Decca Tree, Ex. A, One Violinist

TOR / ODESSA Montreal / Subject 1 / Anatomy of a Mix / Decca Tree / Example A

This system would capture the blended sound of not only the violin section but the entire orchestra, if there was anyone else with which to blend.The Decca Tree captures the position of the violinist in context. In its image, the violin is situated to the left of center, as the concertmaster sits relatively close to the conductor. However, some reflected sound in the hall seems to be creating a slight jetting effect. Unlike the spot mic, the Decca tree collects less detailed sound from an individual violin, and instead has a balance of both the direct instrument sound and the room. The quality of the captured violin sound is significantly different here, and contains the high frequencies other perspectives have sorely lacked. From this perspective, the concertmaster's breaths are less pronounced, but still very much audible in the recording. With reverberant sound now in the mix, we are hearing the musician, the instrument, and the room.