Topic: How Would You Mic This Place?

[zowie]

Chamber music.  There will be an audience.

http://www.provincetownplayhouse.com/news.html

I'm guessing the room sounds awful and thinking spaced cards.

[ScoobieKW]

Found good photos here

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/provincetown/images

Unamplified? Healy method omni onstage. (capsules 18cm apart facing outward)

Amplified? Access to catwalk? Hang cardioids.

Otherwise get best seat you can, and clamp to seat. Raise mics as high as you can without annoying the people behind you. (An offer of copies can do a lot to aid this)

[Belexes]

There appears to be a projector hanging dead center 1/2 up the stairs.  Seek permission to gently clamp on to it.

[danlynch]

I love the layout of that room for taping.  If you can run spaced cards on stage left and right, there's a little nook on either side.  That way the entire audience is behind you and raised up.

[notlance]

What will be the chamber group's instrumentation?
If the room is too dead, try to get those black curtains around the stage pulled back or raised.

[Gutbucket]

I bet that room sounds great with chamber music up front.  Get close, like front row or on-stage. Grab the center front row seat to the right of the isle and you are golden. With no one in front of you the mics can be low without sonic worries, or even worn.

There appears to be a projector hanging dead center 1/2 up the stairs.  Seek permission to gently clamp on to it.

 
Interesting idea, but much too far back into the reverberance for acoustic chamber music, IMO.  However, the reverberance of that high-ceiling-shoebox style space probably sounds nice and lush from up front.

[zowie]

Thanks for the replies and the additional phots.  It's accoustic. String duos, trios.

I'll have a front seat.  I'll see about opening the curtains -- who knows what's behind them.  It'd be great if they had a shell but I don't know.

Scoobie -- any reason you suggest healy rather than 40cm-1m facing forward of slightly in?

Any thought that cards might be better to cut down on audience noise and that there won't be deep bass?

[ScoobieKW]

Small venue, small stage, smaller footprint. One stand instead of two or a very wide bar.

[Gutbucket]

I wouldn't expect too much audience noise. Chamber music audiences are usually pretty good about being quiet for the most part, with exceptions for a few coughers, page rustlers candy un-rappers and fidgeters.  Those nice seats look new and squeek free.  In the front row the issue is less critical than a row or two back.  Running the mics low can also help since the patrons in the front row will somewhat block and direct audience noise from behind, but you'll still get good room reverberance from above.

Hard to say on the curtains or shell without hearing them play the room, those early reflections can really go either way.  IME, I sometimes find shell reflections screw up the sound at the recording position for things other than choral groups, even though the shell can make it easier for the musicians to hear themselves and play well.

[zowie]

Thanks again to all.