Miking a musical saw..

  • Thread starter Thread starter rion
  • Start date Start date
R

rion

New member
I'm wondering if anyone here has experience miking a musical saw. I'm planning to lay it over an acoustic guitar track for some nice eerie overtones and I'm a little unsure of how to go about it. While quite loud, the saw has a rather exceptional range and I'm trying to figure out what would be best. Perhaps a small condenser?
 
hmmm... Intresting question, I don't think Ive ever read anything about miking a saw. A small condensor would probably give you good results. Micing it in stereo (if you can) would be good too. I actually don't think I'v ever seen anyone play a saw. I know I've heard one though, really cool sound.

-jhe
 
OK- so the pitch is dependent on the RPM, but how do you control it accurately?
I need a bunch of saw patches on my synth. Handsaw, Circular Saw, Abrasive Cutoff, Bandsaw and Chainsaw at least....
Sever it with Everett. :)
 
I actually have recorded saws, hammers, as well as a variety of other "workshop" and industrial sounds. What I used was a stereo Audio Technica AT822. The AT mic is a good choice for general realistic sounds "in nature" --- I found it to sound pretty realistic on everything from saws to frog croaking to doors creaking to . . . ---- well you name it.
 
When I say saw, I mean a regular handsaw.. The kind that starts at about 5 or 6 inches at the handle and tapers to about 2 1/2 or 3 inches across over a distance of about 2 or 2 1/2 feet. It's played by placing the handle between you legs (sitting down) with the teeth of the saw facing you. Here's the important part: you sort of have to bend the saw into a subtle 'S' shape for it to work properly. This gives you a smallish curve at the top and a largish curve at the bottom. The pitch is controlled by the large curve. The tighter you make it, the higher the frequency. It is the played with a bow (as in violin type bow). The timber (pun intended) is controlled by where on the big curve you bow the saw. It creates a very eerie theremin-type sound. Very cool. I have a C1000 that I think will probably pick it up ok. What do you guys think?
 
My guess is you're the pioneer here--I don't know too many people who have recorded this. Have you considered an e-bow? http://www.ebow.com/
I think this is one example of where we need you to experiment and tell us what works...I don't know too many saw recordists that I can think of. Most of my cutting takes place on the eq section of my board...
 
The E-bow is definately a fun toy and some of the sound you get from an one might be compared to a saw as well but it can be a little harsh. The saw is increadibly smooth sounding.
BTW, there may not be a lot of us but I'm definately not a pioneer. People have been doing this for a long time. It works really well to accompany acoustic instruments of all kinds and it's really quite easy to learn. What's best about it is that a saw doesn't cost much over $12. A bow can run you a little more but you don't need a fancy one. A garage sale/flea market bow works just fine.

I like the idea of micing it in stereo. It would probably flow really nicely between right and left.. Thanks, guys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top