Guide to Amplifying Wind Ensembles

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to provide all you need as a music director to get you started with amplifying your wind ensembles.

The guide is broken down into three Tiers to help you get started regardless of the equipment you may have or plan to get. Since most Wind Ensembles perform concerts, the main focus will be on capturing and recording your ensembles regardless of where they may be performing. However, occasionally there are situations where you need to amplify your ensemble such as an outdoor performance or festival, this guide will also help you get started with amplifying your ensemble.

Tier 1

Techniques and Placement

XY (Coincident)

NOS (Near Coincident)

AB (Spaced Pair)

Tier 2

Techniques and Placement

Tier 1

Tier 1 focuses on just getting a great sound using at least two microphones and therefore looks very similar to that of Tier 2 from the recording section.

Techniques and Placement

XY (Coincident)

XY is a great way of amplifying small to medium sized ensembles. You get both a focused ensemble center while still recording the left and right sides of the ensembles. For this method you will:

Need two Cardioid microphones angled 90 degrees toward each other
- (Can be mounted on two separate stands or on one stand using a stereo bar)
Place the array 2-3 feet above the conductors head
Aim the microphones toward the middle of the ensemble

NOS (Near Coincident)

Similar to the XY method in that it uses two directional microphones, NOS is great for larger ensembles as it captures a larger stereo separation compared to XY. For this method you will:

Need two Cardioid microphones spaced 11.8 inches apart and angled 90 degrees apart.
Suspend microphones 2-3 feet above the conductor
Aim the microphones at the center of the ensemble.

AB (Spaced Pair)

An AB setup is great for achieving a wider stereo image while not having to worry too much about aiming the microphones. However, because this method traditionally uses omni microphones, you might encounter more wind noise as well as some crowd noise. One suggestion is to do the same with directional microphones but not space them as far since they are now more directional. Because this uses two microphones several feet from each other, you will want to make sure they are spaced properly in order to avoid phasing issues (sounds not lining up).For this method you will:

Use two omnidirectional or cardioid microphones, each mounted on their own stand
Place the microphones 10-12 feet apart with you (the conductor) in the center. (6-10 feet if using cardioid)
Raise the microphones 2-3 feet above the conductor's head.

Tier 2

Tier 2 uses more than just two microphones in an effort to more accurately capture the ensemble. Along with using these methods, you may also use a soloist mic in the event of a soloist.

Equipment

Audio Mixer
Microphones (omni or cardioid depending on the technique used)

Techniques and Placement

XY (Coincident)

Exactly the same thing used in Tier 1 but can be expanded with outriggers (side microphones) in order to get a wider stereo field. In order to do this, you will need:

Additional two cardioid microphones
Each outrigger is placed on its own stand
Outriggers are placed at the same height as the main XY and 6-10 feet in both directions from the main array.
Aim the microphones toward the middle of the ensemble and pan hard left and hard right.

Spaced Pair

Similar to the AB setup in Tier 1, however this uses three microphones and is designed at filling in the gap that is created when trying to mic larger ensembles as the microphones are spread too far apart. This is accomplished by adding a center microphone. Cardioid microphones can be used in place omnis in the event there is too much external noise. For this method you will:

Use three omni or cardioid microphones, each mounted on their own stand
The center mic is placed 2-3 feet above the head of the conductor
The outrigger mics are placed at the same height as the center mic, 6-10 feet from the center mic depending on the size of the ensemble.
Good rule of thumb is to try to divide the ensemble into thirds with the microphones.

Soloist Mic

Often, you might play a piece that calls for a featured soloist, when this happens you will want to make sure they are mic’d individually so that they can be brought out in the mix. Please refer to the Individual Instrument section for further information.

Tier 3

Tier 3 is a little different from tier 3 of the recording section. For Tier 3 you will still use the same techniques used in tier 2 but with the addition of spot microphones.(individual or section mics) to get a better mix. Since we are amplifying the ensemble we want to make sure we still have an ensemble sound as opposed to 20+ individual musicians, For that reason the following is recommend:

Place microphones by sections, only add a specific microphone if there is a soloist that is not coming to the front.
When recording woodwinds, place a small diaphragm cardioid microphone in front of the middle of each section about 2-3 feet above the musicians heads pointed at the middle of the section.
Because brass is more directional, using a large diaphragm condenser or omni microphone might help capture the section better.
- Place in front of the section about 1-2 feet above their bells in order to avoid harshness,
- For tubas and euphoniums, place microphone(s) above and off center from their bells.
- For Horns, place microphone(s) behind the section, as far away from the sound as possible. Boundary style microphones can also work great for this purpose.
Percussion is interesting as there are instruments that will get picked up by the main array and smaller toys and aux percussion that could get lost. The most common instruments include: keyboard instruments, timpani, and aux percussion.
- For keyboard instruments, place a small diaphragm condenser mic 3-4 feet above the instrument with the microphone aimed at the center of the instrument
- Both small and large diaphragm condensers can be used for instruments like shakers, wind chimes, wood block, claves etc. Place the microphone in front of the musician with it pointed at them.
- Timpani can be mic’d separately or as a whole unit. In either case, using a large diaphragm microphone above the timpani will yield the best results. Adjust the height in order to focus more on a specific drum or on all of the drums.

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