Speaking of Mics ( and violins)

[DavidK]

Hi folks, since nobody ( except Munro) has heard of Avlex, here is my next question:

I am looking in to getting a new mic, for recording
violin. Any ideas? I just bought an electric violin,
which has put my budget in to the Bankruptcy range,
so I am looking for an Inexpensive Mic, maybe in
the $300 range. Is there anything available in that
range, or should I save my cash and get a Neumann
or other fancy mic?
Also, condenser, large diaphram, etc. Which is
more suitable for Classical Violin recording?
Thanx, David

 

[Wide Awake]

I am reading an article in Electronic Musician magazine about recording solo violin(Sept.2000)

It recommends ribbon mics because of their inherently soft and high-end response, which alleviates schreechiness and bow noise. The beyerdynamic M260, M160, M130, and the Oktava ML19 are recommended. Don't know what they cost.

They don't recommend small diaphram condenser mics but the DO like large diaphram ones....didn't mention any by name. For $300 I would consider the AKG 3000B. $350 could buy the Audio Technica 4033.

The article suggests miking the violin from at least one foot above the top of the instrument. Use a bidirectional (figure-8) pickup pattern if your mic has that. That will pick up the room sound. Record in a lively room, not in dead sounding, dry one.

 

[mikeh]

Recording Violin

I'm no expert (only recorded two violins- on seperate sessions - total of seven songs) but I did not have any luck with the AKG 3000 - the original not the 3000B). Had better luck with an AT4047 - which leads me to believe the 4033 may work). My best recording was with the KSM32 (which is out of the $300 range). I would suggest the AT4033 for your budget.

I have found that the key to recording violin (beyond the obvious issue of the players ability to get good tone) is all about room accustics, I believe even more so than with voice or accustic guitar. I had a very difficult time finding a "sweet spot" that did not create harsh overtones and reflections (what can I say - I'm really set up to be a MIDI production studio). My best tracking was creating in a 10'X10' area lined with draperies - recording a rather dry sound and adding reverb). But, that truly defeated the point of recording the violins. One of the violins was a 100 year old instrument (with significant history) that should have been captured in a proper concert hall.

Candidly, I regret to this day the fact that I had a wonderful opportunity to record a truly beautiful instrument played by a fine musicain (how often do those opportunities come along), and my home studio wasn't up to the task.

 

[dobro]

If you post this question at 3daudio, jnorman, who records classical ensembles and soloists all the time, will recommend a ribbon in general, and the Royer R-121 in particular. The downside is that you need a powerful pre for some or all ribbons - they don't work through some pres (for example, the Presonus Blue Tube, if my memory serves me well, although I don't know who'd put a Royer R121 through a blue Tube...).

Beyerdynamic make cheaper ribbons than Royer:

http://www.beyerdynamic.com/