folk band setup

[daveblue222]

My band and I are going to be recording soon. My setup is:-

Presonus firestudio project
Samson C03 Omni Condenser
Sm-57
Cubase Le

Band Consists of

acoustic guitar (mainly fingerpicked stuff, some strumming)
acoustic bass
Acoustic guitar (lead style playing with pick)

We want to record everything together (at least the basis of the songs) rather than track everything.

I am thinking of getting a pair of behringer c2 stereo matched mics to use to mic the bass and one of the acoustic guitars. I know these are not the best mics but i dont have much money spend. are there any more mics out there in this price range that come as a pair that are better?

would a different mic arrangement be better for this setup??


all help greatly appreciated

cheers

 

[darrin_h2000]

Record them mono with just the omni and use a vintager type effect to make them sound like Woody Guitrie

 

[Jeff_D]

I record these guys. http://www.myspace.com/thetillersthree

Set up is usually the three of them in the middle of the room, live. We overdubbed fiddles and harmonics, but thats about it. Generally speaking that was...

(2) sd condersers for room mics. Octava MK012
(2) Octava 319 LD condensers for vocals mics
Sm57 on the banjo
Audix I5 on the ac guitar
MXL V67G on the stand-up bass + a little AKG D112

The stuff were doing now has a few more mics, but with 8 channels, a similar setup will get you a really good result...

You'll get a lot of bleed in the mics. Dont worry about it.

 

[Jeff_D]

I record these guys. http://www.myspace.com/thetillersthree

btw, that Route 50 song get them an interview and segment on the Tom Brokaw cross country drive documentary thing he's doing. Very cool.

http://www.usanetwork.com/highway50/videos/index.html


The "music video" is my audio.

 

[gecko zzed]

I am thinking of getting a pair of behringer c2 stereo matched mics to use to mic the bass and one of the acoustic guitars. I know these are not the best mics but i dont have much money spend. are there any more mics out there in this price range that come as a pair that are better?

I believe that the C2s are probably the most under-rated mikes around. They are very good for instruments, particularly live. A C2 can get an awesome sound from an upright bass.

Here is a short sample of a live recording, using a C2 on the bass:
http://www.box.net/shared/uim1h825c4

So . . . I reckon you can go with the C2s pretty confidently, and just experiment with the other mikes you have to see which works best.

 

[Jim Lad]

I believe that the C2s are probably the most under-rated mikes around.

I have to disagree.
I Couldn't possibly rate them any higher.
Behringer hit the ball out of the park with that deal.

 

[daveblue222]

thanks for the advice. the bass is not an upright, its an acoustic bass (like an acoustic guitar)

for me the sound of the bass on that track is fine. you definitely couldnt call it bad, its very nice. im gonna just buy a pair and see what happens. has anyone experimented with mixing the miced sound with a partial direct input sound from the guitar pickup?

oh yeah forgot to mention i will also be recording a mandolin,should i use a condenser or dynamic. i read somewhere to use dynamic. having said that i have recorded mandolin with a condenser and it sounded pretty nice


-dave

 

[gecko zzed]

I have to disagree.
I Couldn't possibly rate them any higher.
Behringer hit the ball out of the park with that deal.

That means we agree, not disagree!

 

[gecko zzed]

thanks for the advice. the bass is not an upright, its an acoustic bass (like an acoustic guitar)

for me the sound of the bass on that track is fine. you definitely couldnt call it bad, its very nice. im gonna just buy a pair and see what happens. has anyone experimented with mixing the miced sound with a partial direct input sound from the guitar pickup?

oh yeah forgot to mention i will also be recording a mandolin,should i use a condenser or dynamic. i read somewhere to use dynamic. having said that i have recorded mandolin with a condenser and it sounded pretty nice


-dave

An acoustic bass, i.e. not upright, should work well with a C2. I have to say, though, that I'm not a big fan of them as an instrument. You can try mixing a miked sound with the pick-up sound . . . balance to taste. However, I tried that with an upright bass . . . okay for live, but it sounded pretty bad for recording.

I'd use (and have used) a condensor on a mandolin.

 

[Jim Lad]

That means we agree, not disagree!

Yup!
That's why I punctuated it with a great big grin.
Thought you'd catch it but am aware that humour in print ofttimes goes awry.

I'd suggest using a combination of C2 and a large condenser on the bass.
Behringer makes some affordable 1" condensers but depending on your preamp, they are a bit bright. The AKG Perceptions are high in the mid range but still reasonably affordable.
Where can I hear your stuff?

 

[darrin_h2000]

A used AT3035 is the very best intrument mic deal...most are won on Ebay for arround $50...and it can pick up any acoustic instrument like a champ.

 

[Big Kenny]

Yup!
That's why I punctuated it with a great big grin.
Thought you'd catch it but am aware that humour in print ofttimes goes awry.

I'd suggest using a combination of C2 and a large condenser on the bass.
Behringer makes some affordable 1" condensers but depending on your preamp, they are a bit bright. The AKG Perceptions are high in the mid range but still reasonably affordable.
Where can I hear your stuff?

That's sound advice......ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
No really, you are gonna want a Large condenser anyway, grab a AT4040 or Myriads 4033 (medium in the want ads) and thank me later

 

[guitar junkie]

What about getting a good sounding Ribbon mic?

Seems like the sound you're after will be in one of those...

 

[Shadow_7]

What type of recording / sound are you going after anyway? A sterile studio type, or some accoustic coffee shop ambience or similar. If the groups / voices are all well balanced, you could get away with a single wide cardiod mic, or a stereo pair. If you're looking for something that can be mixed / multitracked to death, you might need a bit more gear.

 

[darrin_h2000]

In my experience most folk trios are going for a vintage type sound...some lo-fi stuff like cheaper mics would be acceptable on that I think...Harvey suggested a free plugin for this.

 

[Jim Lad]

What about getting a good sounding Ribbon mic?

Seems like the sound you're after will be in one of those...

I'm into ribbons but in all honesty, they are a lot of work especially in a group situation like this one.

 

[gecko zzed]

In my experience most folk trios are going for a vintage type sound...some lo-fi stuff like cheaper mics would be acceptable on that I think...Harvey suggested a free plugin for this.

You must move in different circles. Here it is the reverse . . . they want the best possible sound they can get!

 

[darrin_h2000]

You must move in different circles. Here it is the reverse . . . they want the best possible sound they can get!

We have more Irish based ones here in KC...Ill add the plugin and let them hear it with it and they mostly like it.

Its the solo female folksingers that want a clean sound...like Jewel.