one for jnorman - recording sax

[spring64]

Hi,
I am looking to do some stereo saxophone micing (jazz). As of right now I have used mono mics (C3000, 441) but somehow my recordings lack the depth of pro stuff. Do you have any input on getting a great sax sound?
I'd also like to talk over (email) some things with you sometime if you could spare a second. I live up here in Portland.
Thanks!
spring@pcez.com

 

[jnorman]

yes, i have found a pretty good setup for sax, though it took some trial-and-error work. i use a mix of a ribbon mic (royer r-121) and a small condenser (neumann km184), both slightly off-axis at 10-12" from about the middle of the instrument. i tried several configurations for this, varying the distances of one or the other mic to broaden the stereo spread, and to possibly enhance some room ambience, but the best overall effect i got was with both mics close. i also tried a combination of a blumlein pair of ribbons at about 2 feet combined with an ORTF pair of the small neumanns, and that also works really well, if you have 4 tracks to burn. i would probably use that method if i was doing a solo sax tune, but for mixing with other instruments, even if just a piano accompaniment, i prefer the two close mics. choose the reverb carefully - it is very easy to overdo the verb on this kind of stuff. it also usually helps to give the reverb a brighter EQ than the dry signal. try to avoid any eq on the original track - if it doesn't sound quite right, move your mics and try again.