Handbell Micing

[Depster]

Does anyone have any experience in micing handbells? Ever seen and documentation on such? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
--Nate

[Nika]

I did some micing of handbells last year. I put the group in a semi circle and put an X/Y pattern at the head of the semicircle, where a conductor would stand. If it's possible, an M/S pattern would likely be more effective. Spaced omnis would also work nicely. My concern with the X/Y is the hole in the center. An M/S doesn't have that hole, and the spaced omnis don't have as much of one, and would probably pick up an equal balance of the choir the best. My omnis would be spaced probably 1/5 as wide as the choir is from end to end.

Nika.

[JDD]

Nika,

Please forgive my ignorance on micing strategies, but what's an M/S pattern mic? You educated me on a X/Y pattern, perhaps you could do the same on the M/S.

The issue that we'll have is that the bells are in a straight line directly infront of a row or parrisioners (SP?) Perhaps we could use a boom mic or something like that from the rear of church (~85 ft away).

Thank you very much for all your help so far!

Signed,
Dazed and Confused in Grand Rapids, MI

[everett_chris]

If I'm reading your question correctly, is this going to be a live recording? If so, good luck, you'll need it. I've been in this same situation for three years in a row, and have yet to get a decent recording. I would beg, grovel and whine to get them record in a separate session, without any one in the room, and set up like Nika suggests. If you are forced into a live recording situation, use as many microphones as you can get away with, as close as you can, while still getting decent coverage.

[michaelhoddy]

Mid-Side is a stereo technique which uses a figure-8 capsule and a directional capsule to create a stereo matrix, which must be then decoded by an M/S decoder. That's the broad and incomplete one-sentence explanation...

For handbells, I'd tend toward a pair of spaced omnis, simply because bells need some decent interaction with the acoustics of the room to sound properly, and because this will tend to provide an evenness of response across the bell line that I've never gotten with more directional mics. Depending on how "live" your room is, I wouldn't get too far from the bells with the mics, so as to preserve the transient response.

[Scott Gould]

I've had good luck micing handbells from above. LD condensers 3 or 4 feet above the bellringers' heads, one mic for every 2 or 3 ringers (4 - 6 bells). Spaced omnis might do well, but if you don't have a lot of time to set and check various positions, you'll probably end up with imaging problems.

Scott

[michaelhoddy]

For a large bell choir (say, 5 octaves), that's quite a few LD mics! I'd imagine that you can make the stereo image be whatever you want it to be that way. What kind of mics do you use, and with what pattern?

[Scott Gould]

Well, I've never had to record a group that big, but I think I'd limit the number of mics - maybe 6 or 8 - and move them higher. Mics would be: AT4050, TLM103, C414, M149 (if you have access to 'em) usually in cardioid, though I have put the 4050s on the outside of the group in figure 8 if I need more room sound.

Scott