AA2 Week 4 - Percussion

Yes, I used Studio 1 this week. Yes, I found out the sequence to put the console into Vegas mode (which annoyed Edward as each time he’d turn around he would see the desk blinking away like a Christmas Tree). Meh, what can I say. Boys and their toys. Anyway, we got Vinny to come in and play some percussion instruments ranging from bells and shakers to gongs. We set the instruments up in a kind of tree hanging them off a stand. A pair of Neumann’s (U87 and U89) were set up as an MS pair about 3ft away and pointing slightly down. A pair of RODE NT5’s were also set up as a spaced pair about 5ft apart and placed overhead. After some fine adjustments placing the mics we hit record. The spaced pair at first seemed too spacious. Bringing the mics closer together made the stereo field more stable.

MS
Spaced Pair

Next I suggested we use a spaced pair setup at waist height so Vinny could walk around, behind and in between them while playing an instrument. This was an experiment in creating a 3D atmosphere. After reading about HAAS and Inter Aural Time delays I expected to get a sense of actually hearing someone walk behind you with this technique while wearing headphones. Of course the 3D effect doesn’t work in stereo monitors although it is still a good stereo technique. Instead of panning a sound after it is recorded, simply place it in a stereo field to begin with.

Walking around

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Grice, David. 2008. “AA4 – Recording Percussion.” Seminar presented at the University of Adelaide 25th March.