Immersive Trumpet Recording

In this episode of Behind IMMERSED, we step inside an immersive trumpet recording session with the incredible Ingrid Jensen. For this date, we went all-in on capturing not just the power of Ingrid’s horn, but the way her sound lives and breathes in the room. We set up a collection of close mics—an AEA R84, Flea 49, and a vintage RCA 77-DX—with the AEA feeding a pedalboard, into a Millennia pre, and then into Ingrid’s effects chain, captured through a gorgeous-sounding Hazelrigg Industries VDI. The VDI gave us that big, juicy tone the effects were asking for, while the 49 and AEA carried most of the primary capture, with the RCA adding its own classic character.

Just behind the close mics, we placed a SoundField by RØDE ambisonic mic, with the specific intention of exploring room reflections in post. That’s where the immersive aspect really comes to life—being able to blend the intimacy of close capture with a three-dimensional sense of space that reflects how Ingrid’s Monette trumpet actually sounds in this room.

To further shape the soundfield, we brought in a pair of figure-of-eight mics (4038s), aimed to pick up early reflections rather than blasting the direct trumpet sound. Those feeds were routed to the rear surround speakers in our listening environment, giving a wonderfully natural ambience and a sense of the horn moving in air, not just living on a single point in the stereo field.

On top of that, we deployed four DPA 4006 mics to capture height information. At first, we tried them pointed up at the ceiling for a diffuse wash, but it felt a bit too smeared and unfocused. Once we angled them down toward a central point just above ear height, everything snapped into place—the transient detail, the high-frequency air, and a subtle but exciting vertical dimension to the sound. Just a touch of those height channels instantly brought more life and fullness to the overall image, without ever making it feel like the trumpet was coming from the ceiling.

Ingrid monitored on headphones throughout, reacting in real time to how her horn was being shaped by the space and the rig. The real payoff came when we stepped back into the control room and hit play—seeing the smile on her face as she heard her own sound, her relationship with that Monette trumpet, and the character of this room all captured so faithfully. This session is a deep dive into how thoughtful mic placement, immersive capture techniques, and a respect for the artist’s tone can come together to do real justice to the music.