ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the recording techniques described in the previous two chapters can be adapted and expanded to handle the task of recording an ensemble in one room with a single ‘dominant’ microphone array. This involves ensemble and venue reconnaissance, mic choice, stereo-array choice, and mic positioning (for overall dry/wet balance, overall width, and per-instrument level/tone/depth/image). Advanced techniques are also introduced, such as combining an array's front and rear pickup; using wide and close AB pairs; taking advantage of multimic dominant arrays for dry/wet control and balance/depth correction; and creating hybrid dominant arrays to combine the sonic attributes of different simpler setups.
