Miking saxes

[Tonemaster]

Hi I'm trying to find someone who has had experience(preferably good) miking saxes, to be able to determine optimal positions and mike types across the range soprano/alto/tenor and their various idiosyncracies.
I presently use a Beyer M300TG for studio and electret stereo mikes for playing around to minidisc,but would like to get a bit smarter
Thanx in advance dudes/dudesses

 

[Gidge]

you wanna speak to Lt.Bob.....

 

[Michael Jones]

Someone here, I forget who it was, did a really nice recording of sax with a V67.

 

[littledog]

I like ribbons or large diaphragm condensers on saxes. The important thing is not to just mic the bell, unless you are intentionally going for a "honky" sound.

You want to try and capture the whole instrument. Usually I'll place the mic so that the diaphragm is parallel to the angle of the body of the sax, 1.5 to 3 feet above and away from the center of the instrument.

 

[Tonemaster]

Ideas

Some more stuff I found -
Microphone placement for the sax depends on how much key noise you want. If you consider (as I do) the clicking of the keys as characteristic of the sax's sound or the mood of the particular song, aim the mic at the middle of the instrument. However, if you regard key noise as a bad thing, aim the mic toward the front edge of the bell; do not stick the mic all the way into the bell - all you'll hear is wind noise. In both cases, the mic should be
about a foot (12") away.
Some recommended mikes are Neumann TLM-103, Sennheiser 421

Thanks for your response