guerilla string session- advice needed

[brian beattie]

I'm with Phiz. It works to cram everyone as close to one mic as you can. Have them sit so close to each other that they complain. I wouldn't bother with the ambient mic, unless your space has special ambience. I find closeness is a great asset with strings, and I would not record them seperatedly. String players LISTEN to each other (unlike ROCK musicians...) They spontaneously adjust their tuning and timing in magical, music-y ways. Omni would work, fig-8 works. Maybe try the omni up above with everyone gathered below, knees kissing.
Of course, once you start recording, it's time to think with your ears and on your feet. If they sound too close, move the mic away. If it's too trebly or papery, move them closer. If the cello's too quiet, have the cellist move closer. Then double or triple the part. more... MORE!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!
brian

[the brill bedroom]

Seeing as how your recording in a basement, I would be very weary of uing a stereo pair or any microphone pulled back from the instruments. Certainly try them but have a backup plan. I would recommend micing the cello a foot and half to two feet away with a cardiod mic placed at bridge level, but 15 degrees off center pointing at the f hole. That way you avoid all the scratchy bow sounds which seem to come in a straight beam off of the bridge. The move the violins away from the cello (but so they can still see each other if they need to) and place a mic between a little bit farther away adjusted to get a nice blend. If you still want room sound, which sounds great on strings, consider finding a nice sounding church or so and setting up a chamber reverb. Otherwise digital verb could be useful. Either way, unless your basement is really nice I am a little skeptical that any real room sound you get will be benificial.

Are you doubting the sonic quality of my hardwood floors? nah, just kidding. thanks for the advice on where to point the mics- i could definitely use a bit more of that. All 3 of them will be in my 10 x 12 home studio, so they shouldn't have any trouble seeing each other.

[dracofhc]

Seeing as how your recording in a basement, I would be very weary of uing a stereo pair or any microphone pulled back from the instruments. Certainly try them but have a backup plan. I would recommend micing the cello a foot and half to two feet away with a cardiod mic placed at bridge level, but 15 degrees off center pointing at the f hole. That way you avoid all the scratchy bow sounds which seem to come in a straight beam off of the bridge. The move the violins away from the cello (but so they can still see each other if they need to) and place a mic between a little bit farther away adjusted to get a nice blend. If you still want room sound, which sounds great on strings, consider finding a nice sounding church or so and setting up a chamber reverb. Otherwise digital verb could be useful. Either way, unless your basement is really nice I am a little skeptical that any real room sound you get will be benificial.

Are you doubting the sonic quality of my hardwood floors? nah, just kidding. thanks for the advice on where to point the mics- i could definitely use a bit more of that. All 3 of them will be in my 10 x 12 home studio, so they shouldn't have any trouble seeing each other.

No problem. Let me know how it turns out.

[the brill bedroom]

Wow- that went better than i would have ever expected. That's it, I'm keeping a string section hostage at my house feom now on! That was too much fun. Now, i'm not saying I'm Van Dyke Parks or anything- they were very simple string parts, but it was still quite a buzz to hear them played. I took all your advice and recorded them 3 times and they do sound impressive all together. Micing them turned out to be not such a big deal. I just put the mics I had about 18 inches from the the f holes and a little off axis and they sounded pretty good so i didn't mess with them much. The only thing i hadn't anticipated was the amount of body noise (breathing, priomarily) that they players would do in addition to notes they play. Other than that, it was suprisingly smooth.