post the way YOU record/mix strings

[cello_pudding]

cello/upright:

stereo mic (not true stereo) with a sdc and a ldc and hard panned but each side equal in volume. on each side of the bridge and slightly above the bridge as long as its out of the way of the bow hand.

violin/viola:

ldc angled at the octave and a fifth position. gives a good representation of what it sounds like naturally.

piano:

i'm still up in the air about this. i've tried the left/right bass/treble. but i don't think i like that. i thing i want to try a stereo method with two sdc's, and then off axis with an ldc at the lower strings pointed towards the higher to get the bass to be clear and still add shimmer to the highs. i just don't think the ole sdc's by the left side and the right side is completely natural.

classical/steelstring guitar:

a lot like the cello method. ldc on the hole side pointing at the 12-14 fret, and sdc neck side pointing at the 12-14 fret. i've heard the ldc at the hole, right at the bridge, and the sdc at the neck, and none capture it like this.

those are the only strings i deal with (no harp) feel free to comment or add string instruments you've dealt with

 

[cello_pudding]

well it seems just a plain xy sdc recording is better than the right left method.

i'm going to work on the sdc mic...but i was running into phase problems close micing with the ldc

 

[cello_pudding]

i've done some more messing. putting the sdc in the center really kills the stereo image or creates some phase issues.

if you find a good 3:1 ratio (you know that old rule) with the sdc on a good spot around the bass strings. Near the end of the string doesn't give it that bigger bass you're looking for and is pretty thin. if you just monitor the level while you look for a sweet spot that will give you a good volume, but make sure what's coming in isn't just a good volume of crappy tone.

and then pan that where you think it would come out in the stereo field according to where your xy sdc's are and blend it to your liking, it gives you a good crisp piano sound that's not mid sounding. bare in mind i am playing an old tall upright, so it does have that mid sound too it.

 

[TheRockinDonkey]

I usually just take the output directly from the guitar into my distortion pedal, then into my compressor/sustainer into the guitar input and record the track.

If I'm not using distortion, I don't hook up the distortion pedal.

I don't have a mic preamp, so I don't really have the proper gear to mic my guitars and amps. And I'm not sure I'd want the ambient noise on the tracks.

 

[cello_pudding]

wow.

no one deals with strings at all besides some kid that plugs in direct?



the way i mix them is usually lowest part in the middle and pan a bit left the next lowest, right the next lowest, left the next...etc.

for doubled parts i don't put them in the same pan position. whenever i was in a singing ensemble, we were always set up in mixed positions. in a madrigal style i think the panning space and frequency space don't conflict as if i panned like an orchestra or traditional chorus would be. still the basses are in the back, tenors front and spread, and altos and sopranos are left and right, so parts are "panned" for live preformance in with the same frequency space idea, but if your ensemble knows their parts, i would say mixed is the way to go.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I don't have much opportunity to work with strings, but I have worked for years with a synth composer (think half Tomita, half Tangerine Dream).

If he's doing a more modern synth composition, then anything goes (within the standard 4D mixing guidelines of balance). If he's doing something more orchestral, however, I'll often mix to a standard orchestra map. See attached for a schematic I got off the Internet a while back...

G.

 

[rayc]

Pudd'n,
For my 'cello I use a sony 19B Electret Condensor pointed between the bridge & F hole at about 6" AND a bridge piezo p/up & blend them. Not too much from the bug/piezo as it's not very flattering but does give some top end. The 19B has noise problems depending on the preamp but when captured through a compatible pre the sound is nice and warm.
My only ongoing problem is the amount of extraneous noise from the bow which is as much a matter of my really poor playing technique as anything else.
I also had a big issue with headphones & cello as any contact between them is loud in the ear & picked up by the mic PLUS the cable was an issue. The way around that for me was using wireless h/phones & with profile on the ear pieces. A loss of quality from the transmission & less isolated ears but it certainly eased the other probs about 75%.
For mixing I usually stack a couple of performances on top of each other & place a stack on either side of the image though not hard panned. Any solo or single track I bung dead centre as I find it REALLY hard to balance another instrument against the 'cello even with EQ carving.

 

[cello_pudding]

i sorta enjoy a little bit of bow noise on staccato parts.

you do the stacked beatles way of panning? cool

i'm getting a lame pickup for cello any day now in the mail. i'll have to try out the blend when it comes

 

[garbagelarge]

strings

i just recently recording a four song e.p. for a band and three of the songs had viola. we experimented with 2 sdcs (neumann km184s) an ldc (at 4033) and the violist's pick-up - in the end we used different mics/combinations on different songs - we close-miked above the instrument, about 6 inches directly above the center. i was running into mackie onyx pres to digital. i could never get it to sound as pretty as it does naturally - the room sound we picked up just gave it this amateur sound - if you know i mean - like when a home recording is almost good. the room is pretty good usually - it's big and the person we rent it from had it tuned with deflection/absorption and bass traps. it ended up sounding ok - and usable within the context of the mix(electric bass, keys, drum kit), but it wouldn't have stood on its own. i would like to try a ribbon - and something with an omnidirectional pattern - i know with an omni i'll pick up more room, but maybe it will be more balanced. but perhaps the mic isn't the problem

 

[Robert D]

I tend to like spaced pairs in big rooms for strings. XY tends to have image shift problems if the violinist is getting into it and not staying still. Same with viola, not an issue with Cello, but there I like to mix an LD and SD which doesn't lend itself to coincident pairs. The room is sooo important with strings.