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Location Recording

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Classical music can benefit enormously from location recording.  Leaving aside performance, three of the most important factors that govern the quality of recorded sound are the acoustic of the recording venue, and the selection and placement of microphones within it.

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Recording classical music on location makes possible this choice of acoustic and has distinct advantages over what the multi-purpose studio is able to offer. Venues can be chosen for the quality of their acoustic and suitability for the particular type and size of ensemble and the music being recorded.  The room itself is used as a tool, and becomes an essential element of the recorded sound.  The importance of this contribution to the sonic and dynamic characteristics of a recording should not be underestimated.

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​Conversely, rooms of multi-purpose studios are all too often of insufficient volume, usually with no reverberation, or offering a reverberation too short in duration and creating sound reflections that are too immediate.  These impoverish the sound from the outset, at the microphone - the very place where it ought to be pristine - resulting in hollow, enclosed and lifeless sounding recordings.  The addition of artificial reverberation and post production manipulation does not fully compensate for the harm already done, or replace  what should be there from the start. 

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If the sound is not right at the microphone, there is little gained at home when sending it through expensive hifi equipment to listeners' ears.

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Additionally, location recording has the practical and economic advantage of bringing the recording studio to the performers; a consideration not to be overlooked.

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For these reasons we at Harlequin specialise in location recording. We like to think of ourselves as having recording studios throughout the country with optimal acoustics available for each type of recording​​.​    

 

"Location, Location, Location" - a maxim we appreciate, and to which we subscribe.​

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