Recording an Orchestra using Royer ribbon microphones, with engineer Robert Friedrich

[@Inigobalboa]

WOW, still a great video, I copied your set up with figure-of-eights to record two pianos, it sounded brilliantly!

[@TiqueO6]

and don't miss 5:00 combining the 2 solo pianos! Each one has great L/R imaging...seamless and it's a wild ride combining them with the true perspective. Also, such masterful use of the null points on the mics there which gave a phase-distortion and artifact-free result...as if you're sitting right in the middle just like they're placed, as it should be!

[@michaelwouters8151]

What an amazing sound! Nothing but the real thing!

[@ricknelsonduke]

I love the reverse panning of the two pianos when soloed - opposing stereo!

[@tiqueholl8899]

Yes, very cool interaction of the two, as I'm sure it was intended. Also, since the pianos are physically opposite it makes total sense as well. I would guess the audience would see the two players from the sides which would somewhat diminish that spacial experience in a live performance, I'd rather sacrifice the visual for the aural pleasures and see the back of one of the players, I suppose.

[@operarocks]

@@tiqueholl8899 I hear ya, but I feel like the hard pan of each piano makes it completely unlike a performance, and calls too much attention to itself, gimicky, within the scope of the piece's normal performance setup. Personal taste for sure, but I wish I knew why Robert chose this type of panning. It'd be interesting to hear his thoughts. Good vid. Thx.

[@ArtsLaureate]

Thank you for posting the audio from each piano. Nice video.

[@waynebane494]

I think this Robert Friedrich guy is very good at what he does and he should win another Grammy.

[@royerlabs]

Couldn't agree more!

[@ChickenVendetta]

To my ears, there's still a significant difference between the darker piano and the brighter piano, even with the 122V on the brighter one, but that blend is SO PRETTY.

[@MarkWhitehouse]

Yes I thought the "brighter" piano was actually less precise in definition, but as you say the blend of the 2 worked really well

[@johnnyguitwithit2614]

Amazing sound! Thank you!

[@MrObelisk2290]

Awesome ambience

[@richardmelhuish4733]

Very enjoyable and informative.

[@tiqueholl8899]

Still probably my favorite "all-ribbon" recording (mostly? or all?, sorry just revisiting this clip, no time to check). The ribbons give such life and "shape" as I like to call it, to the notes, not all 'packaged' like so many other mics that truly limit the tactile impact, IMHO, and also tend to have unrealistic high frequency bumps - bumps that are probably still with us due to the 'lossy' signal paths of many, many years past which we've become so accustomed to but truly are influencing the way music is made and consumed. I think that the accentuated highs are 'crutches' that allow or encourage the musician to let the mic do the work forgetting the old-school way of learning and using the full spectrum of expression from their instrument. Thus goes my age-old (old age?) "Ribbon-Rant",... you're welcome :)

[@mariaulfah2813]

Couldnt get agree more but i have to rob the bank so i can record the best rock album in this stupid century.

[@AntonioDavidPickett]

AMAZING.

[@TiqueO6]

Great break down video of the process! As and early (1998) adopter of vintage ribbon mics I applaud their fairly recent comeback and the great sound that's already benefiting the recording arts greatly. I do find anything less - or more - than natural sound to be highly disruptive of fully realized music reproduction and even performances. Performers do adjust their performance to the technology and it's not always constructive but with ribbons it just seems to inspire deeper achievements.

[@PrairieDad]

If I had the money for Royer mics, I'd place an order right now. Alas, $3,000 apiece is just not possible. But damn, my ears loved this.

[@nl_2652]

Same here!

[@ricktherecorder4416]

Nice orchestra sound, but not sure I am persuaded by the 50 foot wide pianos.

[@bgrichting]

Great insight, thank you very much for this. Could you please tell me what brand of microphone stands you are using for the main stereo rig? I‘m looking for a really tall stand that goes up to 4-6 meters

[@BielCT]

I feel released because now I know the sound I was looking for, exists! As a violinist myself and chamber and orchestra teacher I’m the one who records all rehearsals and concerts. Now I have to find a bank to robber and kidnap this engineer to teach me. 😂

[@Meteotrance]

what kind of mic preamp did you used for using those kind of ribbon microphone ?

[@vsp2]

+Meteotrance It was two Millennia HV-3R along with an RME M16 or 32 as an AD, as shown at 0:22. Cheers!

[@RiotHomeRecording]

Id like to know what Preamps and other gear was used in the chain ? Thanks for the video?

[@TheodoreKloba]

One benefit of the R-122 & R-122V is that they are active, so having a "ribbon-friendly" preamp is not as critical as it is with passive ribbons.

[@vsp2]

+Steve Antoniazzi It was two Millennia HV-3R along with an RME M16 or 32 as an AD, as shown at 0:22. Cheers!

[@miked5487]

So yummy. Sounds so balanced.

[@TheodoreKloba]

I checked the SD Symphony's recordings page, and unfortunately this is not listed. I also wonder, did they record with a glass harmonica or substitute something else?

[@fritz3802]

when it comes to recording with an orchestra, how would someone write a song with string orchestration if he does not have money for orchestra? what are some examples of songs that have been orchestras made from overdubs

[@jorgepeterbarton]

without any really specific examples, its done all the time for television and film score, using sample libraries and maybe the occasional overdub. Never know of an orchestra being made up of overdubs, but sometimes a smaller ensemble with less varied musicians, as if you can get one of each instrument tbh you are going to find 10 cellists before that single bass clarinet player anyway.. As for writing without an orchestra, well pieces will be finished and scored before played with an orchestra, and pretty well organised before those first rehearsals because its always a task to get 100+ musicians playing together without an issue. So its all written without an orchestra.

[@iceomistar4302]

I know a musician named Chance Thomas who records all his music in sections of the Orchestra and then he and the engineer overdubs the sound over each other.

[@jawsxx8683]

How long did it take to set the entire setup up?

[@USFilmmaker]

What's the song played at the beginning after he says "recorded at the san diego symphony"? I've heard it before but I don't know the name

[@aristacattejones8778]

"Carnival of the Animals" by Saint-Saens. It also says so in the description.

[@ceilingsandfloors]

Video should really be called "Recording a Piano".

[@mariaulfah2813]

So piano was inspired by wave of ocean

[@gillesmatheronpro]

Yes, in the forms of the piano and the fortepiano... two different instruments, like to different heights of a wave.

[@yijuncai8400]

:)

[@user-jx3jp3gb4x]

the ridiculous hard panning of the two pianos makes this recording sound nothing like the performance. No conductor I have ever met would want this panning unless of course one piano is behind the celli and the other behind the first violins,,, gee.

[@TheInsanityofGab]

this recording engineer doesn't even know how to pronounce timbre. not a good look

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

You seem to have misspelled 'timber'.