Instrument
Gamelan
Indonesian ensemble of tuned metal gongs and metallophones (gender, bonang, peking, saron), drums, and often rebab, flute and voices; sizes from 7 or 8 players to over 30. Javanese pelog and slendro tunings differ between ensembles. Balinese instruments are built in pairs tuned slightly apart to produce "ombak" beating (Wikipedia).
- Sources
- 3 (3 independent)
Mics sources recommend
3 setups from 3 sources, 3 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
Spot
- many condensers, spot-miked; figure-8 and hypercardioid on small instruments1 independent source
Main pair or array
- Neumann KM 1841 independent source
Contact
- Trance Audio Inducer1 independent source
The 3 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Spot many condensers, spot-miked; figure-8 and hypercardioid on small instrumentsspot mics per instrument, smooth-top-end mic on rebab
Javanese gamelan spot-miked with lots of condensers; figure-8 and hypercardioid on small instruments for isolation (search-result summary).
1 - Main pair or array 2 × Neumann KM 184ensemble stereo pair at 2.5, 3 and 3.5 m from ensemble midpoint; NOS preferred
Pair of KM184 compared in XY, NOS, ORTF and AB at 2.5-3.5 m; NOS was the most preferred technique.
2 - Contact Trance Audio Inducercontact, on the bowed metal ugal keys (experimental bowed technique, cello bow across the key edge)
Instead of a conventional microphone, a Trance Audio Trance Inducer contact mic was used. The metal Ugal keys were bowed using a standard cello bow.
3
Range
No range for the whole ensemble. Lowest instrument: a fine gong ageng in the Nusantara Museum, Delft, measured at a 44.5 Hz fundamental (Wikipedia). Highest not found.4
Where the sound goes
Many sources spread across a floor. Spot miking gives separation; stereo gives the blended character and imaging (SciTePress).
Recording it
An Indonesian study compared XY, NOS, ORTF and AB stereo pairs of Neumann KM 184 at 2.5, 3 and 3.5 m from the ensemble midpoint; NOS was the most preferred, with a questionnaire among listeners (professional categories split). A Gearspace summary says engineers spot-miked Javanese gamelan with many condensers, using figure-8 and hypercardioid on small instruments for isolation; bleed adds atmosphere; seat the players as they prefer; the rebab (fiddle) needs a mic with a smooth top.
About the range
Each instrument family has its own range; no single range. Not researched further.
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.
| Playing level | |
|---|---|
| 77–108 dB | at five measuring points around the gamelan (corners and centre), meter inside the playing area; no distance stated; Balinese gamelan (gong kebyar) played by karawitan (gamelan) students during practice at ISI Denpasar, measured 16-27 Sept 2013; thesis says the sound had 'very fast fluctuation' especially in gong kebyar playing. Group of 73 students.5,5 |
| 88–100 dB | at the measuring points around the gamelan; no distance stated; Gamelan gender wayang (small Balinese shadow-play ensemble) heard by pedalangan (puppetry) students at ISI Denpasar, measured Sept 2013. Group of 22 students.5,5 |
| 85–90 dB | at the measuring points around the gamelan; no distance stated; Daily exposure of dance and sendratasik (drama) students at ISI Denpasar from the gamelan accompanying them, measured Sept 2013. Group of 71 students.5,5 |
| 90–115 dB | not stated; Abstract of the same thesis (E-Jurnal Medika Udayana 2014): the noise intensity of Balinese gamelan 'in one type of its tabuh (playing)' is between 90 and 115 dB. secondary6,5 |
| 90.55–100.76 dB | not stated (average intensity per instrument); Thesis Table 2.3 quoting 'PGPKT Bali, 2013' (a measurement at SMK Seni Sukawati, a Balinese arts high school) of average intensity per gamelan instrument: gangsa pemade 100.76 dB, gong 96 dB, jegogan 95.6 dB, jublag 90.55 dB, kemong 100.27 dB. secondary5,5 |
| 95–106.3 dB | in the noisy working environment of the players (no distance stated); Barong dance gamelan players (penabuh tari barong) with 10 or more years' service and no hearing protection, in a study by Ayu-Wiastiti (2008) cited in Tantana's discussion; 70% had noise-induced hearing loss versus 5% of controls. secondary5 |
No gamelan figure found.
Sources
- Gearspace: Recording a Gamelan ensemble
- Sebastian and Simanjuntak (2019), Study of Preference for Stereo Recording Techniques of a Pelog-based Gamelan Gender, Bonang, and Peking Ensemble, ICONARTIES
- Soniccouture: Bowed Gamelan (sample library)
- Wikipedia: Gong ageng
- Tantana, O.: Hubungan antara jenis kelamin, intensitas bising, dan masa paparan dengan risiko terjadinya gangguan pendengaran akibat bising Gamelan Bali pada mahasiswa Fakultas Seni Pertunjukan (master's thesis, Universitas Udayana; full-text PDF of the E-Jurnal Medika Udayana article)
- E-Jurnal Medika Udayana 3(3): Hubungan antara Jenis Kelamin, Intensitas Bising, dan Masa Paparan dengan Risiko Terjadinya Gangguan Pendengaran akibat Bising Gamelan Bali (article page with abstract)