Folk music - Why?

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RevF

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Hi Guys,
Appreciate any tips you can give me to make my live-band recording debut (I have previously only recorded in mono/stereo) go smoothly -
I am about to record (in my home studio) a 5-piece folk band - A Harp, two dulcimers, acoustic bass and flute. Not sure how many vocals yet - but I'm guessing about 3. They want to record everything live (despite my preference for overdubbing the vocal afterwards) and I can record up to 10 channels through my Delta10-10.
I think all the instruments have pick-ups and I think I have all the kit I need - Just any tips you can give for mic placement or just general planning would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
 
Thats a good one. In my humble opinion, I would think traditional folk would have the audio picture of the listener being about 10 to 15 ft away from the group and all the instrument voices naturally panned in the mix just as they perform their act without mics , that the natural placement and amplitude of each instrument and voice recreated in the mic`s just as if you were standing or sitting 10 to 15 ft in front them or in a chair. The 5 instrument mics/pickups panned in clamshell fashion, left, mid left, center, mid right, right. And if using mics, all about waist level no closer than about 3 ft . The 3 vocal mics clustered and panned mid left, center, and mid right, on a plane about 24 inches higher than the instrument mics, no further away than 2 ft. You may have to ride faders a little on instrument solos, but very little. There are some recording engineers here that know more about the studio and may have a better method for doing the whole thing at once, but the scenario interested me a lot. I hope you don`t mind me buttin in. I`ve done this type of group this way before and it worked great live.
 
So much depends on the specifics of how they set up, what they sound like, what they want the recording to sound like, what your room sounds like, etc.

My own prejudice would be to forget the pickups (or record 'em, just in case you want them, if you have enough tracks) and mic everything.

There are tons of ways to mic them ... what works depends on the things mentioned above, and others, I think. At one extreme, you could just mic the whole group with two mics in a stereo arrangement of your choice, or a Decca tree or something. At the other, you'd close mic every instrument and voice with one or more mics. And there's every variation and combination in between.

You might do a search on r.a.p.
 
Well, this is how I do it . . .

Here in the Highlands of Scotland we get to record tonnes of folky stuff ranging from pure to folk-rock. I have developed a method and here is how it goes :-

1. Get them to play all together and free, without a click track (you will never get folky folk to play with a click - even if you beat them silly).

2. Keep the drums and maybe the bass.

3. Over dub the rest one by one.

4. Add on the pads and other things that just the four or five of them could not do on their own.

5. Do a rough mix and you will discover that there is still stuff missing. Add sax, keys, etc etc according to taste and pocket (or ability of friends).

6. Mix

7. Master
 
Thanks!
I was expecting ridicule from a dance/rock fraternity, but instead got useful help!
You've also confirmed my preferences ( & fears of the way they have said that they wish to record - ie in one go using the pickups ).
I think I'll record their preferred way in one go, and then suggest miking and overdubbing each instrument to improve the sounds as required.
Any tips for the individual instruments?
Thanks!
Paul
 
Nope, except . . .

. . . get a nice sound on all. Maybe try to use real mics on the overdubs (so much nicer than pick-ups) and geta good mic for vocals.

Ah, yes! Once you have finnished, get a really good keyboard player to lay over some pads and arrangements. That is usually the difference between a professional sounding folk CD and an amateur. (We just laid keys on just this sort of thing today!)

I have a wedsite with tipos and tricks at www.the-byre.com

good luck!!!
 
If they insist on recording with pickups, you should still have something recording the ambient sound for live with mics, especially with something acoustic like folk. Toki seemed to have nailed how I would like to do this. Let us know what you did and how it turns out :D
 
I would suggest having them bring over an album or two of artists that they want the record to sound like........also, if they are a folk act, you've got to use real mics......pickups will make it sound like crap in my opinion.....part of the appeal to folk music is the natural sounds of the woods and what not, and that can't be captured through a pick-up no matter how hard you try.....this is not to say that good recordings can't be made w/ pick-ups....it's just that it will sound pretty bad for what a folk act is going for
 
My preference with folk music is ALWAYS to go live to two track. You are talking about a style of music which is all about the group. Overdubbing folk music will never sound as good, and the musicians will never be comfortable overdubbing. I will some times multi-track and mix latter, but I really prefer to mix while I am tracking. Folk music, and folk musicians, is about people playing together, and it is the together part that is most important. Mixing live to two is my way of becoming part of that togetherness, and it seems to make the musicians more comfortable. This does of course require a fair bit of pre-production, but I find it to be worth it, myself. Some of my favorite recording memories are recording folk music live to two. I will frequently edit things in the mastering stage, by the way, but I feel better recording things as simply as possible.

I like to set up the band in a semi-circle, to give everyone a good sight line, and then mic everyone in such a way that my mics and mic stands are as unobtrusive as possible. You want them to forget they are being recorded, because they will always play better that way. I will sometimes put singers in an isolation booth, if I have one available, but I prefer to have them in the room if it is at all possible, and damn the bleed. Bleed can be part of your sound, if you are careful with mic placement.

The most important thing is that the musicians be comfortable, and recording studios make most musicians (folk or otherwise) uncomfortable. It is unfamiliar territory.

Light

“Cowards can never be moral.”
M.K. Gandhi
 
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