I have marveled
at Malcolm's performances on many large scale productions,
where full orchestras were recorded on the best recording
stages. The sound of a trumpet playing with a full orchestra
is so beautiful; emulating emotional musicality and audio clarity
like no other instrument. That sound is what we were looking for
when we set out to record Exquisite.
The question was this: how do we get that sound without going
to a big stage? This was an independent project, recorded
at Malcolm's home studio, Dreadnought Studios. The answer
was to record each section of the orchestra separately,
using outstanding musicians and making sure that each
section was recorded beautifully and consistently. Looking back,
I have to say that the key technical element to the recording turned
out to be our Royer SF-24 stereo ribbon microphone, placed
10 feet high in the room, where it brought a sense of
perspective and cohesiveness to each of the separate tracks.
I used Neumann TLM 170’s as spot mics on individual
instruments and a Royer R-122 on the bass trombone, but
70% of the orchestra mix on the CD is what was recorded on
that one SF-24. It became the critical piece that unified the sonic
quality of the recording. The clarity and ambiance of this method
helped create the illusion of a much larger orchestra.
Malcolm's solos were recorded using two microphones simultaneously; an
RCA KU-3A ribbon mic (circa 1950) 2 feet away, and the Royer
SF-24. Because the SF-24 was so much of the orchestra sound,
keeping it up for ambiance on Malcolm's trumpet overdubs
maintained the acoustical environment common to all of
the other tracks, giving the illusion of Malcolm standing
in front of the orchestra and playing together with them.
In the mix, Malcolm's trumpet balance was about 60% RCA - 40%
SF-24.
The entire project was recorded into Digital Performer HD-192
(24 bit, 88.2 frame rate), with the exception of 'Saloon
Music' (featuring a 9 piece orchestra, including Malcolm),
which we recorded in Pro Tools HD at Fox Studios. The
CD was mixed in Digital Performer HD-192. I used three different
reverbs while mixing; a Lexicon 960 digital, a Lexicon
480 analog, and a TC Electronics M-6000 - all wonderful
sounding reverb units.
The coolest thing was that once I started mixing, I didn't
have to EQ anything. There is no EQ anywhere on this recording!
The sound was all there in each section I brought up – no
extra sparkle or low end boost needed – it was just
there. It was much easier than I expected to achieve proper
balances between the sections in the mix, because we had
such natural, full sounding tracks. Since everyone was
recorded in the same room and the input levels were the same,
I was able to capture the natural dynamics of the musician's performances,
similar to when a full orchestra is recorded.
We didn't want anything to sound in-your-face; we wanted the
CD to sound like it was recorded in a large hall, and
I think we accomplished that. We felt like pioneers doing
a classical record in this manner and in the end, we achieved
what we were looking for.
Gary Grant - Producer, Recording Engineer,
Mix Engineer |
