Recording the sound waves of the saxaphone -

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Troy Dubb

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Alright engineers, whats your preferred method for recording saxaphone? Mic position? Room mic? Horn... no horn? Elaborate.
 
Check this out.
 

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I've got a bunch of other similar pics, but don't have the time to upload them at the moment.
I prefer to use a sennheaiser e604 close to the bell, then a LD condensor, like a SP B1 a little further away.

Neil
 
Yo Neil:

Pretty cool photo. Kind of looks like you're doing a gig on the "Enterprise" as it soars through space.

Green Hornet :D :p :p
 
I use a dynamic mic (usually an SM57) a bit out in front of the bell and a condenser mic a couple of yards out and head-high. Mix till sweet. Works for me.

If you want a silent way of recording, a Yamaha WX-5 windsynth and VL70m synth box with the proper voices can go direct into the board and sound pretty convincing (nice to be able to emulate all other types of horns, too.)
 
For tenor and baritone saxes,I have had good results with a sennheiser md 421 about 8-10 in. in front and a little above the bell. For altos and sopranos,I like an sm-81 in about the same position. I may vary techniques depending on the tone of the individual horn and playing style........

Good luck!!!!!
 
From experience, I can only tell you the wrong way to do it... LD condenser a few inches from the bell. Learned the hard way. Next time, I'll be trying what TimOBrien recommended - sm57 in front of the bell, and an LD a ways back.

What I hadn't realized is that sound comes from the body of the sax ...not just the bell. You need to record the whole package or it sounds thin (see Exhibit A )
 
Troy Dubb said:
Alright engineers, whats your preferred method for recording saxaphone? Mic position? Room mic? Horn... no horn? Elaborate.
Click to expand...

Can you record a horn with no horn if you are not a Zen master?
 
The Green Hornet said:
Yo Neil:

Pretty cool photo. Kind of looks like you're doing a gig on the "Enterprise" as it soars through space.

Green Hornet :D :p :p
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to mislead you - thats not my pic. I got it off of a band called Less Than Jakes website. They've got a section on the recording of their new record and that was one of the pics.

Bit of an eye opener some of those pics, to see how the pro's record.
 
Neil Ogilvie said:
I didn't mean to mislead you - thats not my pic. I got it off of a band called Less Than Jakes website. They've got a section on the recording of their new record and that was one of the pics.

Bit of an eye opener some of those pics, to see how the pro's record.
Click to expand...

yes... apparently pro's record through a fish-eye lens!
 
"apparently pro's record through a fish-eye lens!"

YeGawds, I always wondered how they got that WIIIIDE Stereo "image"... Steve
 
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