Soon I'll be recording classical guitar and harpsichord together (some duet, some solo pieces by each instrument: Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Bach, Boccherini, Pujol...you get the idea).

It will be in a medium sized, good-acoustic hall (well screened from outside noise and traffic), a small audience close to the stage, no amplification for the guitar (I'm hoping the two instruments will self-balance in the hall acoustic ?)

A permanently-suspended AB pair of Neumann SD omnis is 3.5 metres above the typical conductor podium position, which will capture the general balance plus ambience...but clearly some SD spot mics on each instrument will be required.

I'm thinking a small AB pair of CM3's for guitar and a similar omni pair for the harpsichord should be sufficient for the detail on each ?

If you have any additional tips, or can foresee any pitfalls ahead (particularly in the instrument-pairing/ duet-balance or non-amplification aspect)...please contribute your thoughts and ideas here !

I would bring my own main pair and position it nearer the performance in an appropriately optimal location. And then spot from there as required.

Good point....one size fits all suspensions rarely fit all !

Yeah its going to be quite quiet so extra close would be good.

The Cm3 is a good idea as is omnis on the Harpsichord. For that a sort of AB looking into the side from slightly above works well.

You can try Cm3 there to, had good results with the CM4 on Harpsichord (mostly with bigger ensembles where I wanted to avoid to much other stuff in the harpsichord mics.)

Should be a good gig!

Harpsichords are notorious for easily going out of tune, especially when moved. So it’s worth it to ask if the harpsichord will be properly tuned right before the concert.

i find it difficult (if not impossible) to predict how relatively soft instruments are going to project and hence if they will reach the main mics (and the audience) at more or less equal level; i therefore prefer using spots in almost all situations but especially when recording softer instruments.

another thing to consider when using omnis as mains is 'crowd noise' - and the slight hf bump of (many) neumann sdc's which might be beneficial, not noticeable (much) or detrimental...

Yeah, spot the two instruments each in an appropriate way.

One long time harpsichord player confided in me that the "optimal" (according to him, and he was indeed geek, geek, super geek about it) a singe mic some eight feet up, staring down into the box: if you think of the lid as creating a plane extending out to the ceiling, the mic should be slightly in from this plane.

ORTF up close on the classical guitar, as close as propriety and not-to-disturb the audience allows.

Capture the room for sure-- and then create an artificial reverb that simulates the room.

AND DON'T DARE TELL ANYONE THAT'S WHAT YOU DID!

All helpful and supportive advice from the kindly good gents here….much appreciated !

Re. Joel’s harpsichord spot recommendation…I’ve seen a similar recommendation for piano (but with 2 near-coincident mics) also, so maybe it’s a reasonably safe and general ‘keyboard lid rule’ ?

It has been my experience that many harpsichordists tune their own instruments right before the gig (perhaps because they go out of tune so readily). Whether this is a positive thing or not depends...

I think spot mic-ing a harpsichord with cards is appropriate for a continuo, where you may want to 'dial it in' to the mix. ; for solo harpsicord, or perhaps with a guitar as described here, I like spaced omnis at a distance, on an imaginary line from the back corner of the manual through the 'rose', as once described by our esteemed member @ apotheosis .

Yes, top Harpsichordists are not going to be playing at 440 Hz and not in equal temperament.

Might want to mention that to the guitar player!

I actually find harpsichord tuning quite relaxing. Lots of fun counting "beats".

Of course a harpsichord will get proper tuning, and yes they might be in 440 ET or in something else. I assume the guitar player and harpsichordist will have played together before actually going on stage, so I don't see any relevance of posting these comments here.

In orchestral situations, I mostly mono spot the harpschord -- the only thing you'd mostly want there is a little bit of consonants, articulation, not the actual sound which would sound pasted on in any case. Any large membrane will do there -- my preference is a TLM67 on most instruments.

I chamber situations, I tend to go for two omnis quite narrow and quite close -- KM183 is a good pair for this in my experience, depending on the type of instrument. You mostly want, as before, some articulation, but also some more resonance and bass support, which you don't need in most orchestral situations. Going closer avoids bleed from other instruments, but don't mix in too much. Balance should still be what the main pair (in a good position) gives, you only want to slightly enhance the detail and 'flesh' in the sound.

In a solo setting, or duo as here, spotting gets more tricky. A main omni pair (or subcardioid if you must) will always sound more natural than any combination of perspectives. Given that harpsichord and guitar will probably be nicely in balance, I think a well-placed main pair should do. If the guitar player is in front of the harpsichordist, you might even consider a single main pair (NOS does it better for me than ORTF, but that is a matter of taste) of cardioids to have a less extreme depth difference -- except when the harpsichord is overly bright, then you will not need that. If not, one might consider ribbons as spots to avoid getting too much brightness -- or large diaphragm cardioids for a bit slower transients. Don't go too extreme in the panning -- keep it realistic.

But it all depends on a good main pair in a good position. Going too close on a harpichord will exaggerate the plucking/dampening noise (or worse, the keyboard action rattle) -- similar to fret noises on a plucky -- these noises project much less into a hall than the actual sound, so relying mostly on spots will seldomly give a realistic image. Next to that, the whole body of the harpsichord resonates, and you need distance for that to get captured. Too much spot will cancel that.

Good luck!
K

It’s not prudent to assume that everyone understands the proper maintenance of a harpsichord. I once attended a conservatory student concert that included a harpsichord. The administrator in charge of scheduling the keyboard technicians had failed to provide for a pre-concert check. Someone on the keyboard staff noticed this, and warned the administrator that the harpsichord needed tuning before the concert. The administrator ignored the warning. The predictable result was an out of tune harpsichord during the concert.

Never underestimate an ignorant bureaucrat’s ability to botch even the most obvious things.

I would love to try KM183 pair on a Harpsichord as apotheosis suggests, instinct says that would work well.

On reflection I realise that when I tune the harpsichord there is an element of "that will do" , I doubt it ends up in a any formal temperament!

I never understand the lack of Harpsichord love from keyboard players, it is a lot more interesting than a boring piano IMHO.

And having worked in Academic places there is nothing that can surprise me on that front, especially if its a public facing event. They just don't grasp the concept of reputational damage and ignore all warnings from people who actually know stuff.