horns soul section setup advice

[damien]

Hello everybody,

I will record a horns section the next WE. I'm really excited to do it because they are all quite nice players.
There's a trumpet, a tenor sax and a trombone.

In the small studio where I'll record, that's all the mics available:

U87 Neumann
TLM103 Neumann
2x studio projects T3
Schoeps CMC5

concerning the preamp:
2x SPL Goldmike Mk2 Preamp
Avalon 737
8x PROTOOLS PREAMP.

If you were in my shoes what gear would you use as the best setup Instrument/microphone/preamplifier ?

Really want to thank you in advance for your advice.


Regards,


Damien

[Benmrx]

I'll be recording a horn section for a song or two in a couple months. I'm curious to see what the responses are.

[dementedchord]

IMO... the biggest problem is guys have a tendency to over think this.... assuming the room sounds good... i'ld setem up in a semicircle around an M/S pair and let them mix themselves.... might want to consider phones on one ear so they can hear the ensemble better...

[PRobb]

87 on the trumpet (with the pad!), 103 on Bone, Shoepps on sax. The OP specified "soul" horns, which to me suggests close micing- "close" meaning about a foot on the brass.

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by damien

There's a trumpet, a tenor sax and a trombone.

In the small studio where I'll record, that's all the mics available:

U87 Neumann
TLM103 Neumann
2x studio projects T3
Schoeps CMC5

concerning the preamp:
2x SPL Goldmike Mk2 Preamp
Avalon 737
8x PROTOOLS PREAMP.

If you were in my shoes what gear would you use as the best setup Instrument/microphone/preamplifier

Are there no dynamic mics?

What's the capsule(s) with the Schoeps (CMC5 is the micamp only)? With a hyper-cardioid or cardioid cap, I'd put this mic up first - for any of the horns, as it'll more than likely be the best of the lot for brass.

IME, alot of condensers can be too bright for trumpet and trombone, but - if this is what you have there, my bet would be the U87 on sax, the TLM103 (or T3) on trpt, and the other T3 for the bone. If the section is good AND used to playing together (balanced sounding on their own), I like the idea of doing MS. You'd prolly have to do this with the T3's. It's possible to use the U87 and another mic (Schoeps would be my choice) but might paint a bit of an odd picture with the sonic differences between the mics.

With the pre's you have, I'd use the SPL's for 2 ch., and the 737 for the trumpet (good to have an EQ handy and comp to tame them, tho caution: use the comp more as a limiter as too much compression can ruin the attack of a trumpet, and the 737's comp is pretty useless for anything else...)

My .02 c

Good luck with it.

[damien]

Thanks! I'll try something but I will start according to your tips.
I've got a pair of CMC5 schoeps in order to make a M/S pair with both cardio and 8. But I don't think I ll record this way. Close miking and panning will better fit to the records I'll work for.

I'll take pictures and Give you sound to show what I've done.

Damien

[ronzie]

Damien, whatever you can set to a "figure of 8" : You'll recognize it as the "horn sound".

It's all in the pattern.

Ron Allaire, Skyline