Recording Flutes - Ideas for attaching them for stage PA and recording

R

rob aylestone

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I thought I'd do a video about flutes. They're not too bad to record in the studio, but playing one live - either for a recording or just being amplifed for a live show - can be tricky. I found a cheap lav mic, this one was cheap (£32) and came with a violin mount, but I tried it on a clip on mount, and having listened back a few times, I think it sounds better than the SM7B comparison mic I use for the videos. Breath noise, wind, vibrations and clicks are all there, but lower down, it seems a bit smoother to me?
 
rob aylestone said:
I thought I'd do a video about flutes. They're not too bad to record in the studio, but playing one live - either for a recording or just being amplifed for a live show - can be tricky. I found a cheap lav mic, this one was cheap (£32) and came with a violin mount, but I tried it on a clip on mount, and having listened back a few times, I think it sounds better than the SM7B comparison mic I use for the videos. Breath noise, wind, vibrations and clicks are all there, but lower down, it seems a bit smoother to me?
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Interesting - did you use the cheap Lavaliere Mic just to see what it can do? Have you tried a more accurate Lavaliere mic?
 
I'd have to agree with your assessment. They're very close when isolated and I think it would be near impossible to tell the difference in a live performance.

I was actually expecting to hear quite a bit more valve sounds but those were very subtle.
 
I’ve never done it with a clarinet as you’d have the mic at the high end, escaping note wind wise. The flute luckily has the hole as the prime source. that flute is also a very breathy one, rather than one where it’s easy to get a more pure sound, plus my own playing is pretty flawed. I first bought one because I liked Ian Anderson, rather than James Galway! I normally slap up a boom with a downwards facing condenser, drum overhead style but a bit lower, but the players always walk out of the mics ‘beam’. Then I did a few shows where the strings and the flute had mics clipped on and the results were pretty good, but until yesterday, I’d not tried it in more controlled circumstances. I do need to work out where the hum is coming from, as twice now, the edit suite speakers have proven their lack of 50Hz. I suspect the preamp, as the zoom recorder was working on batteries but the XLRs to the unused radio receivers were still plugged in and that must be where it was coming from. If I get a chance today, I’ve had a request for a video. A fella says he has listened to my voice and the SM7B and he has a Sennheiser 416 he was recommended for video voice overs and he’s unhappy with it. He wants me to put one next to the SM7B so he can compare the difference.
 
I'm rambling a bit, but this talk always makes me think about Johnny Carson's stage mic, the boom mic used for his guests - I'm assuming it was used for those seated as well as on stage. I think one of them was a Sennheiser MKH805.

Cost aside, would one of these work for live performances? I guess the boom itself might be restrictive.
 
I've not managed to find a picture of him with a guest mic on a boom? Probably googling the wrong thing. I have some AKG capsules for 451 mics - the CK8 - short shotgun and the CK9 long shotgun, and they actually are described as suitable for vocals on stage? I've never seen anybody use them like this, but I can see where the idea comes from.
 
At 3:16 yer playing the flute, but not show your fingers...Dude, I would have faked it. Get a flute Sample, play on a keyboard breathy controller. Everyone would have thought you were the best flutist, splice in a riff. Nobody would know.
 
Oh - I do that lots lazer. Flute samples are pretty decent, but sax ones still are not that usable. I recorded the old Hazel O'Connor will you song for fun a while back - I think the final thing was edited out of maybe 6 versions. I did the same on a couple of other tracks on the flute. Just couldn't make the samples do the twiddly bits.
 
I couldn't find any pics of the MKH805 in a stage boom, but I did stumble onto this bit of video :

 
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