Djembe micing

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AlexHerd

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Hi-
I want to record some djembe and I need some advice. My mics are SM 57&8s, Behringer ECM 8000s, Audio Tecnia Pro 25, and a Marshall Electronics MXL 603. Will any of these work, should I get somthing new?(Like everyone else I'm on a budget) Plus any micing techniques would be great! Thanks!
 
The big problem with djembes is that they have an extraordinary amount of bass freqs, lots 'o midrange, and tons of highs...a recording nightmare...
And, in this country, they are usually played by people who's egos...aw, never mind...(g)

Anyhoot, try the 57 or the 603 on the top skin...the players usually move around, so it ain't like miking a snare (wish it was)...
And your best kick mic on the bottom hole. I once did an extensive mic shootout on the low end of a djembe and wound up using the ubiquitus EV664, a mic you can pic up on ebay any day for 30-40 bucks (In fact, I've got a few i'd sell, but that's another story)...
If you want to cover your backside and have the tracks to burn (and aren't that afraid of bleed), place that MXL603 out about 10 feet, and blend with the other 2 tracks, using copius compression to "homogenize" the tracks...
Check for phase before pushing "record"...

What are the other instruments in the mix?
Is it an overdub, or live?
Any seperation?
Have fun...

Bruce Harvie
The "Mandolin Graffiti" liner notes are at:
http://www.bruceharvie.com
 
The recording is gonna be over dubed and i can use 2 tracks for it. The other stuff will probably be an acustic guitar, bass, drum set, and vocals. I'd like to get one of these mics you speak of, can you hook me up?
 
What's your kick mic of choice now, Alex?

The EV664 is a sleeper, IMO...Here's a typical one on ebay--you see them all the time...

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1317888789

They remind me sonically of their cousin, the 666, which commonly goes for 200-250.00, and is one of my favs on kick. Everyone should have a 664 around (make sure U get the cable with the mic--it's not an XLR and is rather hard to replace)...like I said, they are very common, indestructable, and cheap...

OK, if it's an overdub, and you have 2 channels to burn, I'd mic the top with the SM57, the bottom with your kick mic (or a 58 in a pinch), and put that 603 out front, and blend the 3 channels to 2. It would sure be nice to be able to mix them to 2 tracks later to get the blend right in the track. Like I said, some compression over the whole mix will help blend the tracks...

Personally, I would work in mono, not only during tracking (helps to prevent phasing problems), but mixdown (I'd mix the 3 mics to 1 track). My experience is that you will want to control the djemble rather than have it get spread out over your mix...it really is an obtrusive instrument sonically...

Miking a single djembe is kinda like miking a trap set, really...it's got all the same freq's except for the metal, but even then, there's a lot of high's coming off that top skin...

LOL!

Bruce
www.bruceharvie.com
 
hmmm... I dunno if I would mix the top n bottom down to one track as Tonewood suggests... unless you need the tracks... Djembe's have huge bottoms... like a few gir .... naw.... wont go there... You want control over the bottom...speshly in da mix! If all you have are those 57's... use em! Like Tonewood sez... use your best kik mic on the bottom... I have used EV RE20's, Senn 421's, D12's(yuck) and when doing a line of them... anything that could take the SPL! The Sennheiser 421 is the best! Works great on the head as well. If you do a lot of drums the 421's and 57's will be good friends to use... speshly if there are a lot of other drums being played together in the same room. Wanna hear a good drum/djembe recording? Micky Hart's Planet Drum ... Baba Olatunji and Givanni Hidalgo both are masters of the djembe and the recording is the best you will find. check out tracks 4, 6 &7. listen to the low end on that recording. it's huge but controlled... the drums were miced close, top and bottom... 57 on top and 421 on the bottom. LA2A compressors were used to control the dynamics. Mic them close! if you have an outstanding room to record in a room mic could be nice to add some ambience but if its not a great room forget it! make sure there is a wooden surface under the drummer. a 4x8 1/2 plywood will work fine.
If the drummer shows up for the session with one of those REMO djembe's with the cardboard body and the plastic head... slap him as hard as you can and send him home to get a REAL DRUM!
ojo
 
The EV664

Looks like the same mics used in a Travelling Willburies filmclip.
For 30 bucks it also makes a great looking prop.
 
i have got a small djembe and liked the sound of it with an earthworks SRO about 50cm above and 30cm away from the rim, pointing straight down. Maybe a similar position works with your ecm8000
 
Djembes with lows?

I find your opinions interesting, even though I differ. But hey, I am just your typical home recorder.

Are you really sure that Djembes have "low" frequencies? I Agree about the mids (and what I percieve as "low" would be low-mids), but even highs I don't find them exceptionally strong.

After trying out different miking techniques in my home studio (Niger, West Africa), I found out that the simplest way to capture the natural sound of a Djembe (be it as a solo instrument or as percussion to a whole arrangement) is a SM 57 in front about 20cm on a 30 to 45 angle to the skin, pointed slightly to where the hands hit the rim.
2-Mike-Techniques didn't bring me a superior quality.

I agree that Djembes are difficult to record - until I found above-mentioned mike placement.

I see the problem more in the fact, that the characteristic of a Djembe sound is the high-mids heavy "ringing" after the slap. And you need a good compressor setting to keep the hit-transient at bay and still allow the ring to come through, even with fast repeated hits.

An example of a Djembe sound that I don't like is in Peter Gabriels "Talk to me" on the US album. It sounds like when I tried to multi-track a group of Djembes and came up life-less because of the exaggerated compression.
But then again, he is who he is, and I still like his music a lot. ;)

My opinion, out from the desert.

Hans
 
Re: Djembes with lows?

Dijoux said:


out from the desert.

Hans
Click to expand...

Hans,
are you in Niamey? My wife was living there for 3 years. Do you have any afiliation with the Uni of hohenheim?
My djembe is from Bukina Faso i think...
Harald
from another desert
 
Niamey

Hello Harald,

yes I am in Niamey. And as I can see, you are in another desert in Mexico! Must be just as hot there!
Well, right now we are "freezing" with 22°C. ;)

No, I am not with Uni Hohenheim. I knew my neighbours were with them. Mahlers. Their children played with our children on the street.
I work now for the GTZ. My wife is expat for Lycee La Fontaine.

As not to upset the list and keep this thread with some music-related-topic: ;)
My Djembes are from Benin and Burkina. People around here say the best Djembes come from Burkina and/or Mali. And the preferred Wood is the lighter-toned one, which has a lot of resonance, while the darker woods don't have a strong ringing, but withstand temperature changes a lot easier than the dry-wood Djembes.

What did your wife do in Niamey?

Hans
 
Re: Niamey

Dijoux said:
No, I am not with Uni Hohenheim. I knew my neighbours were with them. Mahlers. Their children played with our children on the street.
I work now for the GTZ. My wife is expat for Lycee La Fontaine.


What did your wife do in Niamey?

Hans
Click to expand...

Hans,
I have sent you a personnel mesage! Mahler has been my wife's boss in Niamey...
 
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