Hollywood Strings??

[stevesound]

Hi,

I'm recording a small string section in a couple of weeks for an acoustic rock song. The arrangement is
kind of a lush hollywood thing and I am looking for advice on how to achieve the sound of a large section with a small section. I'll have 3 violins and a viola and I'll be recording in a nice wooden live room. I was going to try 2/3 takes and put them all together. Someone recently suggested recording
the strings with mutes on the bridges, aparently this gives a lusher sound, particularly if recorded in a wooden room. Any ideas???

Thanks!

[Rock_Artist]

Here are some ideas/thoughts from my current work.
I've tried to get a philharmonic orchestra (58 players, missing 4 basses )

1. Arrangement - As long as it's powerful, not to stressed and without too much multi-stops / complicated multi-stops (I guess your session players are good but it'll be prima vista and they won't be LSO standard or so...)

2. Tune
The advantage of recording a section is that they're more in-tune and in-time together than recording them separately.

The advantage of recording a single part is usually the ability to change the pitch and fix it.
High-end strings are more in-tune and sound more together.

3. You're missing Cellos and CBs if I read correctly.
CBs has lowend with amazing impact - great for adding impact.

4. Position -
Use your room for the doubles.
Create gaps between the players (position) and each take change to the a new location (they'll be a "different" player within the space) so you'll get different reverberation and sound of the room / instrument.

5. Convolution !
TL Native Space, IR1, AltiVerb...
All has some great space to help you "smooth" the performance to sound in the right space you'd expect big orchestra to be recorded.

One great thing in TL Space I've used is the capture of the same hall in different place.
So I can have a close miking and far miking to get bigger control of the sound with 2 TL Spaces...

6.
Sordino (mutes on bridges) does makes a lusher sound...
Check it out. and inform the players because from my experience players don't carry mutes as a standard.

GOOD LUCK! Hope you'll get what you want

[stevesound]

thanks for the advice. That's a nice (and obvious) tip about moving the players between takes, makes perfect sense! I think I'll close and room mic them (a/b or x/y). We have quite a bassy track already so we decided to leave those frequencies as is.
Thanks a million!
steve

[Rock_Artist]

Ohh another things I've remembered today as during the mixes I thought - wow this sounds bigger this smaller...

High Notes... many of the "Hollywood" scores (Eg. Craig Armstrong) doubles the 1st violin with the 2nd octave above.
Novice players hate it and won't hit those areas as they DOES sound awful... but if they're just to empower the violins below you get very lushes and powerful sound. (Tune is a must )

[stevesound]

2 octaves up? Good god that's gonna be high!! I'm already around the E5-A5, does that rule that idea out?

cheers,
Steve

[Rock_Artist]

I guess you've misunderstood my non-native english.

I meant something like:
1st Violin(s) - A5
2nd Violin(s) - A4
Doubling 2nd violin one octave up.

[stevesound]

wonderful, that's a great idea! sorry for mix up.

thanks again for the help.