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are precariously close to the walls. Many times
these studios are chosen because they have a
good piano, enough music stands, and sufficient
headphones and cue-mix capability to accommodate
an orchestra of this size. Generally the
microphone inventories, while decent, are insufficient
to cover all the instrumentalists and singers
with “A” line choices as well.
One thing I’ve done to support this effort is
to assemble my own personal mic collection.
This enables me to supplement the chosen studio’s
mic collection. I have a variety of condensers,
ribbons and dynamics. I prefer using
ribbon mics on brass and reeds. Until recently
I had a pristine collection of RCA ribbon
mics that I maintained and used over many
years. There were two 44s, seven 77s and a BK5.
I always used the 77s in a figure-8 pattern, as
they are more of a match for the 44s and are
about 6dB hotter in output that way. It has also
helped the phase relationship in a large, multimic
scheme.
Several years ago, as I was about to go
through another ribbon-mic collection re-ribboning
ordeal, I came upon an opportunity to
replace my collection. I had tried every ribbon
mic manufactured. Only the AEA brand gave
me the equivalent sound and mixing integrity
that was comparable to the RCAs. However, they
present the same basic challenges as the RCAs:
lack of ribbon durability, low-ish output and too
much weight for the type of small mic stands
that are prevalent here in Chicago.
When presented with the opportunity to
test the Shure ribbon mics, I discovered that not
only do they sound great, but they are as warm
as the vintage ribbons and have nearly double
the output, less distortion factor, a very narrow
dead-side null and much more durable ribbons.
They have the sound and mixing integrity that
I require when choosing a mic for a purpose. I
replaced my entire RCA collection with a collection
of 13 Shure KSM 313s. This change was
a definite step in a more modern direction for
me. Now I can mic the entire brass and reed
sections with this collection of the same microphone
model. All 13 mics sound incredibly
similar, articulate fast note passages wonderfully
and, due to the increased null, provide me
with better phase relationship than ever before.
I then use the best condensers available (tube
or FET) and the occasional dynamic for all my
other miking needs.
My approach for recording big band is a
combination of multitrack-type spot miking
of the instruments and an overall room
miking technique. Studio setup and musician
floor-placement is important, and can contain
some flexibility. I do not use isolation rooms
for the trumpet, trombone and sax sections, or
drums, as it decouples the organic nature of the
big band sound and power. In general, there is
a familiar big band setup configuration used
when the bands perform in public: front row of
saxes, middle row of trombones and rear row of
trumpets. The trombone and trumpet sections
are ideally elevated on risers. The rhythm section
is generally stage right of the horns.
Regardless of whether you’re in a studio or
live performance area, the further away from
the walls one can set up, the better, as distance
from the walls will help with discrete pickup
isolation. Using this floor scheme when recording
in studio, I will set the brass and reeds up
as in the familiar method described above, but
array the rhythm section directly 180 degrees
opposite of the brass and reeds so as to increase
discrete microphone/track isolation. If you
are working without risers, having the trumpets
stand will help with bleed to the next row.
While risers can provide a partial solution for
using a more traditional horn-setup configuration,
in medium-sized rooms they can compromise
one’s already restricted floor space, and
generally they are outside the budget point.
I mic the rhythm section with a close
miking technique and loosely spot-mic the
horns. For room miking I will use a stereo
coincident pair for the horns, and one room
mic above the rhythm section. I use rear baffle
placement technique; line-of-sight isolation
booths (if available) for piano, bass or both; and
a PA-type (headphone-less) cue strategy whenever
possible.
While I have used nearly every possible
floor setup configuration to record big bands,
I am currently setting the horns up in a “U”
or horseshoe configuration, with the rhythm
players opposite the trumpets, and the bones
and saxes set perpendicularly in between them,
their distance apart determined by the width
of the trumpet row (see diagram above). This
enables me to work the acoustics of pretty much
any room or location environment. Although I
do not use an isolation booth for drums, I will
rear- and side-baffle them with low baffles for
sight and oriented towards the band. I have
techniques by which I am comfortable recording
bass and piano in the room with the full
band; however, if the line of sight is right I will
use an isolation booth for either bass, piano or
FEBRUARY 2017 DOWNBEAT 93