[78-L] microphone technology

[Philip Carli]

We worked on that recording at Syracuse some years ago.  One possibility we discussed for the curiously muted recorded quality of that performance may have been a fairly simple mistake: the mike wasn't necessarily inferior, but they didn't position it high enough to cover the whole orchestra well.  It may have been placed no higher than Sokolov's head when on the podium, or it may have been lower, like a simple floor placement.  If the orchestra was seated flat, rather than in a tiered format, low mike placement might account for the brasses and wind sounding somewhat distant and unauthoritative, as well as the unusual frequency range and overall balance.  Brunswick hadn't had much experience in using a conventional microphone with a large orchestra at that point -- most previous attempts were with their "Light-Ray" system (like the NY Phil sides and, I think, the Cleveland re-recording of _1812_; in fact  I believe their first released electrical was of the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra). One copy we had was a first issue in its original binding, which is a work of art -- heavily embossed in gold and bronze accents, with elaborate raised lettering.  Brunswick was really trying to outgloss Victor and Columbia with it.
________________________________________
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com [78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of David Lennick [dlennick at sympatico.ca]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:03 AM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] microphone technology

Not that Brunswick was ever known for using up-to-date technology once it went
electrical. I very much like that performance, by the way. Wish I could find
the late laminated pressing of it. They also kept the volume down and pressed
on noisy shellac which got worse by the 1930s.

dl

On 12/10/2010 9:55 AM, neechevoneeznayou at gmail.com wrote:
>    From time to time we have discussed on this list the advancements in
> disc recording technology and the ability to capture high freqs.
>
> Have we ever discussed microphone advancements?
>
> I am listening this morning to the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony in
> Sokolov's 1928 Brunswick reading with the Cleveland O. The sound of the
> violin section is clearly limited above a certain frequency.
>
> I am wondering if someone can cite a specific number for an upper limit,
> and further describe how that number went up by a given year.
>
> joe salerno


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