Follow on Google News News By Tag Industry News News By Place Country(s) Industry News
Follow on Google News | Neumann Digital Microphones Shine in Digital Surround Recording of Landmark Organ RecitalNeumann Digital Microphones and KH 120 Monitors Used to Capture Performance on W.W. Kimball Organ, Following Recent $2 Million Restoration
By: Sennheiser To capture the complete sonic depth of such an instrument, St. John Cathedral's Music Administrator, Alberto Gutierrez, turned to veteran recording engineer Mike Pappas, owner of Denver-based Pappas Consulting LLC. Pappas, who has worked extensively with The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, The Aspen Music Festival and others in the past, recorded the recital in 88.2kHz resolution/24- "I've worked with Alberto for several years with the Colorado Symphony, and he told me about the gargantuan restoration of this magnificent organ and Mr. Hey's upcoming recital," said Pappas. "I'd been eager to capture such an organ for a number of years and this was the perfect chance to make an audiophile grade recording using my collection of Neumann digital mics." An Instrument Suited for Digital: The Platt Rogers organ is the largest intact American cathedral organ currently in use that was built before World War II. It has 96 ranks, 5,961 pipes and is powered by an enormous 25 horsepower motor. With such a large organ, which was being played in a very large cathedral with 60' cielings and a 3-1/2 second reverb time, one of the primary goals was to capture the entirety of the instrument's massive dynamic range: "An organ of this size can generate frequencies as low as 11 Hz, so I had to choose the right microphones to accommodate this," explains Pappas. Pappas deployed left, center and right microphone arrays, positioned equal distances apart by about 9', placed 21' high, and 20' away from the organ. He chose the Neumann KM 133 D digital microphones, which he says are are his 'go-to' microphones for symphony work and which use the legendary Neumann M50 titanium capsule and diaphragm. Pappas appreciates this microphone's flat low frequency response and omni-directional pattern. "Back in 1938 when they built the organ, they weren't too concerned with being able to record at 138 dB of dynamic range," says Pappas. "This organ is capable of generating 11 Hz notes. Using the Neumann KM 133 Ds, we were able to get a very smooth response while accurately capturing every nuance in these lower frequenicies." Trailblazing with Neumann Digital Microphones: The signal flow for the digital microphones was simple: each microphone was connected to the Neumann Digital Microphone interface — which also served as the clocking device for the entire recording system — and then was output via AES/EBU to a RME ADI 6432 converter. This outputs a MADI signal, which was then sent into Pappas' Apple MacBook Pro running Logic X. Simplicity is a key reason why Pappas was initially drawn to Neumann digital microphone technology: "For remote recording, using digital microphones means I have a lot less gear." he explains. "At one point, we had 40 channels of preamps running into A to D converters, but now I am down to just 8 channels of digital — this greatly simplifies my set up." He also realizes several advantages in audio quality. "Nothing else can give me comparable resolution, dynamic range or signal to noise ratio. Conventional signal chains include mic preamplifiers and A to D converters, and these can impart subtle colorations onto what you are trying to record. For us doing symphony work, all we want to hear is the microphone capsule." Neumann KH 120: Revealing the Essence of a Unique Instrument: Following the recording, which took place on a Thursday evening, the recording stems were transported to the Colorado Symphony Hall, where Pappas has a 5.1 mix set up featuring Neumann KH 120 monitors and a Neumann KH 810 subwoofer. "The first thing we listened for was the left-right-center stereo channels to confirm all our mic placements," Pappas favors the KH 120s because of their revealing quality and dynamic response. "They are just spectacular," The exquisite recording of the Platt Rogers Pipe Organ is being prepared for a summer release on Chesky Records. To learn more about Neumann digital microphones, please visit http://www.neumann.com. About Neumann: Georg Neumann GmbH, with its headquarters in Berlin, Germany, is well-known as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones. The company, which was established in 1928, has a long track record of world-leading product designs and has been recognized with a string of international awards for its technology innovations. From 2010, Neumann offers this expertise in electro-acoustic transducer technologies to the studio monitoring market, and will provide optimum solutions to its customers in the areas of TV and radio broadcasting, recording, and audio productions. Neumann is now the perfect partner for both the input and the output of the audio signal path. Neumann has manufacturing facilities in Germany (microphones) About Sennheiser: Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Conn. Sennheiser's pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at www.sennheiserusa.com. End
Account Email Address Account Phone Number Disclaimer Report Abuse
|
|