In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:
Not of much interest, I'm afraid. I have seen the mics
clipped on to the music stands for violin players:-)

I simply don't believe you've ever seen that done in a radio studio.
And radio is what's being discussed here?

Your term was "broadcast" I, and 200 million others have seen
it done on British TV. You might like to take a look and see
how the Danes and Germans do it. They understand that without
good quality mics properly placed (and therefore highly visible)
the sound will be inferior.

You mention only seeing those mics attached to a music stand. Did you hear
the results? Are you even certain they were actually in use - and not just
there as set dressing? Lots of questions, you see. Not everything is as it
seems.

Even so I'd have thought even you might realise why microphones might
not always be in the ideal position in TV. Only requires a moment's
thought for one with some experience who can see beyond the recording
studio.

Yes of course I realise. The sound is secondary to the picture.

And correctly so. I can just imagine the likes of you being let lose in a
TV studio with carte blanche. Huge mics obliterating faces...
However, the challenge of marrying decent sound to decent pictures is one
many enjoy.

When radio started in
the UK the majority of discs were acoustically recorded.

Yes. I have used an acoustic recording machine at Decca.
But by the 1930s the period you were talking about, when
you wrote "Carbon mics were used into the '30s." electrical
recording with ribon mics was well established.

I never said they were used exclusively by the '30s. But perhaps you
throw away all your equipment when new comes along?

If you bothered to look at the pics I posted previously, I still
have the Vortexion CBL6 which I bought when I was a teenager.
I also still have the pair of British Film Industries M8 ribon mics
used with this machine. I also have a pair of Kef K1 monitors,
and a Radford STA 100 ex BBC. So lots of goodies

But no carbon mics?

As usual you miss the point. There were only a few years between the
start of radio broadcasting in the UK and the introduction of ribbon mics.
And like all such things there will have been a transition period where
both were in use.


If so, why are you farting
around with all those ancient analogue tape recorders? Can't be for the
performance...

Analogue multitracks, particulaly A80/24/DolbySR
are very much sought after these days in music
projects for basic track laying, keys, drums, bs,
guitars, etc particularly if there are saxophones
and brass to be recorded. After this material is
transferred to a digital workstation for editing
and mixing. Not may facilities have analogue
multitracks for for hire, so the rates are
remunerative.

As I said, not for performance. Otherwise there'd be no 'digital
workstation for editing and mixing'

--
*Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his animal friends

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.