Posted by MARK on February 13, 2002 at 12:42:29:
In Reply to: Recording Question??? posted by Jay on February 12, 2002 at 19:43:50:
Jay,
Most experts recommend somewhere above bell (depending on how live the room is,) but off-axis a bit. If the mic(s) are dead on axis, "looking" down the throat of the bell, you'll capture some unnatural pops & other noises, especially w/ good mics in a room with a low noise floor (ideally <20 dbA).
In short, let the mics "see" into the bell , but not down the throat. Adjust distance to taste.
If recording in a particularly live room, you might need to wear heaphones (ack) when playing, as pitch is sometimes hard to really discern in a room that has excessive midbass reverb. Lots of modern churches & auditoria suffer from what I call the "carpet & drywall curve", where the greatest reverb exists around 200 Hz. The drywall absorbs the lows, the carpet (or drop-in tile ceiling) dulls the highs. This means your overtones, though well captured by the mics, will be harder to hear where you're sitting. Muddy/boomy
Just curious, what configuration(s) will you be trying with those mics? Spaced pair, X-Y, etc?
Mark "wish I played well enough to warrant a good mic" Mazak