Decca Tree

Staff engineers at Decca Records (now Thorn-EMI) developed a technique known as the Decca Tree in England in the 1950s. This method and numerous variations are still very popular today in the recording of film scores.

A T-shaped fixture houses a microphone—classically an omni—at each of its three ends. The two mics at either end of the cross-arm are positioned approximately two meters (approx. 79 inches) apart, while the central microphone is 1.5 meters (59 inches) away at the bottom of the T. This structure is then mounted about eight to ten feet in the air and positioned so that the central mic is just behind the conductor’s head. The mics are tilted down at about 30 degrees and fanned out to cover the physical spread of the orchestra. Another pair of mics is often placed further back in the hall on either side of the orchestra in order to capture room reflections in the ambient space.

The Decca Tree technique is very popular in film scoring.

Decca Tree is favored in the film industry because it provides a spacious sound along with good stereo imagery that works well with processes like Dolby and surround sound. There is also the advantage of a discrete center mic for both monaural and center channel use. Variations abound, including the substitution of other polar patterns, spreading or narrowing the distance between the mics, and aiming the left and right mics at specific orchestra sections to be featured.

If you want to experiment with the Decca Tree technique, the M-Audio Solaris microphones are great choices since their multi-pattern design includes the omni pattern.

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