Mario Martinez Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Once more I am coming back to the forum to share our latest work with you all. Many of you already know about our research and have greatly contributed to making it work with your valuable feedback. I am extremely grateful for this so I would love to share this last work with you which I think represents the summit of what our technology is able to do. This particular album with sextets for piano and winds by Ravel, Poulenc and Françaix, will be released on February 19th 2020, but as of right now it will be available to all AS members as a free master file (24/96) download. All you have to do is ask and I will be happy to send you a gift code to download the album. Of course, as always, feedback is welcome but not mandatory to receive and enjoy your album Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
Mario Martinez Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 For those who do not know about our project, these recordings are all made with just two mics. No mixing and mastering involved. Just a stereo pickup and a calibrated system to produce the most transparent possible sound. You can read about it at: http://www.playclassics.com/trtsound Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
mansr Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I quite liked the previous Harmonie du Soir recording, so that's a yes please from me for another one. Link to comment
firedog Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I've found your recordings to be top notch, so I'd love to hear another. Question: I know it probably can't be done, but is there any way your techniques - or something similar could be applied to a symphony orchestra in a hall? Main listening (small home office): Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments. Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three . Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup. Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. All absolute statements about audio are false Link to comment
Mario Martinez Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 1 hour ago, firedog said: I've found your recordings to be top notch, so I'd love to hear another. Question: I know it probably can't be done, but is there any way your techniques - or something similar could be applied to a symphony orchestra in a hall? I am sure it could be done... I would love to try something like that. But we would need the collaboration of the hall owner plus way more funding that what we now have. The difficulty about this methodology is setting up the hall and recording chain to calibrate things to eliminate human interference in the post production process. We would need access to the venue for long extensive periods of time to try to get everything to work, but after that, if everything works out correctly it would be just the same as in our studio, but with enough space to fit an orquestra :) Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
phosphorein Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Your previous offerings were excellent; include me as well. Link to comment
mansr Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I gave this new album a listen. Superb, as always. Mario Martinez 1 Link to comment
semente Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Hi Mario, That's one cool cover. May I have a link please? Best, Ricardo Mario Martinez 1 "Science draws the wave, poetry fills it with water" Teixeira de Pascoaes HQPlayer Desktop / Mac mini → Intona 7054 → RME ADI-2 DAC FS (DSD256) Link to comment
gmgraves Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 4 hours ago, Mario Martinez said: For those who do not know about our project, these recordings are all made with just two mics. No mixing and mastering involved. Just a stereo pickup and a calibrated system to produce the most transparent possible sound. You can read about it at: http://www.playclassics.com/trtsound Your previous piano releases were excellent and your "Angel Cabrera plays Debussy" is without doubt the finest, most realistic piano recording I've ever heard, bar none! So, Mario, I would be pleased to get a copy of your latest work. Regards George Graves Mario Martinez 1 George Link to comment
Popular Post gmgraves Posted February 2, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 2, 2020 2 hours ago, firedog said: I've found your recordings to be top notch, so I'd love to hear another. Question: I know it probably can't be done, but is there any way your techniques - or something similar could be applied to a symphony orchestra in a hall? I recorded The San Jose (CA) Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Georg Cleve using pretty much the same technique that Mario uses for years (two-mike stereo microphone technique). So, I'd say absolutely and the results were jaw-dropingly real. the method yielded a wide, deep soundstage with spooky accurate image specificity. Every instrument located across the soundstage in the exact spot in the sound field that they occupied on the venue's stage. But I'd still like to hear what Mario has to say in answer to your query. Mario Martinez, Mike Rubin and semente 2 1 George Link to comment
Mario Martinez Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 15 minutes ago, semente said: Hi Mario, That's one cool cover. May I have a link please? Best, Ricardo I should give the musicians all the credit for the cover, it was their idea from the start :) semente 1 Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
WAM Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Hello Mario, What a nice gesture! May I have a link? Link to comment
patagent Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I would like to give a listen. Thanks Link to comment
firedog Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Mario- Are your recordings going to be distributed outside of your website or on streaming services? Main listening (small home office): Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments. Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three . Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup. Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. All absolute statements about audio are false Link to comment
chrille Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 On 2/2/2020 at 11:40 AM, Mario Martinez said: Once more I am coming back to the forum to share our latest work with you all. Many of you already know about our research and have greatly contributed to making it work with your valuable feedback. I am extremely grateful for this so I would love to share this last work with you which I think represents the summit of what our technology is able to do. This particular album with sextets for piano and winds by Ravel, Poulenc and Françaix, will be released on February 19th 2020, but as of right now it will be available to all AS members as a free master file (24/96) download. All you have to do is ask and I will be happy to send you a gift code to download the album. Of course, as always, feedback is welcome but not mandatory to receive and enjoy your album Yes please ! Link to comment
Mario Martinez Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Here is a sketch with the position of the musicians during the recording sessions. From left to right French horn, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon. The person in red represents the placement of the mics. Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
