Why does an orchestra have many people playing the same instruments? How does it add to the overall performance?
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I am the sound engineer for the San Diego symphony. We mic every instrument when we play outside. That is around 80 microphones. There is no way to recreate that symphonic sound through the PA with just a couple instruments of each section directly miced. We have about 25 violins, 14 violas, 10 cellos, 8 double basses, 10 horns, 10 woodwinds, piano, keyboards,percussion, and usually a guest soloist. We run a full Dante rig with a CL5. During the summer at the pops site we use Digico Sd12 consoles with a L’acoustics PA. When inside the symphony hall we don’t mic for amplification (just recording) because the stage walls are designed for acoustic amplification. For recording we do not directly mic instruments. We mic the sections with hanging microphones in an ORTF pattern. In terms of mixing you don’t mix like a normal band. With the symphony everything needs to be even and equal to the other. The conductor is the one truly mixing the symphony. I am there to make sure each instrument is heard by the audience with equal loudness across the section
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