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

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Grammy-winning Classical Engineer Robert Friedrich gives us an in-depth look at the recording techniques used when recording "The Carnival Of The Animals" with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra featuring dual Grand Pianos. Friedrich relied heavily on ribbon microphones to achieve the desired sound quality.

Пікірлер: 44

@Inigobalboa 4 жыл бұрын

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

@TiqueO6 10 жыл бұрын

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!

@ArtsLaureate 12 жыл бұрын

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

@michaelwouters8151 5 жыл бұрын

What an amazing sound! Nothing but the real thing!

@waynebane494 6 жыл бұрын

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

@royerlabs 4 жыл бұрын

Couldn't agree more!

@richardmelhuish4733 9 жыл бұрын

Very enjoyable and informative.

@johnnyguitwithit2614 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing sound! Thank you!

@ChickenVendetta 10 жыл бұрын

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 9 жыл бұрын

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

@AntonioDavidPickett 12 жыл бұрын

AMAZING.

@MrObelisk2290 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome ambience

@TiqueO6 11 жыл бұрын

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.

@ricknelsonduke 7 жыл бұрын

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

@tiqueholl8899 6 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

@@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.

@tiqueholl8899 6 жыл бұрын

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 6 жыл бұрын

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

@BielCT 10 ай бұрын

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. 😂

@bgrichting 6 жыл бұрын

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

@PrairieDad 4 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

Same here!

@TheodoreKloba 9 жыл бұрын

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?

@RiotHomeRecording 9 жыл бұрын

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

@TheodoreKloba 9 жыл бұрын

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 8 жыл бұрын

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

@ricktherecorder4416 6 жыл бұрын

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

@Meteotrance 9 жыл бұрын

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

@vsp2 8 жыл бұрын

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

@jawsxx8683 3 жыл бұрын

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

@USFilmmaker 7 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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

@miked5487 4 жыл бұрын

So yummy. Sounds so balanced.

@yijuncai8400 7 жыл бұрын

@ceilingsandfloors 3 жыл бұрын

Video should really be called "Recording a Piano".

@fritz3802 8 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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.

@mariaulfah2813 6 жыл бұрын

So piano was inspired by wave of ocean

@gillesmatheronpro 4 жыл бұрын

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

@dankurydotcom 3 жыл бұрын

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.