tabla and sitar microphone and angles

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Rhamett

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i am recording an indian instrument called a tabla next week. T is a small drum that is played with the hands while sitting on the floor.
is there a microphone most specific for my application?should I use dynamic or condenser?
i have a wide selection of microphones and preamplifiers but I am wondering on microphone ideas and angles?anyone with experience of this nature? tabla and sitar?
 
Rhamett said:
i am recording an indian instrument called a tabla next week. T is a small drum that is played with the hands while sitting on the floor.
is there a microphone most specific for my application?should I use dynamic or condenser?
i have a wide selection of microphones and preamplifiers but I am wondering on microphone ideas and angles?anyone with experience of this nature? tabla and sitar?
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Good to see an indian here! I can play tabla as well but never recorded anything. I think the Shure dynamic mics will really help because condenser mics will be too sensitive for tablas. give it a shot with any dynamic mic first and see how the results come. hit me back. :)
 
I have no experience of recording those instrument either, but I play the sitar and would love to hear back from you and get some ideas about how to record it.

I know that in many of the classical recordings of those instrument they focus a lot on finding a good room or concert hall with perfect acustics and record the sound of the whole room rather than just closemiking the instruments. Maybe a good idea would be to do both to have maximal freedom in the mix

/wtk
 
I did a location recording about a year ago of a famous Sitarist with accompanying tabla and harmonium, plus a lovely vocalist, who was my client's sister visiting from India. She had been classicaly trained since childhood. It was a real pleasure doing the recording and mix, bordering on a religious experience.
The Sitarist, who had something of a mix between rockstar & holy status, has some 30 record releases, and obviously had some knowledge of recording equipment. I did put some dynamics on the tabla and the vocalist, but my main focus was on setting up a spaced pair of SD condensers in such a way as to have a natural stereo recording of the performance. I used a pair of Oktava MK-012s, which the studio savy sitarist fell in love with. I took a board feed to my MDMs, but I don't think I used any of that for the CD, just the 012s. From the sympathetic strings of the sitar to the dynamic tones of the tabla, the pair of SDCs captured everything nicely, and everyone was very pleased with the results.
 
most thankyou everyone.some good ideas there. yes i have octavia mk012.
keep ideas coming. thanking you very much.
 
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