Recording funky Horns ?

[kosi]

Hi,
tomorrow, I have to record 4 Horns, Bariton Sax, Tenor (Alto) , Trombone and Trumpet for a Kinda funky 60ies Lalo Schifrin Soundtrack.
Now I don't know. wether I shall record them all in one Mic (stereo pair or eight) or everyone with a single mic ?

Any suggestions ?

regards
kosi

[Fletcher]

Well if you don't know how do expect anyone else to know

If you do them individually you might try something like a Sony C-37 on the trumpet, an M-930 on the bone, a Royer 121 or Coles 4038 on the tenor [and/or alto] and if you can find one, an RCA 44 or 77 on the bari...

The only rule I pretty much have for cutting horns is that I never put up any mics until the horn section has been in the room and warming up for a few minutes. Horn players seem to naturally gravitate to the best sounding spot in the room for horns... so I let them migrate to that spot without any suggestion [as in if there are no mics up, there is no suggestion of where they should stand]. If I've worked horns in the room several times then I might put some up before the start of the session but never on the first horn gig in a new room.

Best of luck with it.

[Jules]

I prefer a mic for each, ribbon on trumpet? - but I am no expert when it comes to brass...

[kosi]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

Well if you don't know how do expect anyone else to know

You for example

Originally Posted by Fletcher

If you do them individually you might try something like a Sony C-37 on the trumpet, an M-930 on the bone, a Royer 121 or Coles 4038 on the tenor [and/or alto] and if you can find one, an RCA 44 or 77 on the bari...

Mics isn't so much of an issue, I guess, I have enough lying round here.
Trombone U47, Tenor U67, Trumpet Royer, Bari maybe 441, or VM1 ? Will see.

Originally Posted by Fletcher

The only rule I pretty much have for cutting horns is that I never put up any mics until the horn section has been in the room and warming up for a few minutes. Horn players seem to naturally gravitate to the best sounding spot in the room for horns... so I let them migrate to that spot without any suggestion [as in if there are no mics up, there is no suggestion of where they should stand].

that's a good one, will try this.

thanks so far, anyone ?

[joeq]

I would not miss the opportunity to capture the sound of the section in the room. Run a pair in Blumlein or x-y in addition to your individual mics. If the players and room are good, you can end up with something special.

I recently did a project with a 9 piece horn section and except for some occasional cheating on the Bari Sax, all we used in the final mix were the room mics - and it came out great.


Edit: hey! my 616th post! Isn't that supposedly the "correct" Number Of The Beast and all that?

Doesn't have the same ring...

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by kosi

Hi,
tomorrow, I have to record 4 Horns, Bariton Sax, Tenor (Alto) , Trombone and Trumpet for a Kinda funky 60ies Lalo Schifrin Soundtrack.
Now I don't know. wether I shall record them all in one Mic (stereo pair or eight) or everyone with a single mic ?

Any suggestions ?

regards
kosi

It really depends on the 'sound' you want for the section: if you like the thicker sound, I'd go with ribbons (4038's in blumlien, or R88/SF12/24) for that vintage vibe, but if you want 'bite' (read: teeth) try your U67's, U47's, etc., and find that spot that sounds great in the room.

Or you can go individual: ribbons on the brass (4038, R-121/122), and tube mics on the woodwinds (U67/U47) or vice versa, and blend to taste. The best thing about individual mics is better mix abilities, as you might find the trumpet louder than the bari, etc...

PS: EV-RE20 and the Senn 441 are great dynamics for brass - they might also be sleepers, depending on the sound you want, and I tend to like dynamics and ribbons on brass (I'm a player as well, FYI) - if you go with ind., close-micing, I'd try these first before putting up the Neumanns...

Best with it!

[Flora]

Originally Posted by Jules

I prefer a mic for each, ribbon on trumpet? - but I am no expert when it comes to brass...

Oh man, the Coles on trumpet is to die for!

[kosi]

Originally Posted by joeq

Edit: hey! my 616th post! Isn't that supposedly the "correct" Number Of The Beast and all that?

Doesn't have the same ring...

correct number of the beast ? Did I miss somethin ? I thougt 666 is the one ?

And yeah; i'll set up a pair room mics !

[joeq]

Originally Posted by kosi

correct number of the beast ? Did I miss somethin ? I thougt 666 is the one ?

This recent thread discussed some new findings by biblical scholars.

Oh! dammit! now I have 617 posts...

[Ahellam]

I like a large cap condenser about a foot in front of the horn but aiming off axis, sometimes with a pop screen in front. dont know about funk but this has worked great for ska a million times for me.

[NewOrleansSteve]

.
O.K.
We could go on forever speculating about the fantasy horn sections in our minds.
I had an opportunity to do many horn dates over several years (and still do). Here are 2 of the ‘matches’ that have always worked: On Tenor Sax, I have a Sony C 37p that just sings. I’m not so crazy about that thing for too many applications, but it has never let me down and almost always gives tremendous results. For trumpet a Beyer M88 is nice and mixes well.
Then a friend recorded a Michael Ray record, that sounds wonderful and he used a 58. It sounded so good that I ask him about it. He said Michael Ray asked him before he rolled tape, “Is that what we are going to use?” He said Ray seemed really disappointed, as this studio has a lot of ‘higher end’ mics. The engineer said let’s TRY it if there is anything you don’t like about it, we’ll use a Neumann, but let’s give it a try. He said during the mix Ray commented that he was glad he didn’t protest on the spot and agreed that is was perfect.

So there you go. Not only May your results vary, they Defiantly Will.

Steve

[kosi]

Hi everybody,
back again, session went very fine, I ended up with the following setup:
Trumpet - Royer 121 - V76
Trombone - Royer 121 - V76
Tenor Sax - U67 - Phoenix DRS 2
Baritone - Neumann TLM 103 - Phoenix DRS 2

Thanks everybody for your input, here's a lil raw mp3 without any fx :

[Jules]

Don't leave town, we may have more questions...

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by kosi

Hi everybody,
back again, session went very fine, I ended up with the following setup:
Trumpet - Royer 121 - V76
Trombone - Royer 121 - V76
Tenor Sax - U67 - Phoenix DRS 2
Baritone - Neumann TLM 103 - Phoenix DRS 2

Thanks everybody for your input, here's a lil raw mp3 without any fx :

Cool daddio! Nice sound on the horns - I don't think I'll ever go back after using ribbons on brass - they are da bomb!

great work - love to hear the whole track when it's done!

regards,