Location Recording for Classical Music
Concert halls, churches, chamber music venues – classical music knows its places. With our mobile recording setup, we document your production where it's meant to sound. We bring microphones, converters, monitoring, and everything else required.
Ensembles: From Solo to Orchestra
Microphone placement follows the ensemble. Soloists and chamber music demand precise positioning in the stereo field. Ensembles, such as string quartets, require more room microphones that capture acoustics without dominating them. For orchestras and choirs, we combine main microphones with targeted spot mics – powerful and transparent in overall sound, precise in balance.
Each ensemble has its characteristics:
- Soloists: Direct sound with controlled room component
- Chamber Music: Natural balance between voices
- Ensembles: Spatial depth with clear definition
- Orchestra & Choir: Overall sound with balanced dynamics
Dolby Atmos Recording On Location
Immersive formats like Dolby Atmos Music present new challenges for us sound engineers. With our own philosophy for extended microphone placement, we capture the spatial dimension of an ensemble on location. Height microphones, additional surround positions, and precise spot microphones create a three-dimensional soundscape. The mix is done later in our Dolby Atmos certified studio – the raw material comes from the on-location session.
Mobile Control Room
The mobile control room is not a reduced version of the studio, but an independent production environment. The microphone selection ranges from small-diaphragm microphones for precise localization to large-diaphragm microphones for warmth and body, to figure-of-eight patterns for isolating room components. Cables, stands, power supply – everything included.
ZDE - Zero Day Editing
During recording, audio editing runs in parallel. While the recording director marks good takes and guides the musicians through the session, the sound engineer simultaneously assembles the takes. This saves time in post-production and gives musicians direct feedback. A brief playback between takes shows whether the balance is right or sections need to be repeated. Immediately after recording, an initial edit is complete and can be perfected in the studio shortly after. This way we can make our productions audible as quickly as possible.
Use Acoustics Instead of Fighting Them
Every room has its sound. Churches offer long reverb times, concert halls are optimized for orchestral sound, small venues create intimacy. We adapt the microphone placement to the room acoustics instead of working against them. The room is part of the recording.
Microphone positioning determines the result. Too close to the ensemble: direct sound without room. Too far away: muddy overall impression. The right distance is found through listening, not through formulas. Each location and artistic vision requires its own decisions.
Classical Productions: From Concert to CD
Mobile recordings serve various purposes. Concert recordings for archive or release, studio recordings in better acoustics than available in the recording room at the studio, video productions with synchronized audio recording. Each format demands its own approach.
For concert recordings, there is no second chance. Microphone placement is set before the dress rehearsal to allow for minor adjustments if necessary. Redundancy is mandatory: backup recorders, dual power supply, spare microphones. Failure is not an option. The concert experience is disturbed as little as possible by our microphone placement, so microphones are hung and flown where a stand would be in the way or visually disruptive.
For pure audio productions without live audience, we work more flexibly. Repeating individual passages, microphone changes between pieces, breaks for critical listening. The result counts, not the time.
Logistics and Planning
Logistics determine the planning. Travel, setup and teardown, soundcheck, session. An orchestra concert requires more preparation time than a string quartet. Large productions require on-site support, small sessions run with our core team.
Technology Meets Music
Mobile recordings are not a compromise, but a conscious decision for the right sound in the right place. Technology follows music, not vice versa. Our experience from hundreds of sessions – from solo recitals to opera productions – guarantees recordings that match the artistic vision.
Contact
Ready for your mobile recording? Contact us for individual consultation.