Recording Banjo
- Thread starter Kasey
- Start date
out of all the mic choices (4011, gt44, 4038, mkh40, 451, re20, 57, more...) i had at my disposal at a live recording a few months ago...the beta 58 fit like a glove...a few months later in studio with more choices and on a different player - it still fit like a glove...completely weird. i don't use that mic very often.
i put it in front of the skin about a foot back and adjusted to taste.
later!
Mike
i put it in front of the skin about a foot back and adjusted to taste.
later!
Mike
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
Banjo is an acouttic striung instrument just lke acoustic guitar, so many similar rules apply (though not all).
I have to admit that big toes' finding of a beta58 is rather suprising. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it certainly isn't intuitive (as he apparently agrees.)
A lot depends upon the sound you're looking for also, I suppose. Are you looking for crisp and jangly? In which case I'd be more tempted to try something in a decent condensor (AT4040?) and move it up and down from the body to the neck and see what works best with that mic. For someting more honkey tonk I might try swtching to something in a classic dynamic like a Sennheiser 421 or even a Shure 55SH for a fake delta sound.
The key will be placement. Have the player play a few bars while you get down in a squat amd move yor head around and see what position actually *sounds* how you want it to sound. Then stick your mic there.
G.
I have to admit that big toes' finding of a beta58 is rather suprising. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it certainly isn't intuitive (as he apparently agrees.)
A lot depends upon the sound you're looking for also, I suppose. Are you looking for crisp and jangly? In which case I'd be more tempted to try something in a decent condensor (AT4040?) and move it up and down from the body to the neck and see what works best with that mic. For someting more honkey tonk I might try swtching to something in a classic dynamic like a Sennheiser 421 or even a Shure 55SH for a fake delta sound.
The key will be placement. Have the player play a few bars while you get down in a squat amd move yor head around and see what position actually *sounds* how you want it to sound. Then stick your mic there.
G.
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
Hey Slidey, any good skipple tracks on banjo come down your road up there?
G.
G.
Harvey Gerst
New member
Bluegrass banjo, or folk banjo?Kasey said:
studiomaster
New member
the AT mics will sound good on it.
slidey
New member
SouthSIDE Glen said:
actually there's one or two........................I've got a track on my board about Lonnie Donnegan.....................I presume that's what you're talking about????
unfortunately most of my work for a while has been punk & metal (arghhhhhh) & a blues album (YESSSSSSS) along with a country album (hence the banjo) & a rock/pop album with a 22 year singer song writing chick..........
SouthSIDE Glen
independentrecording.net
Yeah, that's the sort. Though I probably should call it "skiffle" and not "skipple", my typoslidey said:
. Love that stuff. I was just wondering...based upon your slick response to the banjo miking question combined with your geographic location, I thought maybe, hey, here's a guy who's got some of the real thing coming his way once in a while. I was just wondering....
G.
slidey
New member
SouthSIDE Glen said:Yeah, that's the sort. Though I probably should call it "skiffle" and not "skipple", my typo
I was just wondering...based upon your slick response to the banjo miking question combined with your geographic location, I thought maybe, hey, here's a guy who's got some of the real thing coming his way once in a while. I was just wondering....
G.
yeah.................untill the banjo man (for some strange reason
) decided to fall out with us...............we had a good skiffle/fusion going (fusion being down to the fact that my father & I are HUGE on improvisation so anything goes)but there's a chap called Terry Clarke who has the bones of a 13 track album laid down & there's definately skiffle scope in there.................the only bugger is when the banjo man fell out with us he took his banjo (which was resident in my studio, hence a lot of practice on the aforementioned)
A LOT depends on the player and style of playing. 4 string or 5 string, good or cheap banjo? If 5, picked of strummed (clawhammer and/or frailing).
I've been fortunate to record a number of great players with great instruments playing 3 finger Scruggs style Bluegrass.
One player really loves the AKG C3000, though on him I prefer a Shure KSM44. I also used a Royer R121 ribbon through an Altec 1566a tube pre and loved the results, though I had to boost the upper mids.
Other players work with a KM84, AT4060, one a KM184 was the answer and on another a Senn 441 was the trick. All these I used a John Hardy M1 pre.
