violins have strings...

[cellardweller]

So can I ask a question pertaining to violins here...Puhleeeeeaase?

How do you mic a violin? Just buy a little pickup of some sort?


I am a stupid person with stupid quesions.

I therefore confirm the existence of both.

 

[mikeh]

I've recorded violin a few times - with various amounts of success. I once had the thrill of recording a very fine player with a violin that was over 100 years old, purchased from a violin shop in the shadow of a famous Vienna concert hall (Beats the hell out of recording out of tune wanna be rockers)

First off, do not use a pick up, while that may work in a live setting (I think it's called a fiddle in that setting) it does not allow the violin to move air. I would not suggest it for recording.

Like all acoustic instruments, an important part of the overall tone is the sound in the room. Accordingly, you want to capture the sound a little way from the violin - to allow for the sound to "develop". It may record too harsh if you stay too close to the bow contact..

However, that is where the problem can come in. A violin can be a very piercing sounding instrument (in particular a cheap violin in the hands of a less then accomplished player). If the room is not warm sounding, you can pick up too many harsh reflections.

So the catch is, where is the sweet spot. You want to be 2-4 feet away, but you do not want to pick up too many reflections.

I would recommend a warm sounding condenser mic (I've had good luck with a KSM32 which is pretty transparent and I had bad luck with a C3000 which is/was way too bright) - certainly a tube mic could be an option . While placement can be as much dictated by the room as anything, I have found that mic'ing from 2-4 feet above an in front of the player (much like drum overheads) can work (again depending on the room). You may have to pay specific attention to room treatment (even more so than in a normal session).

 

[Richard Monroe]

The biggest problem with violin/viola in my experience, is the bow noise, which can be very harsh, and makes close mic'ing pretty much a non-option. I've been lucky to work with a top-notch violinist on the current project. Audrey White is a full professor at the New England Conservatory- $30,000 viola, $15,000 bow, you get the picture.
We tried a bunch of stuff, but my suggestion is to use the most flat, transparent mic(s) you have. Either one good LD or a pair of SD's will work, and back those suckers off a goodly amount. 2-4 feet was suggested above, but we wound up at more like 6 feet. This means you need a good room, and damned little background noise, or you are screwed. We tried Studio Projects C-4's, Oktava MC012's, B.L.U.E. Kiwi, and C414B-ULS. I think our best tracks were achieved using the Kiwi, backed off about 6 feet, into an Avalon AD2022.
Good luck- a violin is one of the most difficult acoustic instruments to capture accurately, and a pickup will suck for sure.-Richie

 

[cellardweller]

Well I have a pretty "dead" room, and limited mic selection at this time... Christmas is upon us so I will have to make do with what I have for now...

Thanx to all for responses...