Unlike the last few albums I recorded, this was a pretty small instrumentation consisting of just three string chairs, two reeds, two brass chairs, piano, bass, and drums/perc. We would usually record this type of ensemble in a medium sized room, but because of various scheduling issues, we decided to record this one at Avatar studio A, which is quite big. This session presented a chance for me to experiment a bit, since I was working with a small band and a large room, and because, unlike my usual tracking dates, we recorded the band tracks first, and the vocals later. This gave me a chance to focus in on the band sound a bit more. I got to separate the musicians more than usual, play around with different miking techniques, and generally take the time to be more creative. In the hectic world of Broadway cast album recording, this is a rare opportunity.
I’m happy with the way the recording turned out, although it became apparent that having a large room is not always a benefit. Comparing the sound I got on this record to others of similar scope which I recorded in smaller rooms, I have to say that when the recording space gets larger than what usually fits the band, it doesn’t necessarily make the sound better. Yes, you get more separation, but a large room sound doesn’t necessarily support a medium sized band the way a medium sized room sound would. The moral of this is that bigger isn’t always better, and this is a lesson I learned twice during the making of this album.
The other case of “bigger isn’t always better” had to do with the sample rate used to record this album. Because the total track count was smaller than our usual Broadway recording, I decided to record this one at 88.2 instead of going with my standard 44.1 sample rate choice. For the type of recording that I usually do for PS Classics, it’s imperative that there is no downtime during the tracking sessions. We don’t want any silly DAE errors. This, in addition with the fact that my home studio computer isn’t that fast always has me choosing the regular 44.1 sample rate, but I decided to go with an HD option this time.
During the mixing process, I have to admit that I didn’t really notice any increase in fidelity. I decided to do a simple test to see if I can tell the difference between the two sample rates. I exported one of the songs from the album in the 44.1 format, and printed a mix. When listening to the two mixes back to back, I thought I could tell a slight difference, but I wasn’t quite sure that it was real. So I did a blind A/B test to see if I could tell the difference between the original 88.2 version and the new 44.1 version. In the blind test, I batted 50%. The verdict was in: I didn’t hear the difference. Granted that this wasn’t the most scientific test in the world, and there are many variables that I didn’t consider, but for now, I think I’ll stick to the good ol’ 44.1. My computer definitely runs better at that rate. For me, this again proves that bigger ain’t always better.
If you have any experiences with comparing sample rates, do leave a comment below, I’d love to hear what you think.
