"But this one goes to 11." You may know this great Spinal Tap quote, which is all about a guitar amp that takes it 'one above'! 🤘 So, how does that relate to classical music location recording? Well, according to audio engineer, David Bowles of Swineshead Productions, LLC, going 'one above' is often a very good idea! From our user story: "David suggests that you experiment with recording at least ‘one step above’ your actual production delivery. What he means is that if you work on a stereo project, set up the mics for a 5.1 surround production, and if you work on a surround project, try to add a height layer even though it is not meant for an immersive audio release. David: “I have done a lot of experiments on the center mic in a surround setting array. Sometimes an omnidirectional mic is good, sometimes a directional is better and sometimes a very directional is what does the trick. It simply depends on the application. Now, I did this for stereo project, but recorded it in surround, which allows for further experimenting in the mix process – listening in stereo, listening in surround. Was it possible to just do a stereo foldback, or was a dedicated stereo mix required. It turned out that it was! Particularly if there are spot mics involved. And that was just an important piece of learning." |