Brass mixing tricks

[illacov]

obviously the better the samples, the better the capture.

A word of advice, save for volume, try reamping the brass samples with no processing.

Decisions you make when the samples are canned, wouldn't be the same usually if you were tracking a real brass section.

See what the mic'd capture sounds like and then apply whatever effects.

Don't forget to turn your monitors up so you can make your room vibrate.

Peace

Illumination

[ScottFree]

Thanks everyone for these tips. Good stuff!

[RyanC]

Hit up the open nights at jazz clubs. If you can freestyle step up to the mic. Most Jazz open nights are sorta acid-jazz, hip hop whatever. Even if not there will be tons of kids that are looking to get out there and gain experience. Some suburban high school kids who are in state big band are perfect.

Up from there you gotta spend some real dough on a session player worth his spit valve. Medium caliber players will try to turn your track into some Kenny G nightmare without even knowing it.

Get those kids though, they really do need demo stuff to send off for their college applications and they will play exactly what you tell em no probs. Let them do some solo's and go crazy and bounce it down like that so they can show all their friends in marching band how cool they are because they are working on some real music. Win and Win.

[illacov]

I actually met my brass players through a show.

They opened for us, they play ska music. Nuff said. 3 pieces, cheap session time?

Done and done.

Peace
Illumination

[skiroy]

Originally Posted by DeuceyBaby

wow I will have to try that out

This thread is dope. Lot of good tips here. I wish all the hip hop thread could as productive.Lets keep the trend going.One

[illacov]

if you really want to be nuts
and this is a big if.

Say you have 3 simultaneous horn parts that build your virtual brass section.

See if you have 2 or 3 different mics around.

Choose a different mic for each horn.

Solo each horn part and match it with a mic and record that piece.

Rinse and repeat until you have all the sections of your brass tracked. Get back into the DAW and blend to taste. If you're absolutely OCD and you own a reel to reel, you WILL print your brass captures to tape. You WILL peg the meters in the red. You WILL have NR turned off when you do it! haha.......

I started doing this after watching the stuff on Youtube about how they tracked Stevie Wonder's songs and other great songs with brass and seeing all those different mics at a time on the horns.

I'm in the middle of doing R and D on a ribbon motor with an American fabricator. Once I get my first prototype in hand, I'm throwing that bad boy up on horns, real or fake!!

Peace
Illumination