[Naagzh]

I usually do the garage band thing myself, but once I recorded a wedding trio making a demo in order to give to brides. Anyways, I set them up in the nicest, biggest, best-sounding room in the house, stuck a 57 on the violin, a 57 on the viola, and a 421 on the cello. Sounded like crap.

So I stuck two condensers in the room about 8 feet away in an XY pattern, and used the close micing just to touch up the tone and balance out the levels. Things were getting better but then I told them to PLAY INTO the stereo mic pair. Actually VISUALIZE the music going into those mics. I swear the performances and the sound got much better.

So that's my "fish out of water" story. Gleam what you will.

Definitely use your best 2 large diaphragm condensers as your stereo mics, and close-mic with 57s or your other more directional mics (however, I suggest you don't point the mics directly at the sound holes on the instruments, because you may get proximity effect, and your levels may peak too easily). Experiment with different setups in the room. Mid/side is good, but you'll hear it when the mics are in a good spot. Also, I suggest you try the D112 on the upright bass, just to hear it. If it sounds good, try a large diaphragm mic just to compare.

Also, if you have enough channels, set up a room mic in an adjacent room around the corner or some other place, for a softer room sound. You may be able to use this track as a natural reverb. Use a mic with its high pass filter engaged (the KSM32 has one I think).

Naagzh