Hi, I watched some video of classical recording where a couple of stereo pairs were used, here's the photos:




We can see here a pair of Sony's (C-series), and also some omnidirectional mics below em. But what confuses me is that thing in the middle:


What the hell is it? Is this a microphone at all?

P.S. Link to the video:

 

Looks a lot like the Schoeps MSTC 64 Ug ORTF stereo microphone.

 

The mics from the first pair are AT2020s I believe :



That weird mic is a Schoeps MSTC 64 U ORTF :



You can think of ORTF mics as a way to mimic binaural recording, but without the weird filtering that makes head simulators, like the Neumann KU100, problematic when played back on speakers.

 

I'm gonna play Sherlock Holmes, using logic and deduction and say that those barrel mics probably aren't the cheap AT 2020 or 2035 because the pencil microphones that you didn't ask about in the photographs are definitely the dpa 4006a, about a $2000 mic, so $4000 to start with up there. If the ORTF mic is a Schoeps MSTC 64 U ORTF and not the Superlux 502S which is an inexpensive clone (I've got one and it is noisy as fuck and so never use it...there is a mod for it though), it costs about $3200. On the outside chance that those are AT 2020 (can be still found for under $100) I would conclude that the recording engineer has either lost his mind, lost or had stolen his other pair of great mics and needed an emergency borrow from his 14 yo nephew or made some modifications of the not good sounding AT 2020/2035 in order to fit it with the other, fantastic and industry standard selections.

This is a photo of the dpa.

 

You beat me to it... that's a WTF I can't figure out...

 

Is there a name for the solid vertical piece over the grill ? I ask because that part really does make it look like the AT2020.

 

Yeah I thought the omnis might be DPA or B&K 4006, that's some big price gap. But honestly, the fact that the engineer used cheap AT2020s doesn't surprise me that much. It's a lightweight microphone so it's great for this setup. Also, the mfs working in classical music are some of the engineers that disregard price tag the most. The only guys I've seen using Behringer mics consistently are classical guys.

 

I hate when people put chamber orchestras or instruments like the harpsichord in churches.
I guess its 'Bach wrote church music too, so we listen to everything he wrote with rt 4 seconds'.
I mean the whole genre is named after the room it is supposed to be performed in, how hard can it be.

 

Thats not what I experienced.
That said, using a cheap mike as a support for the brass section of a big orchestra is just fine. Some of those drunks might step over it and break it and with the levels expected noise is not an issue.
But the decca trees and ortf bars of those guys are fitted with shoeps and dpa more often than otherwise.
edit // every now and then you see a neumann small diaphragm if they go cheap

 

as I know, neumans SDC can be replaced with Line Audio (CM4 and OM1). But while their FR is astonishingly flat (its so consistent that same mic released between a couple of years will still yield the same reponse), their directivity is not confirmed.

 

the more I look, the more I think the AT 2020 is the culprit.

 

Just for grins and giggles, (not my recording) this is pulled off of that Gearslutspace. It is the Superlux 502S that I mentioned in my post. I guess once that you push past the self noise of the ORTF set it sounds pretty freaking good for the CHF 60 that I paid for it used in perfect condition (currently at Thomann for CHF 92). The recording is of a trumpet player walking onto the stage and ripping it with a big band.

https://gearspace.com/board/attachm...cs-ortf-orchestral-recording-trumpet-solo.mp3

 

interesting dicussion in french about mstc and s502 comparsion:
https://fr.audiofanzine.com/instrum...ums/t.497987,superlux-s502-schoepsmstc64.html

 

Here's the one that decided for me to buy the Superlux. There's a newer mk2 version that is supposedly flatter in response, less self noise 15 vs 18 dB and a little more coin to buy at CHF 139 vs CHF 92.

https://www.thomannmusic.ch/superlux_s502mkii.htm?

glp=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwpJWoBhA8EiwAHZFzfjN6sc2m2kwmZtbXOgY1JYSCJxincmXQuSR9uQ33_KCvaFasjhPgBBoCHFkQAvD_BwE

 

If they were 4033s I'd totally get it. Maybe they're just to print some kind of reference track for... some reason?

 

Hi, don't want to start a new thread so just post here:



A little bit hard to see, but any guesses what it may be?

Here's other two which I wanna identify too:



Link to the video:

So uh let's try to think about what we see. We got a pair on a back of the piano recording the body, and a single one recording the keys. The sound is very bright and upward.

The single mic on a side of the performer point toward nowhere in particular, Also, we cannot see any vent holes, so these both factors can detect a omnidirectional mic. The stereo pair is pointing towards piano, we can also see these little drilled holes which probably means that it's cardioid/supercardioid.

But what models these are?

 

Sennheiser MKH 40. Check the 1:00 mark here

The other one is probably a Sennheiser MKH 418 (or maybe even 416), can't confirm but NPR guys seem to like that model a lot (acording to some articles i read but didn't really pay attention to). The reason you don't see holes might be because it's rotated.

 

Oh yeah, so they're using a stereo pair from one side, and a stereo microphone from the other side! Thanks, that makes it clear.