Luckily there are still musicians out there who care about “the sound” and are willing to experiment to get there. The incredibly talented Eyvind Kang is one of those and I was excited when he called me and told me he wanted to check out different mic positions and try something new and unusual. When I told my assistant to set up 5 mics he looked at me weird and thought it was overkill given it was just one instrument.
The sound we got was beautiful and rich!
The JZ Mic Black Hole was the close-mic of choice. I also had a stereo Rode NT 4 in front of the instrument, a few feet away, and then a Rode NT2000 and Fet 47 and a 414.
Recording one viola with 5 microphones on 6 channels was a new experience for me. Once I checked phase correlation, I mixed the signals and the result was impressing. Fascinating how different all the positions and mics sounded. Subtleties, richness and qualities of Eyvind’s unique instrument were beautifully captured in this way and when you complement that with his incredible playing the result was really stunning.
Look out for the one and only Eyvind Kang’s new record (produced by Jessika Kenney and himself) sometimes in 2010.
I miss the room…… so much!!!
And, how is the JZ mic sounds, a new mic in ESS?