(jan 2007)When the mics arrived I took them out the next
day to record The Trinity Brass Band, a first section Brass
Band based in Wigan Lancs. The venue was a performing arts space
in a local college and my initial reaction was that the venue
would be pretty good as it had the size and height needed for
a decent brass recording. As with all my mobile recordings I
set up the trusty Soundfield first of all and positioned it
about 15 foot back from the band to give me an idea of the general
stereo sound of the room. I then set up a pair of Rode NT5s
in ORTF on a single stand about 8 foot in front of the band
to give me some closer detail and I set up the Hebdens in exactly
the same configuration with their cardioid capsules immediately
at the side of the Rodes to compare them.
Initial reactions where that the Hebden Sound 3020 microphones
were smooth, quiet and accurate and gave a nice warmth that
was just missing slightly in the Rodes. All well and good but
the Hebden Sound mics are about 3 times the price of the Rodes
and with a little tweaking of EQ I could get them sounding pretty
similar. However when I changed to the omni capsules (3010)
the results where instantly very impressive. I have shied away
from using small diaphragm Omnis for stereo recording because
previous experience made me think that it wasn’t flexible
enough. Getting a good result with Spaced
Omnis depends totally on mic placement which isn't always
easy to do in some locations. However the sound of the pair
of Hebdens was instantly very compelling and after a little
experimentation I had a great stereo sound for the band. The
Hebden Sound 3010s are perfect for this kind of recording and
produce a beautiful natural sounding stereo picture with very
accurate balance across the frequencies. They also have a good
output and the two mics were perfectly matched.
Next up was the ideal test for the mics when I went to York
Minster to record a piece in the Chapter House with a small
group of young choristers from the Minster Choir School. The
Hebden Sound 3010s were in their element here and again the
sound was instantly very good. Using spaced omnis really depends
on the room sound on the location and if you have a really nice
sounding ambience then the Hebden Sound microphones can give
you a result that is hard to beat with any mic set up.
The
more I use them the more I like them and now they go out on
every mobile recording session and have become firm favourites
particularly for choral work where I think they can give an
exceptional detailed stereo picture with an impressive smooth
low end. It has been a bit of a revelation for me using a pair
of high quality spaced omnis and I even did the unthinkable
when the Soundfield was being serviced by going over to Birmingham
to record The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir with the
Hebden Sound 3010s as my main pair of mics. JR
(September
2008) The Hebden Sound omnis have become the mic set up of choice
for me when recording a choir and while I still haven't had
the opportunity to compare them to the more established small
diaphragm omnis like the DPA range I am completely sold on these
mics. They have performed faultlessly for the last year and
have given my mobile recordings a sense of space that coincident
pairs or even single fixed piont stereo mics like the mighty
Soundfield can't achieve. I have recently come across
a very nice Jecklin disc and I plan to try out the Hebdens with
the disc on an up coming session. Watch this space!!! JR
(May 2007)About six months ago
I went with JR and the Reelsound mobile to record a choir in
a church in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire and it was the
first time that I had come across the Hebden 3000 mics. The
mobile had just bought a pair of mics with both cardioid and
omni capsules and this was the first time they had been taken
out to a choir recording. Along with the Soundfield, the Hebdens
were set up with the omni capsules and placed as a spaced pair
about 7 feet apart and 10-12 feet in front of the choir. Finally
a pair of Rode NT5s were set up in ORTF around 15 feet directly
in front of the choir.
We monitored all the mics on headphones at the rear of the church
through headphones (not my favourite listening position) but
the differences between the mics was instantly apparent..
The Soundfield provided a stable, full-bodied stereo representation
of the choir and the room and I personally would be happy to
work with this alone in post –production. The Rode NT5s
were entirely as expectected.ie; flattering at the top end but
with limited mid-range integrity and I know from experience
in the studio that they sound great on their own but the sound
quality doesn't carry through to the final mix and mastering
process.
However the Hebden 3010 Omni spaced pair were definitely the
stars of the show for me. The clarity, depth and detail was
quite astonishing. Several times I removed my headphones and
wandered up to the mic position to compare and I felt that they
truly captured what was going on in the room and I was very
keen to get them into the studio at Fairview on a typical session
there.
In the studio we had a drum session to try out a number of different
mics and the omni Hebdens were instantly very compelling as
drum overheads.
To relegate these mics to the task of drum overheads may seem
demeaning given their cost and quality but put them in the right
place and they can bring even the most dead room to life. I
place them over the left and right hand shoulder of the the
drummer pointing down at the kit. In this position they give
not only a satisfying stereo spread of the metalwork but also
provide that all-important “smack” to the snare
and toms which details the hit of the stick on the drum skin.
I have always preferred the sound of a pair of Neumann KM84s
as the drum O/H mics of choice but the Hebdens with their omni
capsules open up the room sound in a very positive way, whilst
maintaining a controlled output which never becomes “boxy”
or small-sounding.
I am now trying to use them on different instuments and recently
used them to record the lovely old Collard & Collard piano
at Fairview. Placed as a spaced pair of omnis 4 feet apart and
about 4 feet at the back of the piano the sound is completely
open and sits in other music tracks very well. Again it’s
down to the mid-range integrity which carries it through to
the final mix when it has to battle against all the other overdubs.
I really like these microphones and am hoping to get a pair
for the studio use in the near future. JS
