Mic Archive

Instrument

Crash cymbals (orchestral pair)

Peaks up close
up to 137 dB SPL
Sources
5 (5 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

13 setups from 5 sources, 5 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio

Main pair or array

  • Decca tree1 independent source
  • Decca tree (valve omnis)1 independent source
  • main microphones (type not named)3 independent sources

Close

  • close microphones (vintage ribbon and valve mics among the positions)2 independent sources
  • stereo close pair2 independent sources

Room

  • room pair2 independent sources

Overhead

  • large-diaphragm condensers (section overhead)1 independent source
The 13 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Main pair or array main microphones (type not named)
    main, mics where the conductor would normally stand, so the hall acoustic is heard (piatti among the instruments)
    The mics were positioned where the conductor would normally stand, which means the hall's acoustic is discernible1
  • Main pair or array 3 × Decca tree (two trees)
    main, two Decca trees, plus mid and ambient positions (piatti 21, 19 and 17 in)
    The mic positions include close, mid and ambient, two Decca Trees, vintage ribbon and valve mics2
  • Close close microphones (vintage ribbon and valve mics among the positions)
    close, close position among the library's mic positions
    The mic positions include close, mid and ambient, two Decca Trees, vintage ribbon and valve mics2
  • Main pair or array 3 × Decca tree
    main, Decca tree at the front of the room and high above (Cymbal Pairs folder)
    at the front of the room and high above (using a Decca tree)3
  • Close 2 × stereo close pair
    pair, stereo mics directly in front of the section
    the Close microphones. These samples were recorded with the stereo mics directly in front of each instrumental section.3
  • Room 2 × room pair
    room, mics away from the players for the room's natural ambience
    away from the instrumentalists (to capture the room's natural ambience)3
  • Main pair or array 3 × Decca tree (valve omnis)
    main, Decca tree of classic valve omnis, plus outriggers (piatti x3)
    A decca tree formed of Abbey Road's finest trio of classic valve omnidirectional microphones4
  • Overhead large-diaphragm condensers (section overhead)
    overhead, set of LDCs above the percussion section
    A set of large diaphragm condenser microphones above the orchestral section4
  • Close 2 × close ribbon pair
    pair, close ribbon pair
    A pair of close ribbon mics capturing a rounded and detailed image.4
  • Room 2 × small-diaphragm omni pair (ambients)
    room, pair at the rear of the room
    A pristine pair of small diaphragm omnidirectional microphones to the rear of the room4
  • Close close microphone
    close, mono close mic
    Close Mic - Mono5
  • Close 2 × mid-layer pair
    pair, stereo mid-layer mic
    Mid Layer Mic - Stereo (L/R)5
  • Main pair or array 3 × Decca tree
    main, Decca tree as main/room mic (12 mics in all in the full library)
    Main/Room Mic - Decca Tree Stereo (L/R) ... Decca Tree Mono (Center)5

Frequency bands

low ring300 Hz – 600 Hzpeaks near 490-530 Hz
crash800 Hz – 11 kHzbroadband; loudest 1.5-5 kHz
air11 kHz – 20 kHzfalls to -37 dB at 20 kHz

Own analysis: 1/3-octave band levels of the first second after the hit (dB re loudest band), plus a 12 ms attack window and spectral peak picking. A band is listed where the level stays within about 10-15 dB of the loudest band (weaker bands are given with their level). "tone" = clear spectral peaks; "noise" = dense or broadband energy. Measured from: VSCO 2 CE cymbal-crash1_mf_rr1 (also ff).

Sounds it makes

Crash (let ring)full, long
Seccodamped on the chest: short, dry
Rollplates shaken or rapidly clashed
Strisciatoplates slid: hissing

The sound

Two plates clashed together excite hundreds of closely spaced modes, which merge into noise above a few hundred Hz.

Recording it

Playing techniques

How loud

Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.

Peaks
137 dB or more(C)at the player (exposure context); UK Sound Advice guidance text: peak noise from percussion, e.g. snare drum or cymbal clash, may exceed the 137 dB upper exposure action value secondary6

Sources

  1. Sound On Sound: London Orchestral Percussion review (Dave Stewart, Oct 2002)magazine · soundonsound.com
  2. Sound On Sound: Spitfire Audio Abbey Road Orchestra: Metal Percussion review (Dave Stewart, Oct 2023)magazine · soundonsound.com
  3. EastWest: Hollywood Orchestral Percussion Diamond Edition user manual (engineer Shawn Murphy), mic positions pp. 34, 40engineer · media.soundsonline.com
  4. Spitfire Audio: Abbey Road Orchestra: Metal Percussion (engineer Simon Rhodes, Abbey Road Studio One), mics and mixesengineer · spitfireaudio.com
  5. Vienna Symphonic Library: Synchron Cymbals & Gongs III (piatti, Sabian 20 in, Synchron Stage A)engineer · vsl.co.at
  6. Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)eclass-b.uoa.gr
  7. Vienna Symphonic Library Academy: Cymbals (pair)educational · vsl.co.at