St. Therese of Carmel Podcasts

Comparing Recordings

Here's the tempora and spectra from the two recordings.

http://www.delmarnorth.com/mass/o_nata_lux_from_rehearsal.jpg

http://www.delmarnorth.com/mass/o_nata_lux_from_mass.jpg

You can see the difference between the multipath and fading from the empty-hall rehearsal (microphone too far away? too homogenized), and the a-bit-too clinical no-mistakes-hidden recording from the seats-full Mass (microphones too close, some blending but not enough).

What would be great is to get good homogenization without losing like 2kHz of frequency response. 11am avoids this issue with a lot more microphones, but their style is different, and relies on individual voices being heard.

Can a house microphone do all that? If so, then let's try it.

The congregation (sometimes) hears what's being amplified. I humbly recommend that someone with more competence at sound design needs to spend some Masses from time to time sitting out there and listening to the result of the current and future settings.

After the past year or so sitting in various places out in the congregation, it sometimes sounds different than what's recorded (depending on where you sit), and it's very different from what is heard standing in the choir.

Sometimes the cantor volume is so loud that people have to cover their ears. Sometimes the cantor is overdriven and compressed from the board, but the volume is good. Sometimes there are instruments - that while entirely visible - are almost completely absent from the mix. Sometimes the choir is in there somewhere, but barely. Sometimes it sounds great.

In short, it's all the usual challenges of live audio in an interesting building! :+)

posted by Michelle @ 8:50 AM