From Scratch Quiet Nights (One Point - Blumlein)

Two records on which the same musicians play the same eight tracks. Recorded in the same room, but with different microphones in two different sessions. Stephan Flock and Rainer Maillard from the Berliner Meister Schallplatten label chose this arrangement for this direct-to-disc recording with the quartet From Scratch. On the albums with the item numbers BM2419 and BM2421, the four musicians play with two completely different microphones and room arrangements. The result was: a different sound, a different performance, a different feeling.
In other words, this is the extremely rare opportunity to hear how the use of different microphones and setups can subtly - or not - change the sound and also the interpretation of a recording. Usually, the only ones who hear these differences are sound engineers, record producers, and the artists themselves when deciding how to record a session. But this time, as a record buyer and listener, you will be involved in the process. You can compare both recordings and hear the differences. And since both sessions were created as a direct cut, where no tape or digital recordings are used, but the music is cut directly onto the turntable, you get as close as possible to the sound that the musicians and recording team actually heard in the studio.
For this album, the producers used an extended One Point Blumlein setup! Two Sennheiser MKH30 (figure-of-eight) at a 90° angle (original Blumlein) gave us a good balance and perspective of piano, drums and saxophone, while the double bass could not be placed close enough to the microphone without disturbing the other instruments.
To achieve the desired volume, closeness and depth, we placed a Sennheiser MKH20 (omnidirectional) under the bridge of the double bass. By standing as close as possible to each other with their instruments, the musicians could hear each other better. However, the microphone is further away from the sound sources, and the result is a different sound quality - more old-fashioned, more relaxed, less strenuous.

Musicians:

• Simon Becker-Foss, saxophone
• Helge Adam, piano
• André Neygenfind, bass
• Dieter 'Zipper' Schmigelok, drums

Selections:

Side A
1. The Way You Look Tonight
2. You And The Night And The Music
3. My Romance
4. My Funny Valentine
Side B
1. Whisper Not
2. Corcovado
3. Stella By Starlight
4. What A Wonderful World