Peter McGrath

Given the nature of how I record, more so perhaps than most, because, Rick, I have always believed in minimal micing, which means that I'm sort of using the sound by positioning instruments relative to each other, by position, to try and get a balance with a pair or maybe four mics or whatever, but as minimal as possible.

So therefore, how they're interacting with each other and the room becomes an incredibly important component.

A lot of times with multi-miking, you can minimize the effect of the room.

You just go in close and, God forbid, even add a room to it later, vis-a-vis whatever DSP you want.

But my approach is born out of maybe ignorance or simplicity, but it's what I've always done.

If it's in a concert situation, I try not to mess with it, because the primary purpose of their doing what they're doing is for them to be comfortable in the concert setting, and I don't want to get in the way of their doing what they do.

So I have to make decisions about altering my technique of what mic to use or where to put them.

I just did a recording of the Jerusalem Street Quartet.

Normally I would do things with a pair of spaced Omnis, because they give me a beautiful sense of air, but they were really, really, really tight.

And the room was not a good room.

And so I went in, Rick, with an AKG C24, which is a classic blue-blind mic, and I almost put it inside of them.

And when you hear the playback, it's like they're right here.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

It was not additive and, frankly, in some ways, best ignored to minimize the effect of it.

And that's a totally different sound of a string quartet

than typically I would capture in a great room.

And sometimes they sit a little bit too close of an arc.

I might ask them to expand the arc if they are comfortable.

And if not, I'm fine with that.