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Sennheiser with Deutsche Grammophon

A recent Deutsche Grammophon recording project at the world-famous Walt Disney Concert Hall comprised not one, but two industry firsts. The dates in mid-January marked the first Deutsche Grammophon tracking sessions with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the new venue, which serves as the orchestra's winter home. It was also the first time that the label had used a pair of specially modified Sennheiser MKH800 studio condenser microphones, which had been converted for the sessions to output signals from its pair of forward- and rear-facing condenser capsules.

"By blending outputs from the two capsules in post-production, and adding phase inversion," offers Rainer Maillard, tonmeister/head of recording service with Emil Berliner Studios, a division of Deutsche Grammophon, "we can continuously adjust the pick-up patterns of our central pair from omni-directional through figure-of-eight to cardioid and hypercardioid. And to help match the sound of the performances in Walt Disney Concert Hall during live concerts with an audience, and then with an empty hall during subsequent patch sessions, we can favour the front or rear capsules and control ambience pickup."

In the past, Emil Berliner Studios and Deutsche Grammophon have worked closely with Sennheiser to develop enhanced-quality mics for classical recording sessions. "Several years ago, we asked Sennheiser to develop a version of the MKH80 model that would offer extended frequency response," Maillard recalls. "The result was the MKH800," which currently offers a response from 30Hz to 50kHz, "with outstanding clarity and minimum coloration - just what we need for classical sessions." The MKH800 features five switchable pickup patterns and selectable high-pass filters.

Producer on the L.A. Philharmonic sessions was Sid McLauchlan from Deutsche Grammophon, working with seasoned recording engineer Fred Vogler, who also supervises sound mixing at the nearby Hollywood Bowl outdoor amphitheatre that serves as the orchestra's summer home. The team captured live performances of three pieces: Mussorgsky's ‘St John's Night on Bald Mountain’, Bartok's suite from ‘The Miraculous Mandarin’, and Stravinsky's ‘Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)’, a Signature Piece for the L.A. Philharmonic that was also featured during its premier concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In addition to the pair of "Twin" MKH800 left and right mics spaced about six feet apart over the lip of the stage as the primary pickups, a pair of Sennheiser MKH30 figure-of-eight outrigger mics were flown above stage left and right, spaced 35 feet apart. The stage-edge array was augmented by an MKH30 and an MKH50 hypercardioid arranged one above the other as an MS pair, and suspended above the up-stage edge of the conductor's podium.

"'The Twins' were my primary left and right microphones," Maillard explains, "with the outer pair being used to add width across the soundstage, and the MS pair to enhance the phantom centre. For the SACD release, these microphone channels will be used to enhance the LCR spread across the orchestra." Three MKH30s covered the woodwinds, with MKH-800s above the brass section and tubas. Four additional Sennheiser MKH50s covered the percussion and tympani.

"Predictably, all of the microphones and the Pyramix workstation behaved flawlessly during the four days of sessions," Maillard concedes. "We have been using Sennheiser studio condenser models for many years and find that they offer a highly consistent sound that is smooth and well balanced." To enhance the overall sound from the various Sennheiser microphones, Maillard elected to remove the outer grills.

Following editing and remix at Emil Berliner Studios in Germany to both stereo and 5.1-channel surround, the Deutsche Grammophon CDs and SACD media will be released later this year.

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Sennheiser with Deutsche Grammophon

29th March 2006

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