Recording cello and electronics in a big room

Question

I'm working on a project with a Cellist, we mix classic Cello and live electronics+ processed field recordings (I leave the link to provide a hint on what is all about).

http://www.educomelles.com/cellopluslaptop.html

We want to record some tracks on a big room (90-100m²) that has a lot of reverb and echoe. Can anybody give me ideas on how to record that? I want that the recordings preserve the acoustics of the room and us it on the final mix.

I am planing to record electronics and the contact mic of the Cello through line-in on my sound card but what would be the best way to get the ambience and the spacial effect of that place?? Truly, this room sounds like a Chapel!

thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Your best bet is with an array of condenser microphones. As far back as you will be getting, dynamic mics will not capture a strong clear signal far away from the source.

Some good condenser mics I know of are:

• Rode NT-5 matched pair or a stereo mic like the NT-4

• Large Diaphragm condenser mics like the Rode NT1A or the omnidirectional condenser AT4049a

Start with some areas near the corners of the room and work in with placement.

Use multiple hand held recorders to place in interesting places (for example: a projector loft hanging from the ceiling)

The more mics = the more choices.

Answer 2

Here's what I would do, just for the sake of getting what you want, but not having a wasted session:

• Record your session in a clean environment - good studio space, low noise floor, plenty of mics.
• Play back the session over a full range speaker into the space and record the resulting echo. Use a stereo pair and move the speaker and mic setup around the room and get several variations - you'll find one you like.
• Mix the echoey track back in to the original mix until you get the desired effect

My fear is that with a space that lively, you'll end up with a recording that has so much energy and delay, that it will be unlistenable. A speaker will energize the space just like the real "instruments" would.

The other thought would be to create a convolution reverb setting for the space - that way you can use those beautiful echoes any time you want.

As nice as it is to record something organically, it's also important to have control over your output. Replaying the recording back is a legitimate way of adding that "real" energy to your music.