Quote:
Originally Posted by Baithak  I just recorded a solo sitar piece yesterday in a live room. I used two mics:
Schoeps MK62 (omni) about 2 feet from the instrument aimed at the "gourd" slightly to the left of the bridge and above it. The sweet spot with the omni is very precise.
Schoeps MK641 (hypercard) about four feet away and three feet up pointed slightly downwards. Recording is still quite bright but bringing the mic closer makes it base heavy due to the proximity effect of the hypercard capsule. |
I would concur with what Baithak has to say. It is an instrument with lots of sympathetic strings which resonate as the sitar is played. Loads of harmonics. If you need to get those in then a mic with good high freq response is what you are looking for. (have used BK, Schoeps and Km 184's with good results)
The "gourd", big round part of the sitar is the resonator. pointing a single hypercardiod there, slightly to the left of the bridge, will do the trick ( experiment with distance for tone)
Have used a pair of schoeps in an XY 18inches away and 12-14 inches up got an incredible WIDE sitar!!! Doing an MS in such a situation will help you tinker with the highs on the fretboard or the mid-lows on the "gourd" side later on.
going thru a tube mic-pre (used an Avalon AD2022) tends to soften the harshness, if there is a tendency for it.
Lastly having a slightly live but quiet room really helps as it can be a very dynamic instrument, esp in fast passages (jhala). And let us not forget that it takes years of practice to master one of these intruments :-) In the hands of a master it can be a sensual, lilting instrument, which draws you in.
Hope you get the sounds what you are looking for
Cheers