It is important to remember that a blast of air large enough to momentarily
short out the capsule of a condenser microphone will almost surely be
larger enough to take out the ribbon element of a ribbon microphone as
ribbon mics are MUCH more sensitive to plosives than are condensers (in the
sense that blasts of air can actually damage the microphone). However, if
used right, a ribbon mic is a fairly classic choice for recording brass.
On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 10:20 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Brass plosives can be massive, and it is a dangerous undertaking to use
> condenser mics -- especially high-sensitivity vintage European condenser
> mics -- anywhere near loud brass instruments. In many-mic recordings, my
> father always used ribbon mics on brass. He did some testing in the 1950s
> and found that a muted trumpet could produce a blast of air that hit a U-47
> hard enough to momentarily short out the capsule. Not to mention that
> vintage mics often ring, and condenser mics tend to ring in a way that
> brass blasts can trigger. And, brass blasts, especially trumpets and
> trombones, tend to occur within the "presence peak" frequencies of vintage
> condenser mics and can thus more easily overload a mic preamp.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "DAVID BURNHAM" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 11:09 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Distortion question
>
>
> As Lou points out, the distortion almost certainly occured in the mike
>> preamp. Trumpets and Trombones, especially when muted, have a
>> significantly larger positive excursion in the waveform compared to the
>> negative half, perhaps as much as 20 dB, (an announcer's voice exhibits the
>> same characteristic to a lesser degree). A mike, (or an ear), placed close
>> to brass often just snips these spikes off but miked from a distance these
>> spikes give the brass a presence which is very attractive on orchestral
>> recordings, big band recordings or even jazz solo recordings.
>>
>> db
>>
>>
>> On Tuesday, September 30, 2014 10:07 AM, Bruce Whisler <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I am working with an old tape recording that has several instances of
>> distortion that sound like clipping. When I view the waveform in my DAW, I
>> see two things that are puzzling:
>>
>>
>> 1. The waveform in the distorted areas is not at a higher amplitude
>> than other undistorted sections.
>>
>> 2. The waveform amplitude appears to be attenuated on the negative
>> side of the waveform, but not on the positive side.
>>
>> The distorted sections usually last only about a second and do coincide
>> with loud high notes from a trumpet soloist. The recordings are from live
>> performances in the 1970s.
>>
>> Any thoughts on what I am dealing with? I have Izotope RX 3 Advanced,
>> and have had little success in repairing this particular problem with the
>> Declip, Decrackle, or Declick modules. I don't think there is enough tone
>> left under the distortion to effectively repair it.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Bruce Whisler
>>
>>
>>
|