chrille Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 57 minutes ago, Mario Martinez said: Here is a sketch with the position of the musicians during the recording sessions. From left to right French horn, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon. The person in red represents the placement of the mics. Muchas Gracias por, the free the download, yes this is the image and soundstage I get via my two big electrostatic speakers in my listening room. But how big is the recording venue? Is the sketch also showing the actual size and proportions of the recordng venue? I get a rather dry, very direct sound almost as if having,especially the wind instruments,actually playing in my room but the piano clearly behind the winds although a bit coloured by the quite dry?acoustic of the venue where you made the recording. I guess it is a very honest sound to how things sounded live. But the somewhat too dry imho recording make the winds a bit too loud and prominent in my room if I want to hear the piano as loud as and close to how my piano sounds live in my room. The winds dominate too much for my taste. I think I would have put the piano in front of the winds if I had made the recording myself, and in a more reverberant acoustic. Wind instruments project more than a piano imho, or maybe I am just biased because I wanted to compare the piano to how my own piano sounds in my room. I'll have to find the sheet music for the Ravel and learn some of it and again compare how it will sound on my piano. Very inspiring to hear it played so well. Cheers and thanks a lot Chrille Link to comment
semente Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, chrille said: Muchas Gracias por, the free the download, yes this is the image and soundstage I get via my two big electrostatic speakers in my listening room. But how big is the recording venue? I get a rather dry very direct sound almost as if having,especially the wind instruments,actually playing in my room but the piano clearly behind the winds although a bit coloured by the quite dry?acoustic of the venue where you made the recording. I guess it is a very honest sound to how things sounded live. But the somewhat too dry imho recording make the winds a bit too loud and prominent in my room if I want to hear the piano as loud as and close to how my piano sounds live in my room. The winds dominate too much for my taste. I think I would have put the piano in front of the winds if I had made the recording myself, and in a more reverberant acoustic. Wind instruments project more than a piano imho, or maybe I am just biased because I wanted to compare the piano to how my own piano sounds in my room. I'll have to find the sheet music for the Ravel and learn some of it and again compare how it will sound on my piano. Very inspiring to hear it played so well. Cheers and thanks a lot Chrille Perhaps the piano in the recording sounds distant because the recording was made from an audience and not a player's perspective. "Science draws the wave, poetry fills it with water" Teixeira de Pascoaes HQPlayer Desktop / Mac mini → Intona 7054 → RME ADI-2 DAC FS (DSD256) Link to comment
Mario Martinez Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, chrille said: But how big is the recording venue? This question did come up during our first thread back on 2015 :) Here is the explanation: Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
Mario Martinez Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 About the balance between winds and piano the old post also mentions that we are not using a 9 foot grand. Back then we used a 7 foot grand like it says in the post, and one year later on 2016 we got a new piano that also was a 7 foot grand. All 12 recordings in our catalogue (plus this one that we are listening to) have been made with 7 foot grands. 9 foot pianos are more suited to play in large halls. Their color or sound is not necessarily better, they are just more powerful. We have tried both sizes in our room and for our purposes we always chose the 7 footers. That might also have to do with the way you are perceiving the balance. Besides this, there is always the fact that different systems/rooms emphasize different parts of the spectrum. It would be interesting to know how others perceive this balance... Mario Martínez Recording Engineer and Music Producer Play Classics, classical music at its best Link to comment
chrille Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 25 minutes ago, Mario Martinez said: About the balance between winds and piano the old post also mentions that we are not using a 9 foot grand. Back then we used a 7 foot grand like it says in the post, and one year later on 2016 we got a new piano that also was a 7 foot grand. All 12 recordings in our catalogue (plus this one that we are listening to) have been made with 7 foot grands. 9 foot pianos are more suited to play in large halls. Their color or sound is not necessarily better, they are just more powerful. We have tried both sizes in our room and for our purposes we always chose the 7 footers. That might also have to do with the way you are perceiving the balance. Besides this, there is always the fact that different systems/rooms emphasize different parts of the spectrum. It would be interesting to know how others perceive this balance... Hello again Mario, and thanks for your reply. My observations made in my listening room and via speakers were not really intended as criticism. It sounds like a very honest non manipulated well made,non compressed recording. But my system and room which is quite furnished with a sofa and armchairs and lots of bookshelves curtains and pillows, adds very little of its own acoustic to recordings so I suspect your recording room is a bit dryish with rather short reverberation time? Or is my guess wrong? And if winds are in front of the piano they will of course sound as being in front of the piano in a realistic recording. I was just mentioning my personal preferences balance wise. I really liked your solo piano recordings too. I will listen to the tracks later tonight via headphones to hopefully get even closer to the actual acoustic of the venue you recorded in. Do you have any photos of the venue? Anyway, wonderful version of Ravel's Slow movement especially. I will use it a LOT to learn how to play it on my own. The intro is soo beautiful and was not too difficult to play for me. Thanks a lot for leading me to it with a VERY good example of how to play it. PS I wouldn't mind seeing your studio maybe this year if you have anything planned. I have photographed for several other classical music labels. I haven't been to Spain for years. With the "Corona Virus" currently hitting Asia I am possibly replanning my travel plans a bit this year. Cheers Chrille. Link to comment
chrille Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 3 hours ago, semente said: Perhaps the piano in the recording sounds distant because the recording was made from an audience and not a player's perspective. Yes of course ,but so are the wind instruments. And in my system at least they tend to overpower the piano a bit more than I would ideally like. A direct result of the way they were in FRONT of the piano. Imho there is a very good reason why winds are behind strings in virtually all orchestral recordings. And also why the piano is always put in front of the orchestra in Concerto recordings. You don't really need to spot-mic it if it is placed in front but most engineers do so anyway which often renders a similar effect as the winds do in this recording. Anyway, I am pretty sure this recording is very honest and close to how things sounded live. I just happen to want to hear a bit more of the piano. One way of getting more of the instruments behind others without resorting to spotmiking is to elevate the mics a bit. I don't know how high the mics were in this recording. But I guess a bit too low for my taste in this case. Cheers Chrille Link to comment
jcn3 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 @Mario Martinez -- would love a copy of download! thank you! (1) holo audio red (hqp naa) > chord dave > luxman cl-38uc/mq-88uc > kef reference 1 (2) simaudio moon mind 2 > chord qutest > luxman sq-n150 > monitor audio gold gx100 Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now