Dash Fieldpaint Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 My friend uploaded some 1995 Crown pictures to Facebook. You can see the mic placement in some of the pics from finals week. They're about 5 feet off the ground and aimed right at the pit! Those of us that have heard the '95 recordings knew that anyway, but it's still surprising to see pictures of them like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersop Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 There was always a mic on the pit back then. Back then, pits were not amped. They mastered it later to mix the pit track with the 2 outside boom mics. Unfortunately, someone screwed up on the mastering or the post production. Nothing to do with the mics. Have a nice day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Fieldpaint Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 Now I know the mic placement wasn't the only problem but it WAS part of it. That's why it sounds like they're right over the pit. I checked out some vids just now and the two boom mics on the 35s were placed well off the sideline, and pretty much aimed at the pit as well. Omni or directional, it sounds like they were picking up too much of the pit. In contrast, in 1989 the boom mics on the 35s were a lot taller, and a lot closer to the sideline. I saw another mic on the '95 vids that looked like it was placed right behind the drum major at about podium height. So, yeah, maybe the two pics up there are the standard placement for the pit mics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 It sure would be nice to have good recordings of '95 . . .the Scouts show will forever be known to those who didn't see it live as "Cymbals: With Malaga Background". Not to mention all the rest of the Top 12 from that year . . . Oh, well. At least Crown had the foresight to have a good quality recording of their show produced . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottgordon Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Nothing to do with the mics. Indeed, it had everything to do with the mic placement. In 1995, the audio was contracted out. I vaguely remember hearing a rumor that the engineers weren't interested in listening to suggestions, and they miced the field like they'd mic a football game, with a row of mics set low along the sideline. The mics thus weren't on axis with the horns, and they got a great recording of the pit. It's also true that the mastering was awful... bring one of those tracks up in an audio editor and you'll see the extreme brickwall mastering. But the main problem was the raw source was nothing but pit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWhacker Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 "Cymbals: With Malaga Background". Nice! Still a great show though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundmanG Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Mic placement is just like Real Estate....Location, Location, Location. Despite what they say you can't always "fix it in the mix". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Indeed, it had everything to do with the mic placement. In 1995, the audio was contracted out. I vaguely remember hearing a rumor that the engineers weren't interested in listening to suggestions, That is true.... and they miced the field like they'd mic a football game, with a row of mics set low along the sideline. They weren't all as low as the pit mics shown in the pictures on this thread....but they weren't high enough either, and some were out at the 20 yard lines, IIRC. The mics thus weren't on axis with the horns, and they got a great recording of the pit. ....and the clicking of camera shutters from nearby photographers. It's also true that the mastering was awful... bring one of those tracks up in an audio editor and you'll see the extreme brickwall mastering. But the main problem was the raw source was nothing but pit. Not sure if it was mastering, or mics that couldn't handle the sound pressure level....but yeah, I'd say the bigger problem is the flattening of dynamics. Sounds like a cheap pocket recorder's automatic gain control circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudskipper Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 It's really too bad, since that's one of my favorite years for music. Madison, BD, Cadets... LOVE those shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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