Bolero:why can't my system reproduce snare well?
Great article, Al; interesting read and thanks for sharing. Would be interesting to see similar graphs showing the effect on high frequency content relative to low frequency content at different distances from the microphone. On a lighter note: http://m.imgur.com/r/classicalmusic/9cuc2 |
That's a good find, Frogman, Muti with the Philadelphia playing Bolero as it was intended to be. And it is a modern-day recording. Yes, the snare is very well defined in that clip, but it is unlike anything one is likely to hear at a performance. I haven't seen Bolero live, but in the case of the Vienna performance, it's true that when seated in the audience, the piece would sound completely different than the recording. (do to the fact that no mic's are used in the concert hall when played live; they are only being fed to the audio recorders). Having said that, I'll bet that Elegal's recording is similar to the Muti performance. Even the sound from the woodwinds is from a distance and evenly mixed with the snare. I don't know how over the years the engineering took priority over keeping the integrity of the performance. Since the mid 1970s the mic's were getting placed closer to the instruments and then progressed to adding even more mic's. I would much rather hear classical music recordings sound natural and open rather than unbalanced and up close. With today's technology, it is possible to use minimal miking and still have good detail. I just realized I'm ranting, so the bottom line in this thread is to use a reference recording and not Ravel's Bolero. |
The Evelyn Glennie version of Bolero on THis CD prominently features percussion instruments, including snare and drums, compared to many others. |
A lot of good points made by Frogman, Al and Lowrider (and I love Frogman's lighter note link). One thing that was asked earlier but hasn't been addressed by the OP, I think, is has he used this recording as a reference before he got the Martin Logans, and did it sound different then. If not, I think he needs to listen to familiar recordings to see if the problem might reside in the speakers or somewhere else. |
