Recording Alt Saxophone

[Saloje]

Hello guys !

I was just wondering is condenser or dynamic mic better for recording alt saxophone. I own Rode NT1 but cant get that nice saxophone sound. I wanted to buy Shure SM57 because i read somewhere it's good for recording instruments. Any toughts on mic or technique maybe ? Thx for info.

 

[rob aylestone]

SM57 is a sensible choice for live sound, but a decent condenser like your Rode, would normally do the trick. You say you can't get a nice sax sound? I guess the first question is about the sax. Does it actually sound nice? I had some fun recently in the home of a guy who has been collecting saxophones, but is a pure beginner - he had a huge collection of saxes of all types, ages and makes. He asked if I'd come and blow a few. Some were lovely sounding, but he had some real dogs. One was an old Selmer Mk V - generally considered a nice instrument. This was an early one, from the low 60's I think, which he had paid a lot of money for as an investment and it was nasty - sounded like a Kazoo. Others, like a Yanasigowa sounded lovely.

Positioning is the key. Did you put your mic in the best position? Please say you didn't point the Rode down the bell. The sound from the bell of an alto is not good, especially when playing the upper octaves. quite a bit of the characteristic sound comes from the area where the left hand sits, not the bell. The condenser will also have a tendency to pick up the clacking of the keys, pads and rods - so this can cloud the sound too - especially with a percussive fingered player.

Do you have a sample we can hear.

I have a pair of quite old Oktava MK309s that are rather mellow sounding, and I like these on my saxes - they suit the tone of my instruments.

A sample would be great.

 

[witzendoz]

NT1 should be fine for sax, whats the room sound like?

I second not sticking it down the bell, put it out front a good foot or two. Like the photo, which I know isn't a NT1 but could have been LOL.

Alan.

 

[ecc83]

What AI are you using? The sax is quite loud and the NT-1 pretty sensitive. Some AIs have limited headroom and whilst they might not actually clip they could be getting pushed into "not nice" territory?

I note the NT does not have a pad, does the AI? Since all here think the mic should be good on sax maybe try a 10dB XLR attenuator?

Modern audio electronics is generally amazing quality for the money but if there is one area where "pro" electronics is king it is surely headroom?

But yes, as ever...Sound clip! (where in the world are you?)

Dave.

 

[Saloje]

I definitly didnt position mic like on that photo Dave. I think it was too close and near Bell of Sax which is not good i think so my signal was very loud but not clipping thou. Think i'm gonna try a new setup and as you say NT1 is solid for that job gonna try to experiment with settings and positioning .

maybe try a 10dB XLR attenuator?

- hmm didnt know of that little fella. I was trying to minimize input of mic on my AudioBox and preamp was on 0 but still to loud. So the only way is to move mic further or use 10dB XLR attenuator.
It seems i can't attach mp3 file here

 

[gecko zzed]

Here is a short sample of sax, recorded live with a quintet.

The mike was pointed in the general direction of the sax player, aiming at his mouth, maybe half a metre away.

https://Big Smoke sample

 

[ecc83]

!It seems i can't attach mp3 file here"

Click the Go Advanced box and scroll down to Manage Attachements. "Browse for file" I find it easier to paste the MP3 clip on the Desktop and pick it up from there.

Dave.

 

[Chili]

I was trying to minimize input of mic on my AudioBox and preamp was on 0 but still to loud.

When you say "too loud", was the little red Clip light on the audiobox lighting up?

 

[Saloje]

When you say "too loud", was the little red Clip light on the audiobox lighting up?

No it doesent light up.

Here is a sample of two saxophones i recorded

View attachment Sax.mp3

Later i will upload the solo sax

 

[Chili]

Your attachment didn't work for me, so I went in and fixed it for you.

If the Clip light isn't lighting up, then you're not clipping and that's a good thing. You don't need any kind of attenuation. In fact, the sax parts sound okay to me. Not great, but okay, and maybe on the quiet side, but that's not an issue.

You have a good start and you can make some adjustments and tweaks to bring them out nicely in a mix.

As was suggested earlier, retracking and experimenting with mic position should be the first step. If you don't have the musicians available or the time to retrack, you should be able to make these existing tracks work for you.

I'm learning to play sax myself and will hopefully be tracking some sax parts soon. I'm working on a jazz-funk brass song with my son. I'm excited to get my part done soon.

 

[Saloje]

Thx for info.
I have musican' available all the time. My son is sax player i play guitar and my wife have a beautifull voice. We are working on some jazz and blues tracks and i wont to record that as cleanest and purest but still sounding great. I have learned allot on this forum , thanks to guys like you, and hope to be better in what i realy like, and that' music.
So thx for all the help and i hope my questions are not boring to you all
- i just wont to learn.

 

[Saloje]

Here is a short sample of sax, recorded live with a quintet.

The mike was pointed in the general direction of the sax player, aiming at his mouth, maybe half a metre away.

https://Big Smoke sample

I really like the sound of that sax. Thats what i'm thinking of when i say a nice sax sound

 

[gecko zzed]

I didn't mention the sort of mike I used in the earlier post.

The mike is a Behringer C2 condensor . . . . abut $50 Australian, and is a very under-rated mike.

Here's another 30 seconds where the sax is more by itself:

big smoke sample 2

 

[Saloje]

I didn't mention the sort of mike I used in the earlier post.

The mike is a Behringer C2 condensor . . . . abut $50 Australian, and is a very under-rated mike.

Here's another 30 seconds where the sax is more by itself:

big smoke sample 2

So you recorded stereo sax with 2 Behringer C2 mics that come in pair ?

 

[gecko zzed]

So you recorded stereo sax with 2 Behringer C2 mics that come in pair ?

The C2 mikes come as a pair, but there is only one on the sax.

(The other one was on upright bass.)

 

[Saloje]

The C2 mikes come as a pair, but there is only one on the sax.

(The other one was on upright bass.)

Y nice sounding and the mics are not that expencive

 

[gecko zzed]

I've recorded sax using the C2 mikes, and also Rode NT5 mikes. I'm happy with both.

The C2 was actually better than the NT5 for the live recording because it was less sensitive and I got less bleed. I think the NT5 would be better overall, but not in this particular application.

Same sax player, but recorded with NT5

nine dollar pinot ~ sample

 

[Saloje]

Same sax player, but recorded with NT5

Yep got that nice reach sound to it. May i ask how you get that depth ? Reverb, delay any tips on how to get that ?

 

[gecko zzed]

My go-to reverb is an old Direct-X Timeworks plug-in that I got with a whole heap of others when I got Logic around 2002. While there are probably other, better reverbs around, for me this had the cleanest, most spacious sound.

Most often, I use a very big room sound, but not much of it. That's what seems to give depth to the sound of instruments.

There's no delay on the sax.

What I like about using the condensers on sax is that you get a lot of the instrument noise: breathing, finger clicks and so on.