Classical Recording

Chapter 8

The Decca Tree

There are many methods that can be used to capture the main body of an orchestra’s sound (usually referred to as the ‘main pickup’), and the stereo methods outlined in Chapter 3 can be used as an overall orchestral pickup. However, none of these approaches the real-world dominance of the Decca Tree for classical or film orchestral recording. Although there are plenty of voices that raise objections to the use of spaced microphones in favour of co-incident techniques, the warmth of the extended LF pickup of omnidirectional microphones and the lush and spacious string sound that is obtained with the Decca Tree mean that the technique is favoured in the commercial world. At Abbey Road, a core Decca Tree array of three ...