No confusion. Also who cares about any "rank". I am only interested in sound.

Like I said - you could be über engineer, but since I never heared anything from you, I can't say if I like what you do, while I know about some others here and the commercially succesful ones outside of forum.

One can talk and talk, even write books, but that is no guarantee that another would like his work.

No confusion, very much clear from audio examples and officially released albums.

What’s confusing is whether the audio sample in posting #31 by ISedlacek is using “The” Earcatcher approach…or his derived/perceived variant of it ?

maybe it's time for a few hobbyists here to readjust their compass - at least when they are trying to judge other people's work...

i live in a small country that has no music scene worth mentioning - apart from the fact that it has some very rich patrons and a wealthy audience; accordingly, world-famous musicians, ensembles, orchestras and bands (from different genre) play here regularly.

i didn't want to emigrate but had the ambition to work with these artists, so i chose fields of work in which i thought i had a chance of achieving this goal: broadcasting and live sound.

chance and luck led me to work with leading technicians in their field who worked with exactly the clientele i wanted to work with and whom i served as an assistant.

even before my first official day at work, i was fortunate to attend recordings with pierre boulez - in the 40+ years since then, i have been able to work with pretty much every well-known name from the world of classical music, jazz and rock - in various positions: from tea boy to head engineer, from roadie to technical director.

i don't have the slightest idea how many of the thousands of concerts in which i was involved were recorded and how many productions were ultimately released or broadcasted - i don't care (and i don't keep track).

what interests me is continuing to work for people who (in contrast to random acquaintances here on gs) i think are relevant in their respective field - or even far beyond it: yesterday it was his holiness, the 14th dalai lama of tibet in zürich (see pic i posted in another thread), now it's back to luzern (see program on the festival's site).

i wish you all good luck in what you do, be it copying old recipes or developing new super-arrays...

You can only judge work that you hear, not some imaginary self-praise. This is internet, anyone can write whatever they want. When you put a name behind it, a video, an original audio clip, then at least you have some tangible info.

I trust Markus Heiland 1000 times more than some anonymous internet persona. I also know his works, etc.

I don't know what is your aim? To force people to not appreciate their senses? What we hear and like? And be in awe of big words and tall stories?

Edit: Went to check who is this smug guy, does he post anything tangible and found your "bits and pieces" thread... I see you did live sound for Nik Kershaw, my childhood hero! You are allowed to be smug and condescending, now. ������������

i thought this thread was about a particular mic array, no?

any mic array can only get assessed in terms of its practical aspects and suitability for achieving a particular aesthetic goal if it is technically described...

(which afaik was our common interest in this thread)

...so the array can be evaluated over a longer period of time and under different conditions by everyone who's interested, hobbyist or pro!

takes all the musing and guesswork out of the equation...

___


if you happen to be in my area and are interested in a high-profile recording or live broadcast, feel free to get in touch: chances are that you can compare different mic arrays (or even approaches) in parallel (but i doubt the artist or producer will let you post snippets of their work)...

Debating this array seems meaningless indeed, since one cannot judge anything about it.

I heard some nice recordings and got curious, didn't know it was "secret".

I regret starting this thread, it didn't bring much usefulness...

Thanks for the invitation... about posting snippets - I am also interested in what Tourtelot does... There is no harm in posting links to publickly available broadcasts, recorded concerts on Youtube, officially released albums...

I had planned to stay out of this thread after my initial post here, but I agree that further confusion is not desirable (although Ivo may have laughed a bit about the thought to confuse some here ). The array ISedlacek used for his violin recording is not "the" ECA, but some other setup where he used my input as a key element. ISedlacek does have an "official" ECA setup as well, as I made a special holder for him that he can use in case he needs that array, but for solo violin in his studio and for his style of music his needs are different. I am not dogmatic about sound at all: everything that gives you what you were looking for is completely valid as an approach. For the complex sound of the spherical violin some special method was needed and I helped Ivo find it, based on how I record solo violin, or soloist spot capture. Working with Ivo is great fun and we like to exchange ideas of what we think helps getting a better involving sound. I leave it up to him to divulge or not how he did that spherical violin recording; only the "official" ECA is under NDA, for the reasons I gave in my earlier post in this thread.

I propose that he (ISedlacek) therefore immediately names his variant the ‘I said-You said Array’….to differentiate it from the official ECA one !

I meant no harm with this thread, I can understand that we are different and some won't share their ways publickly, but I am interested in some fine recordings you did.

Would you mind sharing a few releases that you find really nice - of different groups, solo violin would be nice, too.

Simply to enjoy them.

PM if you can't publickly.

It is ACE array

Array of 3 mics pairs

Nice, Ivo, but I prefer whatever you did for his album - a bit softer, tiny bit less metallic sound, more direct, yet smooth, warmer sounding reverbs... This is an interesting take, works for the video, just a note - I like the sound on the album, that I checked some time before, a bit better: https://www.savitamusic.com/dreams-about-you

I didn't follow all you do, but since your "ancient" threads comparing DAV, Forssell, different Schoeps mics, etc., I noticed your work and actually got some of your earlier albums - "Garden of Silence" and "Inner Spaces" - I really liked the sound on those - whatever you used for that - it suits the music, produces a soft, soothing and pleasant sound. Natural, 3D, not overly bright.

I am only partially interested in "new age" kind of music, the "intelligent" version of it, but you would be one of the few I like, including Stephan Micus (my favorite), Nawang Khechog, Byron Metcalf, with whom I also collaborated, R.Carlos Nakai for NAF Flutes and Paul Horn - for the flutes and sound in general, oh, and David Hykes and his Harmonic Choir - "Hearing Solar Winds" album specifically... there are some others, but those would be my favorites.

For handpan I don't think I like much else than Nadishana (his technique and musical attitude) and a bit of Kuckhermann and maybe some Nadayana. Too much of it is too cheesy and simplistic (those few overused ubiquitous arpeggio patterns, sloppy playing, etc. ) Your son does fine, also great sound on the album.

I actually did live sound for Nadishana trio in 2012 at one local festival. It was him, Kuckhermann and an amazing bassist Armin Metz (who also played with Imogen Heap, among others).

They were really happy when they realized that the "soundman" not only knows all their instruments, but actually plays them.

They had so many different ("exotic") instruments on stage (different kavals and overtone flutes/fujaras, jews harps, handpans, udu drums, cajon, different frame drums, etc.) and in front of the main set-up, a separate set-up of 4 handpans on stands, that Nadishana and Kuckherman played in one part of the concert...

They were so happy with the sound and attitude that they said, they would take me on tour with them, if they could afford it. That got me thinking a bit - if they "hardly" make it, what's in it for me? But it was in 2012, I think they got a bit bigger, Kuckherman playing with Dead Can Dance and many others, etc. Nadishana becoming handpan guru and one of the big names in contemporary "New age", etc.

Anyway, keep the good work, I always thought your sound is (YOU obviously) , Forssell and a pair of MK2s in a proper place...
I see you experiment more... Good, but... what works, works.

I still didn't figure out how Stpehan Micus records/recorded his stuff - absolutely no interview or info on that - just a note that he is one of the few artists that gets released by ECM and is NOT produced by Eicher.

It sounds super nice to me.

This album being my favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcvAKBLhT5I

This is a specific genre (these 1 hour handpan videos) and it requires this kind of sound

In answer to the original question: "So what actually is the "Earcatcher array"? " -

Effective, very effective.

Is this a "nah nah nah nah nah na, I know what it is and you don't" kind of post?

Nope; attempt at humor.

But from the examples that have been posted, it's certainly true.