Need advice recording a Jazz quartet!

Gustaf · 4th January 2010

I'll record a Jazz quartet (Drums, stand-up bass, Piano, Electric guitar) a week or two from now. I'll record in one BIG room, almost church-like acoustics, to 8 channels.
The band plays jazz from the 40's to the 60's. Bebop n' stuff...

I have the follwing mics:
2x AKG C414 B-ULS
2x SE Electronics sE4400A
2x SE Ekectronics sE4
2x Røde NT3
Røde NT2-A
Shure beta52
ADK A6
+other old and damaged dynamic/condenser mics

This is how I plan to place the mics:
I'll stereo mic the piano (steinway grand) with the C414's.
I'll use the sE4's as OH for the drums
The bass'll get an sE 4400A
The other sE4400A or the beta52 for the guitar amp.

Any other suggestions? What should I use the last channel for; maybe another drum mic or the room-mic?

Since the recording room is so large, I'm worried about getting to much room in the mics; especially froom the drum OH's. Do u guys have any special tips (except for close-micing n stuff) to prevent that?

This gear is rather new to me and I'm not a very experienced jazz-engineer... I'll be very grateful for all your answers! :-)

nedorama · 4th January 2010

With such a big room, you should at least have some room mics to capture that sound. As long as you're recording discrete tracks, you can always add/subtract to taste during mixdown.

Do you have to use such a large room? You may find you get a more intimate recording in a less church-like setting - the drums may spill over others.

To get 2 room mics out of your collection, I'd record the piano and drums in mono with the 414s and use the SE4's as room mics.

good luck!

Gustaf · 5th January 2010

Okay!
There are only two rooms available and the big one (the church-like) has the Steinway grand, which I really wanna use for this recording.. It's a fantastic instrument!

That is also why it's tempting to stereo mic it. I'll try to do mono and stereo to see if it's worth the difference!

About room mics.. I'd really like an as dry recording as possible, simply because that's the sound I'm after. What if I used the BETA52 as bass drum mic and another bass mic to catch some warmer sound there? I'll try the room mic thing too, to experiment. we'll have some time!

4th January 2010	#1
Gustaf Gear interested Joined: Oct 2009 Location: Stockholm Posts: 9 Thread Starter	Need advice recording a Jazz quartet! I'll record a Jazz quartet (Drums, stand-up bass, Piano, Electric guitar) a week or two from now. I'll record in one BIG room, almost church-like acoustics, to 8 channels. The band plays jazz from the 40's to the 60's. Bebop n' stuff... I have the follwing mics: 2x AKG C414 B-ULS 2x SE Electronics sE4400A 2x SE Ekectronics sE4 2x Røde NT3 Røde NT2-A Shure beta52 ADK A6 +other old and damaged dynamic/condenser mics This is how I plan to place the mics: I'll stereo mic the piano (steinway grand) with the C414's. I'll use the sE4's as OH for the drums The bass'll get an sE 4400A The other sE4400A or the beta52 for the guitar amp. Any other suggestions? What should I use the last channel for; maybe another drum mic or the room-mic? Since the recording room is so large, I'm worried about getting to much room in the mics; especially froom the drum OH's. Do u guys have any special tips (except for close-micing n stuff) to prevent that? This gear is rather new to me and I'm not a very experienced jazz-engineer... I'll be very grateful for all your answers! :-)

4th January 2010	#2
nedorama Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,242	With such a big room, you should at least have some room mics to capture that sound. As long as you're recording discrete tracks, you can always add/subtract to taste during mixdown. Do you have to use such a large room? You may find you get a more intimate recording in a less church-like setting - the drums may spill over others. To get 2 room mics out of your collection, I'd record the piano and drums in mono with the 414s and use the SE4's as room mics. good luck! __________________ nedorama Monkey Boy Studios Summit 2BA-221, TLA-50 mBox Pro 3, Pro Tools 10.1.3 Radial JDI x 2, ProD2, ProRMP '65 Bandmaster 2x12 combo with Dr. Z Brake Lite, '65 Showman, '74 Princeton, '77 Princeton Reverb, Dr. Z. Mini Z Head, Dr. Z 1x12 Cab, pedals, George L's cabling

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5th January 2010	#3
Gustaf Gear interested Joined: Oct 2009 Location: Stockholm Posts: 9 Thread Starter	Okay! There are only two rooms available and the big one (the church-like) has the Steinway grand, which I really wanna use for this recording.. It's a fantastic instrument! That is also why it's tempting to stereo mic it. I'll try to do mono and stereo to see if it's worth the difference! About room mics.. I'd really like an as dry recording as possible, simply because that's the sound I'm after. What if I used the BETA52 as bass drum mic and another bass mic to catch some warmer sound there? I'll try the room mic thing too, to experiment. we'll have some time!