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Re: [ARSCLIST] Recording bagpipes (was:portable sound recording devices)
Very interesting... I have recorded many pipers of all kinds from irish
to Balkan Gaidas, though mostly in live music sound gigs.
I'd just like to "pipe" in with a reminder that I think the original
inquiry was about recording classes? Thus it is not master quality hi
fi recording, but capturing the pipes as well as the instructor's
speaking... am I correct?
I just love the depth and tangents we engineer types get into, but not
to forget the actual client's request. When I am asked to record a
lecture i do not worry about the actual sound of the room and the
audience, just the voice and the words...
We are trying to help with a specific task, an anateur getti ng his
lessoms right, not a master quality recording destined for SACD! Am I
right, or not?
There's a pro audio list I am on where a simple question evolves into a
deep and long discussion of diaphragm types and acoustic principles and
how far away from the cannon you need to place a candenser mic, and
which type of material should be best uesd in that diaphragm... This
list so much like that! Enlightening and interesting, but sometimes a
bit beyond the original question.
Just a meta comment. I feel honored to be among such stellar intellects
of audio, but what was the question again?
On the other hand, I'd LOVE to see that diagram of BBC pipe recording
techniques! I'll just bet it calls for Coles mics!
<L>
Lou Judson • Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689
On Apr 18, 2006, at 9:53 PM, John Ross wrote:
Many years ago, I discussed this question with radio producers and
recording engineers at BBC Scotland, who told me that they sometimes
used as many as eight or more microphones to record a solo piper in
stereo. I probably still have the diagram someplace.
The alternative to all that hardware would be a stereo pair located
about 15-20 feet away. If it's indoors, the volume level will be
extremely high due to reverberation off the walls, so the discussion
in this thread about overload kicks in; if it's outdoors, the distance
should be enough to modulate the sound level, but the pipes will sound
"off-mike" with omni-directional microphones.
If it was me, I would try to record outdoors, on a day without wind,
using a pair of directional microphones. It might take some
experimenting to find the best combination of presence and
chanter/drone balance.