Topic: creating a natural baffle?

[spcyrfc]

the other day i was recording a siwing group at the elephant room in austin. i set up in the middle right in front of the stage and right in front of my mics (appx. in din) sat the trumpter.  the trumpt was without a doubt the loudest instrument in the band, so i had to ride the levels the whole time.  up on other solo's and down on the trumpets.  this recording came out pretty well, a few peaks but none too bad.  the next time i recorded i set up more stage right and this helped reduce the noise of the trumpter.
is there away to stay in the middle and create hole or something that would greatly dampen the trumpet pick up, and hardly hinder the recording?

if i moved back, i would pick up too much audience noise, and the band is largly acoustic.

thanks for any help or comments

luke

[gforcewarning]

can't answer your question about baffles, sorry. . .
 but how about splitting the mics really wide, running one mic on each side of the stage (or right in front of the stage).  you'd still reduce crowd noise, but won't have the loud trumpet.  if the image turns out too wide you could pan the signals slighty to the middle when mixing.

[Roving Sign]

Without regard to the recording...did the trumpet sound too loud in the room? Is it the direct sound of the trumpet that is causing peaks - or a certain resonant frequency in the room?

If the fellow is playing too loud - you may not be able to do much about it...maybe just ask him to face another direction when he solos...? (not sure of this situation)

I like the spread idea above - but - what about a pattern like ORTF? - which seems recieve sounds much more off axis...that would keep the directionality of the mics from favoring any insturment.

Sounds like a case of too much dynamic range!!! If you record most of the music at a comfortable level - the trumpet will peak out too much - if you set the levels for the trumpet peaks - the music might sound whimpy...

I have to wonder if the best approach might be to get the levels right relative to the trumpet - and fix it in post...at least everything is clean that way...probably need 24 bits to make that approach work the best...

[RebelRebel]

3:1 Rule ? with two microphones  you should get the best results by placing the second mic three times the distance from the first mic that the first mic is from the source..Moke suggested pointing the mics slightly away from the source a little to tame the trumpet(I had this same circumstance).The waveform of a trumpet on axis has a strong presence peak that can overload a condenser, and mic placement off axis is more controllable. A jecklin disc is a good idea as well, not really for taming the trumpet , but for a nice wide stereo image with a lot of depth.

As far as recording levels, for 24 bit recording in that type of enviroment, I try to have my peaks at about 10db. I learned that by getting bitten by trumpets and sopranos too many times. Those ultra dynamic situations can get you real quick if you let em.

[spcyrfc]

the trumpet is definently playing loud (too loud i would say), but its not my place to ask him to quiet down or redirect his horn.
24 bit would certianly be nice.  a wide split could work very well though it may be a bit more intrusive on the band and audience, but i will give these a try when i get back home.

[RebelRebel]

the trumpet is definently playing loud (too loud i would say), but its not my place to ask him to quiet down or redirect his horn.
24 bit would certianly be nice.  a wide split could work very well though it may be a bit more intrusive on the band and audience, but i will give these a try when i get back home.

Luke, Cant you point the mics slightly off axis, away from the trumpet?

[TenoRichards]

3:1 Rule ? with two microphones  you should get the best results by placing the second mic three times the distance from the first mic that the first mic is from the source..Moke suggested pointing the mics slightly away from the source a little to tame the trumpet(I had this same circumstance).The waveform of a trumpet on axis has a strong presence peak that can overload a condenser, and mic placement off axis is more controllable. A jecklin disc is a good idea as well, not really for taming the trumpet , but for a nice wide stereo image with a lot of depth.

As far as recording levels, for 24 bit recording in that type of enviroment, I try to have my peaks at about 10db. I learned that by getting bitten by trumpets and sopranos too many times. Those ultra dynamic situations can get you real quick if you let em.

Teddy, do you mean -10dbl or 10dbl in your peaks. I'm a bit fuzzy in measuring things, but I thought zero was zero and anything above was clip=death.

Hate showin' my ignorance.....
A

[RebelRebel]

-10db , sorry Andrew. Its all good. You tenors are not as wise and venerable as we basses, so all is forgiven. 

3:1 Rule ? with two microphones  you should get the best results by placing the second mic three times the distance from the first mic that the first mic is from the source..Moke suggested pointing the mics slightly away from the source a little to tame the trumpet(I had this same circumstance).The waveform of a trumpet on axis has a strong presence peak that can overload a condenser, and mic placement off axis is more controllable. A jecklin disc is a good idea as well, not really for taming the trumpet , but for a nice wide stereo image with a lot of depth.

As far as recording levels, for 24 bit recording in that type of enviroment, I try to have my peaks at about 10db. I learned that by getting bitten by trumpets and sopranos too many times. Those ultra dynamic situations can get you real quick if you let em.

Teddy, do you mean -10dbl or 10dbl in your peaks. I'm a bit fuzzy in measuring things, but I thought zero was zero and anything above was clip=death.

Hate showin' my ignorance.....
A