Special Techniques or Problems With Recording a Banjo???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Illsidgus
  • Start date Start date
Illsidgus

Illsidgus

Desiccated Member
I write and record acoustic music but have not yet used my banjo in any of the mixes. FYI it is a Gibson Mastertone Tenor banjo. I was wondering if when recording a banjo that I would have some of the problems of miking a drum combined with the problems of miking an acoustic instrument. You can get some really powerful percussive effects from a tenor banjo that plectrum banjo players don't typically encounter.

Any hints, tricks, and advice is greatly appreciated.
 
RAMI said:
Trying to concentrate on your playing while your 1st cousin's sodomizing you?
Click to expand...
No now, you are confusing my tenor, dixieland jazz, banjo with a five string bluegrass marry your own sister banjo.:facepalm: I must confess though, I do like bluegrass music. I do live in Kentucky after all.
 
RAMI said:
Trying to concentrate on your playing while your 1st cousin's sodomizing you?
Click to expand...

Beat me to it, I was going to say something like "Special Techniques or Problems With Recording a Banjo???" answer: YES, having to listen to it afterwards. Then my usual banjo joke: I parked my car in town the other day and left my banjo on the back seat,...... when I returned someone had broken the window ..... and put a second banjo there.

Seriously, when I do have to record a banjo (after telling the poor soul all my banjo jokes) I usually use a small condenser mic positioned around the neck joining the body (banjo neck not yours) about 6" to 9" away. Recently I have recorded using a Fathead style Ribbon with very good results. There does not seem to be any problems as long as it is a good instrument played by a good player.

Alan.
 
It proved quite difficult for me to get a sound that i was truly happy with from my banjo (6 string)
I found i got the best sound using a sm57 pointed at the neck joint and remove the back plate or its just too resonant for my space.
Like i said i'm not truly happy with the sound but it fits in well with a mix and without too much processing.
 
I second the SM57 for banjo. The many times I've tracked a banjo I liked the 57 over a condensor. I thought it was thicker sounding.
 
I've used an AT 4033a with success. 6 to 12 inches out from the neck/body joint.

Joel
Studio 52
 
witzendoz said:
Then my usual banjo joke: I parked my car in town the other day and left my banjo on the back seat,...... when I returned someone had broken the window ..... and put a second banjo there.
Click to expand...
Hey, that would be great, if they left me a Gibson Super Earl Banjo next to my Gibson Mastertone. With a price tag of $50,000.00, I could sell it and use the money to buy a lot more recording equipment and guitars. Now where would be a good place to park my car for this to happen??:)
 
Last edited:
Funny, we just recorded a banjo with a band I'm kind of playing with. We used an AT dynamic of some sort and it turned out fine, I thought.
 
Also leave yourself tons of headroom. Banjos can really twang if you hit a string hard and it's much easier to clip vs say an acoustic guitar and you can easily kill a great take with clipping on a couple of notes due to an over plucked string
 
RAMI said:
I was lucky enough to get an OP that can take a joke. You happen to get sucks that report you to the principal. :D
Click to expand...

Yup, and now I got another certain someone trying to suck me in so they can kick me out.
 
RAMI said:
Trying to concentrate on your playing while your 1st cousin's sodomizing you?
Click to expand...

.....while wearing nothing but a pair of Billy boots and a Gilligan hat.....


(sorry, had to finsh that off)
 
I haven't recorded an American banjo but I have recorded a Turkish cumbus (which is essentially an oud on a banjo body) and I had great success using an AKG 414 situated about a couple of inches towards the head from where the fingerboard meets the body and about 10 inches away. Be very careful with your levels and keep them just a bit lower than you would like (you can always make up for it later) because it's not that it will spike, but because of the nature of the instrument, it will get a buzzing almost white noise undertone if you keep your levels at flat.

Q: "What is the definition of perfect pitch?"
A: "It's when you toss an accordion into a dumpster and it lands on a banjo. Now that's perfect pitch!" :D
 
Banjo? Banjo? Nope haven't heard of that instrument before.
 
In my mis-spent youth, I shared a house with a banjo player once for about six months. Chalk it up to experience--that's a mistake I'll never make again!

Seriously, those who've seen my posts know I'm a big advocate of SDCs for most things because I like the bright, detailed sound. However, for banjo even I dust off my dynamics. My favourite (if you happen to find one) is an old AKG D202 but I've often used an SM57 as well.

The one exception is, in a really nice acoustic space, I'll sometimes trot out an LDC with an omni pattern and back the mic off a fair way so I get as much room as direct banjo--but that only works where it actually sounds good live. Fat chance of that in most homes!
 
Rimshot said:
Q: "What is the definition of perfect pitch?"
A: "It's when you toss an accordion into a dumpster and it lands on a banjo. Now that's perfect pitch!" D
Click to expand...
I have to say that y'all, or if I was in the deep south it would be all y'all, have opened up my mind to the wider world of banjo humor. I don't think I'll ever be the same again. In my almost 60 years I haven't heard or read so many banjo jokes. It has been fun. But now you've got me thinking; I should try recording the banjo while standing inside an empty dumpster. I could try it with the lid open and closed. And if it is a big enough dumpster there could be room for an assortment of relatives, and the entire family of accordion type instruments. Oh wow, I think I saw an accordion on CL the other day for a really low price. I am either getting really inspired by all this or you guys have driven me round the twist.

Seriously though I have gotten a lot of good advice and had a lot of fun in the process. Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top