Saxophone Recording Techniques

It all starts with you

Experiment in the recording studio can do a lot of fun with many exciting things. If you get all the variables just right, it can inspire your game. Of course, even if you have a large microphone in a large room and go through the best recording equipment, you can not sound too good if you have a terrible sound out of your horn. Therefore, it is important that the time to get the basics before heading to take in the recordingStudio.

spent with a good sound in the place, time and with good equipment in the studio, you can still sound better, assuming you are an engineer, what a saxophone work know ... Do not laugh! I've done sound checks in large venues and the sound engineer had asked me if I use a microphone on my saxophone! Run, do not go by the boys!

These days, some good engineers are not so much experience with a saxophone. Many can only work with bands that have the typical line-up haveDrums, bass, guitar, keyboard and a singer. No matter what your career you point at, learning a few things about the recording process will help ensure that your efforts sound, much better.

Early in my career, I did not pay much attention to microphones, processing, transmission, EQ frequency, etc. Now I do. I am hands on in the studio, because I will sound good. I hear things I played years ago, and I do not know how much it sounds. Not what I played, but the real sound ... maybe it wasthe way the engineer worked EQ or it was him sitting in the mix.
So, it all starts with you ... But it could all end with the engineer!

Mics

The good news is that there are some very good engineers out there who can send us to better sound. The first thing an engineer in the bag of toys should the microphone.
One of the first major projects I was involved with the recording was in 1988 with the Canadian singer / guitarist Colin James, who was signed with Virgin America at the time. We went toCriteria Recording Studios in Miami for work with famed producer / engineer Tom Dowd, who call to Eric Clapton (Layla), The Allman Brothers, Leonard Skynard and Aretha Franklin recorded a few. We saw all the gold records of such artists hanging on the wall, plus others such as James Brown (I Feel Good), The Bee Gees ("Saturday Night Fever). All the songs we heard had grown up, it was overwhelming, there for the first time. But the best was yet to come!

After meeting with Tom Dowd, Iindicated that he also King Curtis and John Coltrane, two of the most influential saxophonists in history, law received there, where we were to find! Well, a saxophonist, I felt in good hands!

He prefers the Neumann U87 mic. This model came in the 60s, I know that he recorded King Curtis Coasters meetings during the late 50s and would have used Neumann U47 ... for Coltrane as well.

These microphones are still the industry standard because it has a largediaphram mic production of a big, warm sound. It can be found in every large commercial studio, but not necessarily in the smaller project studios because they cost several thousand dollars per site. However, I would not slow down a session or recording project if these microphones were not available.

Today, companies that really good mics for under $ 500. For the CD I just finished, Rock & Roll Saxophonist, I have several microphones, two were under $ 500 and a U.S. dollar 3000th The reallygood inexpensive it lie, the Shure SM7 and the AKG C1000.

Pre-Amp

Direct line to the microphone is a pre-amp. This is just an amplifier, the signal in order to increase the recording machine, computer, etc. A pre-amp is the best way I've found getting the really "hot" saxophone sound. In principle, a level control and an exit button. You crank the gain on the input button until it's almost in the red, red, a no-no, because that will give your sound nasty distortion. Shortly beforethe distortion is a fine line, you can experiment with it for the amount of boost you want in your sound. I've used it on the low setting, somewhere in the middle, and really hot. It all depends on the desired sound for a particular recording.

Compression

The next toy to experiment with the compressors. I am not a technician (you may have noticed), but basically compression on a saxophone will be a ceiling to provide for your volume, and each note up to thisCeiling, so that all your notes will be even with each other in volume. If you go overboard with this effect, you hear the sound manipulation so again, you've got to experiment. Personally, I am sometimes like a little bit of that in my sound, it all depends on the song. If you listen closely, especially with headphones, you hear how things are magnified in the sax sound like breath, spat on the sheet, and even made small cracking noises through the reportPads.

Equalizer

Even after beefing up your sound sizzle with the pre-amp and compressor, more body and can be added with the equalizer (EQ).
For some extra sizzle or sparkle, I would like to add some high-end frequency to 10k, but you might have to experiment. You can push the right sparkle in 8k or 11k. If you have a good microphone that increases in GI do not have to be huge, only between 1 and 3 dB (decibels).

I never felt that my saxophone rather than by the needsCenter frequencies, the increase midsas they give you a nasty Honky tone, but often a little low end EQ will help to round off the tone. Again, you need to experiment, but I go in around 125 to 250 Hz (Killahertz).

Reverb

Everyone wants some reverb if you listen to headphones in the studio to hear. This is because Hall is an immediate large, wet clay, making your playing sound better and so could help you feel more comfortable when takingMeeting.

I've noticed how fashion has reverb over time ... are various types and styles in fashion, sometimes it is hip, much enthusiasm, sometimes you almost nothing.
The original way to capture Hall has had to the sounds that came naturally in the room, and the amount that you depended on the size of the room to be used. People remains a record today, and we hear how some stories went band in a big old church to capture or someone in the basement or bathroom to achieveamazing sound.

Plate reverb units are an artificial way to Hall to create studios.

Plate reverb is produced by vibrating large plates. Obviously made this kind of production lead Reverb good sense, which allows different room sizes, without leaving your own studio. Today there are many types of reverb with digital technology, and any size studio have some good in plug. The type and amount of reverb you depend on your personal taste,I personally very much if you can hear it, it's too much. I like it set so you can not select it from the sound, but if you turn it off, that there is no notice.

Delay / Echo

Delay or echo, the effect of the repeated notes of the original signal is heard. How would you yell into a well, hi ... HELLO ... HI. When using reverb delay I think is not needed and usually gets in his way.

I love this effect on my saxophone. The amount varies by morethe music.
The short "slap" delay is most identifiable Rockabilly music is based on the vocals and guitar. All aspects of this effect can be controlled, do the general level of the effect on the number of repetitions you. Sometimes a beautiful setting of the delay is the perfect thing on a saxophone, especially on a rock tune or a ballad. I have this quite a lot in my previous recording, here you can have my saxophone with a little delay and then listen to a lot.

Wah-Wah

Finally there is theWah-Wah pedal. This is usually heard on the guitar. But did you know that it was invented so that the guitar could sound like trumpet? If imitate a trumpet player uses a stamp to get that wah-wah sound on the sound of the guitar players wanted.

Back in the 70's, I remember hearing a few bands with a saxophone player and a wah pedal on their horns. Frank Zappa and Steve Winwood Traffic Band come to mind.
Since that time I had not heard on recordings with it for a usedFor a long time so I gave it a try at one of the songs from my last shot;

To use this with your saxophone pedal only the microphone cable directly to them and another cable comes in box what effect you can have in-line. The pedal is moved up and down to create the Wah-Wah.

This was my set-up while experimenting in my home studio, but once in the mixing studio, we have found some intermittent unpleasant "noises" and I was again not all the way saxophone. That was bad news, because Iliked the existing! The good thing that came from that was, the engineer suggested under 2 rows from the wah pedal, only to the effect that others have, which only passes through the normal saxophone would. This worked very well. Now we could mix and the mix 2 channels to add or take away Wah-Wah effect, depending on how it was working on the track. I found certain notes or phrases sounded better with a little less of this effect, and vice versa ... more control, betterSound.

Have fun experimenting with your sound in the studio. Sometimes using all these toys help to achieve the desired sound, it is sometimes only one or two of them, and sometimes none of them are needed. Let the music to what extreme you should dictate to use the effects.

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