| There
are a few crucial factors that all have to come together
to create a great brass recording and in fact the technical
aspect of recording gear and mics is only a small part
of the equation. After 25 years of recording brass bands
I think that there is one key area that has more effect
on the final sound than any others : The choice
of venue
For
me the choice of location is the single most important
element in the whole thing. With all location recording
the final sound is how YOU interact with the VENUE and
if you choose a good venue to record in then you can
have a great sounding CD. Get it wrong and it doesn’t
matter how well you play or what microphones you use,
it will sound poor.You might be the best band in the
UK and I can turn up with my super resolution recording
gear and £4000 microphones but if you have chosen
to make the recording in a small scout hut it will sound
small and “boxy” and poor. (I use the scout
hut analogy from bitter experience!)
From a sound engineers point of view a brass band consists
of two quite distinct elements that have to come together.
Obviously the brass instruments form the core of the
sound but its very important to be able to balance in
the percussion and with some bands now having 3 or 4
pieces of tuned perc as well as a full kit and tymps,
it's a real challenge to blend the two elements together
to create a cohesive sound. Interestingly some rooms
are good for recording perc while poor for the brass
and visa versa....so what do you look for?
You'll
be pleased to know that choosing a good location isn’t
really that hard and after 25 years of recording in
some fantastic and some dreadful locations here are
a few rules of thumb to help you.
1
If it sounds good to play in then chances are it’s
a good choice of recording venue! This one isso obvious
really but you would be surprised at how many people
still think it’s a good idea to make their recording
in a small dead room.
2 Size wise you need to be able to
fit the band in comfortably at least 4 and preferably
5 times. I need to be able to move percussion
around to get a balance
3 Try and avoid single long rectangular
or square spaces as the parallel walls increase the
nasty mid frequencies.
4 It MUST have a high
pitched ceiling to help blend the sound
5 Avoid venues with a central dome.
They do some strange things to the reflections
6 Ideally it should have a natural
ambience or reverb time of about 3 to 4 seconds
which you can guage roughly by clapping your hands and
counting until the sound dies away
7 Be aware that some places are too
big and have huge reverb times so Minsters and Cathedrals
are generally too ambient for a good brass recording
So if you want a
decent venue without paying the earth then these are
my favourites in order
1 Large
Methodist and modern Catholic churches with
side aisles and high ceilings
Pros: Usually nearby/cheap to hire/ Have tea making
facilities/ toilets
Cons: Often on busy roads so traffic noise.
2
Town Halls/ Assembly Halls/ Church Halls
Pros: Some have really good acoustics
Cons: Some have really bad acoustics and are too big
and echoey/ Often on busy roads so traffic noise/ Can
be expensive to hire.
3 Old Medieval
Churches
Pros: Usually nearby/cheap to hire/ Often in quiet locations
Cons: Freezing and dark in winter/ Clock chimes every
15 minutes.
4 Large School
halls
Pros: Usually nearby/cheap to hire/
Cons: can sound hard and echoey BUT avoid anything
with a flat tiled ceiling
So
for me now it’s the first thing I ask about when
we first talk about making a recording. I don’t
mind how good or bad you are because I think that making
a recording is great for any band but I always ask for
some snaps of the proposed venue. Go along, take some
shots with a digital camera and email them to me.
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