Members King Conga Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 I have an 8-track live concert that I'm editing that 1 track is a horn, and other wind instruments. The mics on that are close-mic'ed, but they still pick up significant ambiance. Now, while I do want some quality ambiance in the final mix, the source that I'm using for that is 2 suspended AKG 414's about 9' in front of the choir, and there's nothing between the mics and the audience. That ambiance sounds great. So, I could edit the ambiance out of the orchestra track, but it would quite painstaking and time consuming as there are 16 songs to do. Although, I'm thinking I may have answered my own question by virtue of the fact that that particular track was recorded with a pretty low signal because we had no one to monitor that PC we wanted to avoid any digital distortions. Having said that, if/when I amplify those tracks, if I don't edit the ambiance, that too will be significantly louder too; maybe even loud enough to drown out the ambiance that I want to keep on the choir track. So, there's my options. Any suggestions on how to efficiently maximize the quality on all levels? Tanx,KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 this is something i have done a lot of, about 250 shows in the last couple years. first you must define your goal. accurate representation? pleasing mix? totally artificial mix? things to try: 1. the mics are out of time. you may be able to fix this, or it may become worse. compromise may be required. 2. eq the horn track. add some body to it, around 800hz, HP and LP more than you think you should. 3. add more ambiance to the horn track. this sounds like it would be counterproductive but often is just the ticket. 4. carefully pan and level-adjust the horn track. it may fit just perfect as is. gates and expansion are generally your enemy with this situation; at first you may seem to gain a lot of ground but the artifacts are near impossible to free yourself from. it is a tough road. its better to plan these things out ahead of time, often trumpets dont need mics at all - even if they think they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members King Conga Posted December 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 Thanks. I'll definitely put it in my notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DigitMus Posted December 23, 2008 Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 If you have access to an SPL Transient Designer, you should give that a try on the offending tracks. It might not work for all situations, but it's saved my bacon in similar situations. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members King Conga Posted December 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 23, 2008 Tanx DigitMus, That probably would do the trick, but it sounds like quite an expensive animal, which I don't have. I'm using Audition 1.5, which is probably child's play (although it works great for me) to most of the folks in this forum, but I still wanted to hear what solutions the pros would have. Tanx Again,KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudolf von Hagenwil Posted December 24, 2008 Members Share Posted December 24, 2008 ??? Are going to record, or is what you descibe already recorded? I do not see any possiblity to reduce ambience, except you record, or recorded the room with a seperate stereo pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Sayers Posted December 24, 2008 Members Share Posted December 24, 2008 KC - I'd use a gate but not to cut off completely, just to drop the ambience slightly when the horns aren't playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DigitMus Posted December 24, 2008 Members Share Posted December 24, 2008 John has the right idea - or maybe a downward expander (some plug-in compressors will let you set a negative ratio - i.e. expander - just pay attention to where you set the threshold and release time) Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted December 24, 2008 Members Share Posted December 24, 2008 If you have some Waves stuff, the Waves RCompressor has an expander, which I use fairly regularly for stuff like this or for bringing out something that doesn't have enough dynamics or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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