How to record strings?

K

kartikbala

New member
Hi all,

I'm trying to record a string quartet. The mics at my disposal are an SP B1, SM57 and 2 ECM8000s. I've tried placing the mics abt 3-4" away from the strings at the bridge and I'm getting really nasal and scratchy tones. Does anyone have any advice on how I can position my mics to get a better, balanced tone? The instruments on their own sound pretty good.

Thanks in advance!

KB
 
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I would hang the ECM8000s as overheads, either XY or a couple of feet apart to get a sense of space. Turn the gain up.

Try putting everyone in a circle or semi circle. Put the B1 in the middle in front. Alternatively, put one ECM in the middle and the other overhead. Put the B1 further out somewhere else in the room.

The closer the mics are, the more the mics will pick up that scratchy uneven sound of the bow going across the string (not the attack...which I assume you want to capture). Mics with too much top end like the 603s for instance will accentuate that. The ECMs are pretty neutral on top and should work quite well although they are noisy.

Forget the 57.

A couple of 4033s would be great here too.
 
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I have used 603's about a foot off of the f-hole with moderate success. I have also done a room mic behind the violinist to capture some nice ambience and then hard panned the two mics. This is a killer tone but when adding a lot of instruments it makes it somewhat muddy so if you don't have a nice "tight" pre then I wouldn't overdo your mic's. On a Cello I put a 603 in the front and then a C-1 behind it to capture the deep resonance. Works well, but the 603 in this situation really picked up the scratchiness. I am not familiar with your mics so I cannot give opinions on those.
 
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