[Gllug] MP3 player recomendations

[Chris Bell]

On Mon 03 Sep, Nix wrote:
> 

> 
> >    Many microphones are designed to work a little away from the sound
> > source, but many performers think that they need to almost swallow a
> > microphone.
> 
> Hah. Another advantage of classical music. The number of cellists who
> swallow their microphone is very low :)

   In fact there were several attempts to get a better sound by wrapping a
microphone designed as a clip-on "lapel mic" in thick foam and placing it
under the bridge of stringed instruments.

> 
> >              This can result in continually variable sound quality as they
> > move,
> 
> The number of cellists who move around much as they play is also low :)
> 
   Many do swing the instrument around.

> >    There was a carefully considered and calculated write-up in a technical
> > magazine which compared the dynamic range of sounds in a studio environment
> > and the average background noise level in a normal environment. Adding the
> > two together required several kilowatts of sound power in a reinforced
> > concrete room, with infinite space behind a bank of speakers built into the
> > wall, and no neighbours for several miles. (Published early one April).
> 
> The irony here is that the recording environment is highly unlikely to
> be anywhere near that insane, so part of that lunacy is going on
> reproducing background noise *in the original recording*.

   The loudest background noise is often the air conditioning system,
despite all attempts to silence it, so it is normal to switch it off if
possible. This is not usually possible for a live concert; it can get very
steamy in the Albert Hall during the summer Proms season, although the
atmosphere is much improved by installing a small pool with fountain in the
centre of the floor on all except the last night, switched on during breaks.
A lot of work went into improving the acoustics, including dangling inverted
"mushrooms" from the roof, while trial and error research identified the
"ideal" position for the main stereo microphone, suspended in mid-air. Much
of the sound absorbtion around the walls is called the audience, but it
varies greatly between rehearsals and the main recording.
   Studios are often built with insulation-filled cavities a couple of feet
deep covering the walls, designed to absorb frequencies down to the lowest
possible, but orchestral performers often prefer a "live" environment in
which they can hear sound reflected from the walls. It can be quite strange
entering an anecoic room, normally built with conical foam protrusions to
absorb all sound and used to test microphones and speakers. There have been
attempts to introduce artificial reverberation into a "dead" studio by
feeding sound back to loudspeakers around the walls, but this requires fixed
delays which need to be reset according to the daily physical layout
variations, and once adjusted only really works for a single point in the
studio.

-- 
Chris Bell

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