Is Sound Stage an artifact of recording?

@ghdprentice  You may not have read the full details about the recording of Body and Soul by Joe Jackson. Multiple microphones were used.

The hall’s reverberant acoustics were captured by a matched stereo pair of expensive Neumann M50 microphones. Kershenbaum and Jackson set the band up to play together, with each instrument close-miked for individual focus as needed. ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_and_Soul_(Joe_Jackson_album)

The album’s liner note describes the care that went into the recording, including the microphones used: two vintage Neumann M-50s hung 15’ in the air, with others placed closer to instruments for balance. The result captured “The explosive sound of this stone-and-wood hall . . .”  ~ https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/music-and-movie-reviews/featured-releases/1077-joe-jackson-body-and-soul?utm_source=chatgpt.com

In the history of the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album—classical or non-classical—there have been few, if any, recordings made using only two microphones. Please do your due diligence.

@lanx0003 

That is exactly what I explained. Ambience with two microphones and close mics on each instrument.

How it was recorded is paramount after the venue. The best recordings are primarily through two microphones. The symphony hall I attended the microphones were placed about 10’ about 5th row center about 12’ apart.

Come on!  You purport two mic throughout your write-up.

Comparing live versus recorded sound is only meaningful for unamplified music.  The typical amplified concert manipulates the sound .

  Not all concert venues were designed with an acoustics as the primary consideration.  The OP describes a chapel.  Places of worship may not have taken into account how well they might project any music except choir and organ.  A Piano Quartet is a very different kind of ensemble..

  Recordings tend to spotlight certain instruments.  Compare the sound of a violin in a concerto on a recording versus what it actually sounds like in most concerts.  The typical recording makes it sound much louder than the concert experience 

@lanx0003  - my reading of ghdprentice’s post was that the basic two mic stereophonic recording is the foundation of any and every recorded soundfield - he did mention close mics for each instrument that locates each performer in that soundfield in ‘body and mind’. No soundfield is an artifact of a recording. 
 

In friendship - kevin