How to Record a Jazz Band ?

[TheDrumaH]

~WARNING Drummer with Recording Equipment~


Hi Guys in a couple of weeks I'll be recording a Jazz Band, Ive never recorded a Jazz Band !~ any Ideas or Tips ? should I close Mic everything.. or just use a couple of room mic's. record the band first then put the vocals on.. or all at the same time.. this is for a Demo, not a full blown CD.

thanks in advance for any help.

TheDrumaH

[Jungle Jazz]

You might want to take a look over at the Remote Possibilities forum. There are plenty of useful prior discussions about recording jazz. You might want to explore them, either using the search function or the tags at the top of the main page, and then you could post a follow up question as to your specific needs.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tags/jazz/

[Oli_W]

I treat Jazz recordings as a hybrid Classicla/Pop recording. That is, a main pair where you pick up the overall balance and ambience, and then carefully chosen spot mics on anything that needs it, and then on everything if you have enough mics and I/O.

I usually overdub vocals with the room mics as well as a closer mic, to help blend it in with the rest of the band. If you're going for live vocals, then I suggest you hook the vx to a PA so that that's picked up on the Room mics.

Good luck! (and i hope you have a good room...)

[jproc]

Originally Posted by TheDrumaH

~WARNING Drummer with Recording Equipment~

Funniest disclaimer yet


Jazz recordings generally benefit from a good natural ambience - that being said, the room acoustics are a critical factor...

A good stereo room mic setup (I like M/S or Blumlein) is key to picking up a good balance and a good natural room sound...
The rest really depend on the instrumentation...
don't over-mic the drums, you're not mixing rock/metal... go for a natural sound... sometimes only a mono overhead is enough... sometimes you need spot mics on the hats or ride if the OH and rooms aren't getting enough of them....


Ribbon mics work well for a lot of horns, but be careful to use pop-screens... the air blast from a trumpet can tear a ribbon to shreds...

Acoustic piano mic'ing is an art unto itself... search the threads here and you'll find plenty of information (most of which will be contradicted many times)... trial and error... if you have good room mics, you may be set anyway...