mixed equally into the other two, at whatever degree sounds good, when the three-channel master is mixed down into stereo. Obviously, this is a more complex arrangement than most people will tolerate, and the binaural arrangement is a good compromise that still delivers excellent results.

Rick "who thinks a good sounding room cannot be simulated" Denney


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