Johnathan Smith adopts AEA ribbons for Marsalis orchestra

Johnathan Smith has adopted AEA ribbon microphones for his work with the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

The setup is now central to his approach to front-of-house mixing and recording for the 15-piece ensemble.

Smith is Production Manager and Front-of-House Engineer for the orchestra, which performs at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York and tours internationally. His work focuses on reinforcing an ensemble that plays acoustically on stage and rarely uses monitors, with musicians relying on hearing one another directly and setting their own balance in real time.

That makes microphone choice especially important. In concert halls and touring venues, amplification needs can vary sharply from one room to the next, while any recording setup must still reflect the character of the band rather than reshape it.

Tour setup

During a recent six-show tour of Scotland and Ireland, Smith used three AEA models: the R88A, N8 and KU5A. He deployed the microphones for both the front-of-house mix and multitrack recording, assigning each model to different sections of the orchestra according to the acoustic and logistical demands of the stage.

The R88A became part of Smith's setup when he needed a simple way to capture an archival recording of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, which was arranged in a semicircle. Instead of building a more complex multichannel setup around the players, he placed the stereo microphone in front of the group.

"The reach of the two ribbons in that Blumlein pair was phenomenal," said Smith. "It had great bass and a very pleasing, realistic sound."

He also uses the R88A in the front-of-house mix, where reinforcement needs depend on the venue. In some rooms, the microphone provides light reinforcement; in others, much more of the orchestra's sound is routed through the PA.

"It helps blend everything and make a really nice, cohesive sound," said Smith. "It almost makes the live sound experience feel more like a live album."

Section detail

In a jazz orchestra, preserving separation between instrumental colours can be difficult once a full arrangement thickens. Smith said muted brass in particular can lose definition when microphones smooth over the differences between Harmon, cup and bag mutes.

"In a big-band texture where it is already thick, it can just become a wash. You lose the composer's or arranger's intent," said Smith. "With the N8, all that texture suddenly came back. It was like, oh my goodness, this is the sound that I have been looking for."

The N8 has since become a regular choice across multiple sections. During a performance of Marsalis's All Rise at the Edinburgh International Festival, Smith placed four N8 microphones across first violins, second violins, violas and cellos.

The arrangement was designed to increase presence from the string sections without making them sound individually highlighted. It also allowed the microphones to capture more than one desk in each section.

"It allowed the strings to become much fuller without sounding noticeably spot-miked," said Smith. "The microphone has a ton of reach. It can pick up not only the first desk, but also the desk behind it. It is like a big warm hug."

In the trumpet section, Smith positions four N8 microphones about two to three feet from the players, giving them room to stand, move and swap mutes during performance. With trombones positioned about 16 inches away on the level below, he angles the figure-of-8 nulls towards them to reduce bleed.

"With the N8s, because they have so much reach, you still get that bottom end and a nice amount of the top end, which is just right," said Smith. "When they're in that cup mute, and they want to peek through the texture, you still get that sound."

Bass focus

The upright bass posed a separate challenge within the orchestra layout. Near the centre of the ensemble, it sits close to piano, brass, drums and saxophones, creating a crowded acoustic field for any close microphone.

Smith said a figure-of-8 design risked picking up the baritone saxophone through its rear lobe, while a standard cardioid could admit spill from both sides. He chose the KU5A, which uses a supercardioid pattern, to narrow the pickup around the bass and limit low-frequency build-up.

"It isolates right on the bass player, but it is still so natural," said Smith. "There is enough high end that you still get the sound of his fingers and the fullness of his instrument."

The microphone also helped him define the relationship between upright bass and kick drum, two sources that can compete for space in a dense arrangement.

"The kick drum can sit right under the band where it needs to be, and the bass player can be right above that," said Smith. "You can hear every note and every line that he does."

AEA was founded in 1964 as a record label and mobile recording studio before moving into microphone repair and manufacturing. It later introduced the R44C, based on the RCA 44BX, and now produces a broader range of microphones and preamps in Pasadena, California.

For Smith, the R88A, N8 and KU5A have moved from occasional use to the core of his regular orchestral setup.