Ride cymbal recording

ogy

hey folks, im workin on a spectral electroacoustic piece and i want to analyze the spectrum of a 22' ride cymbal using audition.

im recording it using a c414 and was wondering if anyone has any advice about mic placement for such a beast of a thing:)

i know they probably resonate in all sorts of directions but any ideas on where would be a spot to capture a reasonable balance?

it doesn't have to sound good or anything, its a purely scientific recording:)

thanks
ógy

unclebill98

Sounds interesting.

I would say above it. It does go all directions. I am sure someone will say something else and you'll not get a straight answer

PaulBrewer

ogy wrote: »

hey folks, im workin on a spectral electroacoustic piece and i want to analyze the spectrum of a 22' ride cymbal using audition.

im recording it using a c414 and was wondering if anyone has any advice about mic placement for such a beast of a thing:)

i know they probably resonate in all sorts of directions but any ideas on where would be a spot to capture a reasonable balance?

it doesn't have to sound good or anything, its a purely scientific recording:)

thanks
ógy

Like a guitar or a cello a cymbal emits sound from all over and in every direction . Therefore you need to be quite a distance away to pick up it's overall sound.

The issue then becomes the relationship between direct and ambient sound.

So Ideally I'd suggest a low reverb space and a bit of distance, say a meter to start.

frobisher

There are so many sounds layering up from within the cymbal I'd defo say give yourself a bit of space, may 3 or 4 feet out and up or even more if you have it. I'd agree with Paul on a relatively dead room too. Hopefully you have that, ambience when you're doing a full drum take might be good but maybe not so when you're after spectral analysis.

cornbb

I wonder if access to an anechoic chamber would be desirable, given that its a scientific recording... a mic with a perfectly flat frequency response would be good too I guess.

Feel free to post about your piece over on the Experimental Music forum btw, tis been awfully quiet there of late.

ogy

cheers lad, gonna do some experimenting today. its a thesis project so i'll post about it in a few weeks when all the madness is over:)

sei046

You lucky Baxtard...... I had to do Alternating Current Distribution Methods. You get to record a cymbal!

jtsuited

sei046 wrote: »

You lucky Baxtard...... I had to do Alternating Current Distribution Methods. You get to record a cymbal!

i did an acoustics assignment in my MA about drums (was trying to keep it simple like).
well 4 weeks later i realised i couldn't have picked a more complex topic.

And cymbals? Jaysus there is so much going on with random transients and whatnot it would make your head spin.

studiorat

A small diaphragm condenser may have a faster transient response, and less of a hi-mid lift than... (was it a 414?). Personally I thought they radiated more perpendicular (or figure of 8) to the surface of the cymbal.

Chladni and his patterns could be your man here.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

small condenser like the oktvava mk12 will pick up the transient better then the large condenser , mic it from above pointing down at a spot 1/3 the way in from the edge / OR at the stick strike point

height = 3 feet .