Placement ranged from a couple inches in front of the head with one player and the R121 to about 4 feet infront of the headstock (KSM44). Put on your phones and experiment.
Best of luck.
I've been fortunate to record a number of great players with great instruments playing 3 finger Scruggs style Bluegrass.
One player really loves the AKG C3000, though on him I prefer a Shure KSM44. I also used a Royer R121 ribbon through an Altec 1566a tube pre and loved the results, though I had to boost the upper mids.
Other players work with a KM84, AT4060, one a KM184 was the answer and on another a Senn 441 was the trick. All these I used a John Hardy M1 pre.
Placement ranged from a couple inches in front of the head with one player and the R121 to about 4 feet infront of the headstock (KSM44). Put on your phones and experiment.
Best of luck.
andyhix
:dank:
I once got a good sound with a 58 beta (better than 58 or 57 - only mics I had at the time) place over the players left shoulder, about eye level and maybe a foot out, and pointed down towards the skin. It cut some of the scratchiness of the fingerpicks on the skins (which is probably just bad technique, but something I had to deal with), but left a nice full sound, without losing the banjo high end character. Just something to try, maybe.
Maybe try a different mic, but similar placement?
Maybe try a different mic, but similar placement?
SouthSIDE Glen said:
i know, right? a banjo has so much midrange you'd think a mic that boosted it would kinda suck. i still think it should. just goes to show ya to use what works and not what should work though!
banjo is kinda like the highhat of string instruments...it's everywhere in a mulit mic sitution. i'm amazed at bluegrass guys who mic a mando and a banjo together and can get them both sounding good...
Mike
Re- read my earlier post.
Envision the sound you want from the banjo player. Start about a foot in front of the banjo head, where the player strikes the strings, put on your phones and move the mic around until you hear what you want.
You need to do a lot of expermenting with mics and placement.
Envision the sound you want from the banjo player. Start about a foot in front of the banjo head, where the player strikes the strings, put on your phones and move the mic around until you hear what you want.
You need to do a lot of expermenting with mics and placement.
petimar said:
That is my point, you have to experment. With acoustic guitars I can walk up set up a pair of mics by eyeballing them, walk over to the pres and set levels, hit the record button, and know what I'm gonna get. Banjos seem to be a different animal. No biggy! I can use my headphones with different mics/mic placement 'til I find what works.
Tim Brown
New member
Wait, let me get this straight.
You want to record a banjo?
On purpose?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system....sorry it couldn't be helped, my brother has a banjo - a really nice one actually, and of course the first thing he learned was dueling banjo's and whenever he plays it he stops in the middle and goes "Squeal Like a Pig!"
Personally, I would use a small condenser with a large dynamic and try to get a blend of the two. We used an MXL 603 and an AKG D112 an he was fairly happy with the results. Banjo is really all about the attack, so you don't want to get tooooooo close with the condenser....or at least that's my take on it.
Tim
You want to record a banjo?
On purpose?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system....sorry it couldn't be helped, my brother has a banjo - a really nice one actually, and of course the first thing he learned was dueling banjo's and whenever he plays it he stops in the middle and goes "Squeal Like a Pig!"
Personally, I would use a small condenser with a large dynamic and try to get a blend of the two. We used an MXL 603 and an AKG D112 an he was fairly happy with the results. Banjo is really all about the attack, so you don't want to get tooooooo close with the condenser....or at least that's my take on it.
Tim
Tim Brown said:Wait, let me get this straight.
You want to record a banjo?
On purpose?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system....sorry it couldn't be helped, my brother has a banjo - a really nice one actually, and of course the first thing he learned was dueling banjo's and whenever he plays it he stops in the middle and goes "Squeal Like a Pig!"
Personally, I would use a small condenser with a large dynamic and try to get a blend of the two. We used an MXL 603 and an AKG D112 an he was fairly happy with the results. Banjo is really all about the attack, so you don't want to get tooooooo close with the condenser....or at least that's my take on it.
Tim
LMBO! I'm with ya! Banjo isn't my thing at all but this song calls for it and well, I said I would do it. I think I'll even be recording a jug. LOL TOO FUNNY!