Schoeps microphone answers

[digifish_music]

Slow but captivating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Quwx1GEaRc

[Gutbucket]

Thanks for the link.

I got all excited and self-congratulatory at 8:10 and 8:20 to see them rigging up a fancy Schoeps version of my quad-eye rig. 

[boojum]

SD fluffing here: at 1:04 we see an SD 722.  However, there are no input cables.  Hopefully this is not a sly dig on the part of Schoeps.     

[digifish_music]

Thanks for the link.

I got all excited and self-congratulatory at 8:10 and 8:20 to see them rigging up a fancy Schoeps version of my quad-eye rig. 

I thought that looked familiar

[boojum]

Did you note the omni towards the end in the clear plastic ball, a la Neumann M50?  DPA uses these spheres, too, as do others to focus the omni and get the best of omni and card, it says here.  At a distance it can be used to focus the omni on what is in front and attenuate what is not.

Lee has done work with this, too.

[fotoralf.be]

I got all excited and self-congratulatory at 8:10 and 8:20 to see them rigging up a fancy Schoeps version of my quad-eye rig. 

Looks interesting. Is there any further info available on the web?

Ralf

[Gutbucket]

I've posted info on what I've been doing in the Oddball Mic Techniques thread.  Details on the surround rig pictured above and external links to info on sphere baffle attachments for omnis is on page 6 of that thread.  More info and photos of the baffles in a stereo A-B setup is earlier in the thread.

The root of the idea dates back to the classic Decca tree rig using three Neumann M50 acrylic sphere omnis.  I found a lot of useful information about the APE spheres at the old DPA site but the technical article on what they do, how they work and the corresponding measurements isn't on their new site yet.

I haven't seen any info on a Schoeps version of the sphere baffles or surround tree until seeing the clip above.  If anyone finds additional information on that please let me know.

[digifish_music]

One reason I kept watching this video after the start, was that Jorg Wuttke mentioned the importance of factors in a good recording...

1. Performance
2. Room
3. Mic recording technique
4. Mic

...that got a big tick from me

digifish

[Gutbucket]

The man knows.
Big tick on those priorities.

[digifish_music]

The man knows.
Big tick on those priorities.

Performance transcends the medium every time.

I took a vocalist I record down to the local music shop, she was looking for a gigging mixer with built in FX, and I remember we needed to demo it somewhere, so they shuffled us out into the hire section, like a big warehouse + loading bay, full of guys packing/unpacking battered black boxes full of PA/stage gear for hire.

In the corner on a bench we were shown a battered old PA system they use to test gear before it goes out/in, quietly fizzing/humming. We plugged the mixer into it and grabbed an old battered SM58 mic laying on the bench, selected a reverb preset and she started to sing an A capella. The whole place ground to a standstill as everyone was transfixed at this beautiful voice for about 30 seconds no-one moved, when she was finished, silence then applause.

technically, the sound through the PA was truly crap, but the performance was spine tingling...

digifish

[fotoralf.be]

Details on the surround rig pictured above and external links to info on sphere baffle attachments for omnis is on page 6 of that thread.

From a quick look at the link, this looks most interesting. You wouldn't happen to have a surround sound example recorded with this set-up online somewhere, by any chance?

Ralf

[Gutbucket]

Ralf,
Not yet.  I've concentrated solely on the capture side so far and I'm just beginning to look into post processing some of these recordings.  I've used two stereo recorders for the 4 channels and need to align and sync the tracks and put them into some sort of multichannel delivery format, perhaps DTS encoded or DVD-A files.  Currently for checking surround playback I sync playback manually on the recorders.  A 4-channel recorder and a multi-channel DAC for computer playback so I can start editing are next.  I'll try to remember to let you know when I get something together.

~Lee

Digifish,
Although the quality of sound we record and playback today is far beyond that of the cheap cassette deck and Sony headphones I listened to when I fell deeply into the mystery of music as a teenager, it was the quality of the music itself - the performance, not the fidelity that captured me forever.  I'm still chasing that dragon and still get that same spine tingling sensation when the music is transcendent, regardless of the sound quality.  Recording is just a tool to deliver that experience.  It's like an instrument, essentially silent until someone plays it.

[DSatz]

Gutbucket, the translucent sphere shown in the video is not a Schoeps product, but Schoeps has offered accessory spheres (40 mm outside diameter) for their pressure capsules for many years now. The MK 2 S is especially recommended for "Decca Tree"-style recording.

There is a set of Beethoven symphony CDs on the market in which some of the symphonies were recorded with three Neumann M 50 microphones and the rest with three Schoeps CMC 52 S microphones. If you don't already know which ones are which, it's hard to hear the difference even on a direct comparison--and if you didn't already know that two different sets of microphones were used, you wouldn't guess it. I say this as someone who has actually recorded with real M 50s, which are amazing microphones. They can maintain sonic focus at an almost unbelievable distance in a reverberant environment.

Below are a pair of quick photos of a KA 40 accessory sphere on an MK 2 S on a Colette cable. I've used this type of setup a few times for classical stereo recording. The spheres can also be placed on the complete microphone, of course (without an active cable), or on a capsule using an active tube such as the RC 700, or an SKC -- gooseneck.

--best regards

[digifish_music]

Schoeps has offered accessory spheres (40 mm outside diameter) for their pressure capsules for many years now.

Interesting, pressure = omni I assume?, what are the spheres made from?

digifish

[Gutbucket]

Typically hard plastic- clear acrylic, black Delrin.   For omni mics only, they'd block the rear ports of a directional.


DSatz,
Could you share you're thoughts about which situations and in which way you'd choose to use this type of mic?