best sax mic

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Playsax

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Several friends of mine have home "recording studios" and are after me to record a CD of saxophone music. Only thing I'm worried about is the microphone situation. They all have vocal mics and not instrumental mics. Should this be a big concern? If so, what are your recommendations for an instrumental mic? thanks!
 
Playsax said:
Several friends of mine have home "recording studios" and are after me to record a CD of saxophone music. Only thing I'm worried about is the microphone situation. They all have vocal mics and not instrumental mics. Should this be a big concern? If so, what are your recommendations for an instrumental mic? thanks!
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There is no such thing as a vocal only mic.
a mic doesn't care if you sing into it or play an instrument into it. It's a transducer so if it sounds good it is good. how much you want to spend?
 
MD-421 sounds very good with saxaphone. In my opinion, there is really no best mic for any one application. It depends on what you are looking to accomplish. I know about the MD-421, as I had my own sound reinforcement company for a while and was lucky enough to get a bunch of MD-421's at a good price. I used them on damn near everything in the beginning. I found them good on saxaphone, male vocals, tom-toms, floor toms, guitar speaker cabinets... on an on... I got the idea to use 421's on so many things from looking at the stage at Grateful Dead concerts in the 1980's. The engineer, Dan Healy, used them on almost everything! Kick drum, toms, all the various percussion, all the vocals and Jerry Garcia's guitar amp speakers. You have to check them against each other periodically, as the can "go bad." I'm not sure what it is, but they lose their sound sometimes.
 
recordingpro said:
There is no such thing as a vocal only mic.
...if it sounds good it is good. how much you want to spend?
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Bravo.

Playsax, if you told us the names of the mics that they had we could give you our opinions to try first, but to expect your friends to buy a new mic just to record you is a bit much.
 
Playsax said:
Several friends of mine have home "recording studios" and are after me to record a CD of saxophone music. Only thing I'm worried about is the microphone situation. They all have vocal mics and not instrumental mics. Should this be a big concern? If so, what are your recommendations for an instrumental mic? thanks!
Click to expand...

The sax can be a bear to mic often times. I think you'd best spend your time trying different mic positions to find the right sound. I play tenor saxophone, and maybe I'm too picky, but it takes me a good while to be satisfied with the sound.

That said, I have had very good success with omni directional mics. In particular, the DIY Tape Op Omni (which is essentially the MSH-1a thats all over this board). I've had luck with cardiods too (Rode NTK, Earthworks SR71, EV 468, Oktava 012, and even a 57 at times), but I think the lack of proximity effect of the omni-directional mics is a big helping hand - but that's just me.

Dive in and have some fun.
 
Re20 is a great mic as well. I used to own one and it did a great job with my sax. I was anxious to try a ribbon mic, but have never had the pleasure.

Usually the re20's and 421's are the mics of choice for the saxophone within reason and budget that is.
 
You didn't say which sax you are recording. I happen to prefer a good large diaphragm condenser to a ribbon on tenor sax, because I find they give more air and bite, while the ribbons are a bit too dark. But a lot obviously depends on the room, the instrument, and the player - so it is hard to make too many definitive pronouncements.

Crowley & Tripp have some new ribbons that are voiced "higher" than what is typically considered to be the classic ribbon sound, so those might be interesting to try. But I tend to use my Lawson L47 set to a wide cardioid pattern.

As always, placement is going to be at least as important as the mic choice. Make sure you are capturing all of the instrument, and not just the bell. But be careful about getting too much key click and breath.
 
Innovations said:
Bravo.

Playsax, if you told us the names of the mics that they had we could give you our opinions to try first, but to expect your friends to buy a new mic just to record you is a bit much.
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I didn't expect them to buy anything. I just asked if the vocal mics were good.
 
I recorde a sax using a beyer M201 dynamic about 10-15 inches away from the bell along with an AKG solidtube LDC at the side of the player level with his head angled down to take in the whole instrument & mixed the 2 to suit

what a sound it was an alto mind you or was it a tenor.......... :confused:

I have Big Kenny to thank for the M201 choice & little dog to thank for the LDC

thanks guys :D
 
$.02

there's just way too much sax and violins around here...

if your sound is real edgy i'ld think about a dynamic like the 421 already mentioned although my personal favs would be EV RE 20 or SHURE SM 7
 
yeh.. im doing some horns for my band soon..

i don't have many options for mics..

i got a sm57, mxl 603, mxl 990, MXL V67G..

yeh not to much choice.. but then again im only 16...

I'm doing..

Trombone
Alto Sax
Trumpet

Which Would You Say For Each Instrument... I plan on doing some experementing as well..

also placement... where do you say for each instrument.. also is there any websites with stuff... i have some books, but i haven't seen to much on brass..
 
i've only ever mic'ed a sax with a U-87, and something tells me you're not going to run right out and pick one up

but in the "reasonable" price range, i'd also say go with a senn. 421 - i know some top-notch engineers who swear by them for horns/brass...and just about anything else you'd ever need to put a mic on
 
I'll second the MD421 for an all-around good microphone which works well for reeds and brass as well as vocals, percussion, bass, and electric guitars. It's a good investment for any recordist.

If you have the luxury of having several mics to choose from, it comes down to matching the timbre of a particular player and instrument to the characteristics of a particular microphone.
 
I'll second the MD421 for an all-around good microphone which works well for reeds and brass as well as vocals, percussion, bass, and electric guitars. It's a good investment for any recordist.

If you have the luxury of having several mics to choose from, it comes down to matching the timbre of a particular player and instrument to the characteristics of a particular microphone. Something else to take into account is the role of the particular track in the composition, i.e., what sonic space do you want to fill, and what sonic space is available?
 
The only dynamic mic I ever liked on my tenor sax was the MD441. All other dynamics mics sounds like crap (unless you are on stage and don't care too much as long as the mic survives). I will never understand how people can recommend dynamic mics for a saxophone in the studio.

By far the best mic I have ever used on sax is a Neumann KM184 or 84. The sound is very full at the low end, while preserving a crispyness full of details I have never heard with a LDCs.

Other mics such as an AT4047, Gefell M930, Rode NT-2A, etc sound OK, but didn't really blow me away.

One other thing is that mic placement and polar pattern make a HUGE difference. I like omni or fig-8 best since it opens up the sound quite a lot and gets rid of the proximity effect.

Lately, I have tried ribbon mics with great success. Very creamy & silky -- perfectly suited for a husky tenor sax sound, but not very detailed and rather dark sounding. On a tenor sax I love the sound of ribbons, on a soprano I wouldn't want to have it, though. Not sure what instrument you play.
 
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