Brass Band Recordings

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chris661
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#1 Brass Band Recordings

Post by chris661 »

Hi all,

Thought I'd split from the Nothing in Particular thread and start my own.

Here's a link to all the songs they played:

There are MP3 and WAV versions in there - click the folder you want.

If you download all the songs, I've filled in the metadata so they should get themselves organised once moved into your media player of choice.

I must say thanks to the University of Sheffield Brass Band (link: https://www.facebook.com/UoSBB) for letting me share the recordings with you all.

Below are the posts from the Nothing in Particular thread so there's a bit of continuity:
chris661 wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 2:26 pm Hi gents,

So I recently did some recording work with the University of Sheffield Brass Band (social media link which they've asked me to include: https://www.facebook.com/UoSBB/ )

I used a selection of nice mics, including a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930 as the main stereo pair, and then blended the other mics in to add a little more presence to any instruments/sections that I thought needed it.
The other mics were:
- 2x Audio Technica AT3035 for percussion spot mics
- 3x AKG C3000 (original version) for brass area & solo mics
- 2x MC930
- 1x Cadenza ribbon (recently worked over with a new ribbon and transformer) for the drum kit.

Here's a link to one of the tracks in .WAV format:

I'd like to make it clear that there's zero compression or EQ used here. Mics went into the desk, multi-track recorded, and then mixed down within the desk. The only processing was me setting the balance between the different mics.
Thought it might be interesting to some.

Chris
Ant wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 3:32 pm just had a listen to that via some cans plugged into the mac used music player for google drive. that is a very nice piece of work chris

i like big band stuff and you've captured the ambience very very well

thanks for sharing that!

reminds me of how joe jackson recorded one of his albums in a hall using 2 mics and a couple of fill in mics in the same manner. forgot the name of that album but the recording quality on it is great. who needs processing!
Cressy Snr wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 3:42 pm Fab stuff Chris! :)
pre65 wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 7:32 pm Well done Chris, I liked that - a lot. :D

Having heard some quality brass bands live over the last few years (all Yorkshire based) I thought it was an excellent performance.
ed wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 9:29 pm looks like somebody's been spoiling you.....nice set of mics. I'm particularly envious of the 930, always wanted to find out what the noise was all about....

well done...good balance to my ears.

edit: posts overlapped, this was in response to Chris's post....
Thanks for the kind words, gents.

Ed, running a live sound business means I get to play with some interesting toys. The desk I used to record the brass band with is also my primary mixing desk. This year I've stocked up on a load of Sennheiser e9** mics (935s, 906s, 904s) as quite a few of them have been 50% off at some point or other. The only thing that was really missing in the mic collection was a good pair of SDCs, and I've got a gig with a 100-strong choir soon, that also needs to be recorded. It seemed natural to get that gap filled in before the gig, so here we are.
I find the 930s very nice. If you're coming to the next Owston or another gathering, perhaps you could bring a guitar (or anything else you'd like) and you can have a play around with the mics. I know it won't be the same as having them in your studio for a month, but I'm sure you'll get an idea if they're something you want to pursue further.
For me, it was a case of those or a pair of Rode NT5s. The Rodes are cheaper, and the recordings show that. The NT5s are decent mics, but the 930s mean I have growing room - they'll still be a good pair of mics in 10 years time.

Chris
Anthony
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#2 Re: Brass Band Recordings

Post by Anthony »

thanks chris,really enjoyed listening to that selection of songs
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ed
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#3 Re: Brass Band Recordings

Post by ed »

chris661 wrote: Sun Dec 09, 2018 10:42 am
I find the 930s very nice. If you're coming to the next Owston or another gathering, perhaps you could bring a guitar (or anything else you'd like) and you can have a play around with the mics. I know it won't be the same as having them in your studio for a month, but I'm sure you'll get an idea if they're something you want to pursue further.

Chris
thanks Chris, very nice of you to offer....unfortunately I've been winding down my efforts and most of my studio stuff has now been sold off...all I have left are a couple of samson overheads and a couple of large diaphragms of dubious make. Age has dampened the enthusiasm I'm afraid.

but thanks again, anyway.
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chris661
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Posts: 2556
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:29 am
Location: Sheffield

#4 Re: Brass Band Recordings

Post by chris661 »

Anthony, you're quite welcome. Glad you enjoyed them.

Ed, that's fair enough. Hopefully you find something else to enjoy :)

Cheers, all
Chris
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