Recording a Clarinet

J

John p

New member
Hi, i'm a complete beginner when it comes to recording so please keep it simple! (I'm well acquainted with composing and mixing however)

Firstly, I'm using a blue yeti usb microphone.
I tried recording myself playing the clarinet however there were several problems - tone, loud tongue sounds. I've experimented with distances of the microphone and found the best sound when placed 1-2 metres from the centre holes, it's not great, but good enough. The sound of the tongue against the reed was very audible and amplified - It sounds nothing like this in real life. I tried EQ which helped but then lost the character of the clarinet. I've set the polar pattern to cardioid.

Is it a problem with the microphone itself, as I realise it's very cheap and most likely suited more for voice - I heard ribbon mics would give the best sound for clarinets.
Or is it a problem with the way i've set it up? Could I process the sound afterwards?
Or do you think that all of this is fine and that It must be my playing...

What is the best setup for recording a clarinet without spending additional money?
More importantly, how can I reduce the tonguing noise?

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section or something - I'm new here :)
 
Last edited:
It's worth looking into a ribbon mic, something like the beyerdynamic m130 would be a very good choice. Wind instruments are renound for being difficult to capture.
 
Btyre2013 said:
It's worth looking into a ribbon mic, something like the beyerdynamic m130 would be a very good choice. Wind instruments are renound for being difficult to capture.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for the reply.
Do you know how I can improve the sound just by changing my setup and the way i've recorded it? I want to try get the best sound before purchasing other equipment.
 
tongue noise = player technique

Same with saxophone (which I play as well as clarinet)

You'll also want to turn the gain down a bit and play louder.
Condenser mics are very sensitive.
 
two problems - first thing is that you have never heard what you sound like, and as Tim says, you may actually have developed a very percussive technique and not noticed. My clarinet is not by any means the best, but it has a lovely woody mellow sound when miked from around a foot, above and to the front, aiming down towards the first finger on my right hand. I don't know what software you are using, but record a bit and look at the spectral content. In the lower register there's not a huge amount up top, but when you go up, the tone brightens. I'm thinking that you mean the sort of paddy click when you put your tongue up, touch the reed and block the airflow? This may well be audible to somebody in front and not to you when playing. It's no good for a recording, but put your mic next to your ear, and play - see if the click is then missing. You may be able to notch it out a bit with a parametric. Can you post a sample for us to hear?
 
My son played clarinet for time but then gave it to my grandson who is doing very well with it.

I wonder, if the "click" problem is down to technique could the OP train himself out of it by close micing and cans?

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top