Oscar & Grammy-Winning Engineer Robert L. Smith Captures Ishna With AEA Ribbon Microphones At Cold Comfort Farm

Pasadena, CA— Boston-based Irish ensemble Ishna recently released their album Slí Amach: Way Out, recorded and produced by Oscar- and Grammy-winning engineer Robert L. Smith. Rather than tracking in a conventional studio, the band chose a historic barn in Peterborough, New Hampshire, seeking to recreate the live ensemble dynamic of a traditional Irish gathering. With musicians seated just feet apart and performances captured entirely live, Smith relied on a collection of AEA ribbon microphones to retain the character of each instrument while achieving the separation required for a polished, mix-ready record.

The barn, located on Cold Comfort Farm in Peterborough, New Hampshire, featured 35-foot ceilings and walls lined with bookshelves to the rafters. Though it has served as a community gathering space since the 1960s, it was not equipped as a recording facility, requiring Smith to transport a complete mobile recording rig from his New York City studio. He rented a cargo van and drove five hours north, hauling a console, Pro Tools system, microphones, headphone setup, stands, cables, adapters, extension cords, and a full tool kit. With no traditional studio infrastructure in place and only four days to complete the sessions, there was no margin for error.

“I literally built a studio in 14 hours,” Smith recalls. “Where we were, there’s no Guitar Center two miles away. If you need something, you’re on your own. I had to bring everything, every mic cable, every adapter, extension cords, and a tool kit. There was no Plan B.”

Inside the barn, the ensemble was positioned to mirror the feel of a traditional Irish session. The instrumentation included fiddle, vocals, piano, accordion, viola, uilleann pipes, flute, acoustic guitar, cajon, bodhran and hand percussion. With musicians seated just feet apart, the challenge was maintaining the intimacy of live performance while preserving enough separation to shape the record in post-production.

“They didn’t want that isolation,” Smith says. “They wanted the feeling of playing a gig, when they’re all right next to each other in a room, a couple of feet apart. So, the challenge was, how do I do that with isolation, but with the quality that I need?”

Smith turned to the figure-8 polar patterns of his AEA ribbon microphones to solve the isolation challenge. By carefully positioning the null points between players, he was able to minimize bleed without physically separating the musicians. “I set the players in a semicircle and positioned the null points between them,” Smith explains. “Those null points were everything.”

An AEA N28 stereo ribbon microphone was placed on piano, while an N13 ribbon captured the acoustic guitar. An R88 stereo ribbon served as an overhead for the percussion setup. For the flutes and whistles, Smith incorporated AEA A440 and N8 ribbon microphones, capturing the breath and tonal detail of the woodwinds while maintaining consistency with the ensemble’s overall ribbon sound. Together, the microphones and their placement allowed Smith to preserve the ensemble’s live performance while retaining control in the mix.

During the four-day session in June, a heat wave moved through the Northeast, and the unconditioned barn quickly grew sweltering. With no air conditioning and ceiling fans shut off during takes, Smith had to rely on his equipment to perform under pressure. “The rental computer I was using literally started to melt — that’s how hot it was,” he recalls. “Condenser mics can get unpredictable in heat and humidity, but the AEAs held up the whole time.”

Unlike a traditional studio environment, the barn offered no controlled monitoring conditions. “There was no critical listening in that situation,” Smith says. “It really was going on experience and faith with the mics, knowing that if I pointed them in the right direction and recorded them cleanly, I’d be able to do a lot with them.”

When Smith returned to his New York studio to mix in a proper monitoring environment, the results validated that trust. “When I got the files back and listened in a real control room, I was ecstatic,” he says. “That’s exactly what I was shooting for.”

To learn more about Ishna and listen to Slí Amach: Way Out, visit https://ishnamusic.com/album/3782214/sli-amach-way-out. For more information about AEA Ribbon Mics, visit aearibbonmics.com.

Photo credits: Eve Rafael (header image and Daniel Meyers photo); Robert L. Smith (session and equipment photography).

About AEA Ribbon Mics
​Founded in 1964, AEA began as a record label and mobile recording studio before expanding into microphone repairs and full-scale manufacturing. In 1998, AEA introduced the R44C — an evolution of the iconic RCA 44BX — and has since developed a full range of microphones and preamps inspired by classic designs and built to modern standards. With a commitment to ultra-low noise circuitry, musical sound, and expert craftsmanship, AEA continues to push ribbon technology forward while honoring its legacy. All AEA products are proudly handcrafted in Pasadena, California.

Learn more at aearibbonmics.com

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