Trumpet Microphones

[adamtrumpet]

Hi,

I am a trumpet player and am looking to buy a great mic for recording myself.

I have experimented with a few different mics but was wanting some experienced opinions on mic's for trumpets.
I have tried a few mics and none of them have really blown me away; C414's, sm57's, sm7's, beyer m88.....
I recorded recently at the BBC maida vale studios and they gave the sax player a 4038 and gave me an m88 which I was not too impressed with.

The only mic that I have really enjoyed the sound of was an earthworks tc30!

I have looked at some of the other threads and many people seem to skim over trumpet mic's.......(just give 'em a sm57 )

So, what are the best studio mics for trumpets on a budget of about £1000-£1500?

Thanks

[castle]

Without doubt, the Royer R-122 is the best mic I've ever used on trumpet. It captures all of the tone without the bright, spitty quality of a condenser.

[lowswing]

my go to trumpt mic is rca 77dx it shines even more on flugelhorn.
when I want more aggresive sound I use u87 but be aware that their headroom is not too high.

[axtrak]

Hi

i usually record trumpet with a royer 121 and gefell um 92 side by side. If its a very loud part i´m only using the royer.

[Midlandmorgan]

I like my Jurassic era RCA SK47 ribbon through an ADesigns EM-Silver card....

Here's a sample

Old school kinda stuff...but you get the idea.

[Lynn Fuston]

AEA R84. Absolutely amazing.

I won't elaborate here since I've talked about it so many times at 3dB. You can go there and do an ADVANCED SEARCH for "trumpet +R84" and poster's name of "3daudioinc". It will come up with 10-12 different threads. You'll find lots of info there. The URL for 3dB is in my sig line below.

I've compared dozens of mics on trumpet, of all sorts. The 84 is my favorite of all time right now.

[Fletcher]

There are very few things that will bring a smile to my face as quickly as a Sony C-37 in front of a trumpet. A Royer SF-1 is a close second... but the Sony is about as cool as I've ever heard.

[Greg Heimbecker]

the Soundelux E-47 is my go to for solo trpts. We tried AEA's 84, Royer 121, Brauner VM-1, Valvet and many others and the e-47 killed them all. Maybe I had a bum 84... I really WANTED to like it unfortunately there wasn't one application where it beat out anything else. (Alex Heitlinger's "Greenlight" )

For section micing (mic per player) I use TL-IIs with a 70s 414 EB on lead (which sounds lovely through a Fearn VT-2). For Classical stuff I use either a pair of TLM 93s in xy or and Earthworks Qtc-1 (both have a very flat top end) at 3-4'

[Mark Warren]

And so you would set it up so that the trumpet isn't blasting directly into the Royer yes?

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by Mark Warren

And so you would set it up so that the trumpet isn't blasting directly into the Royer yes?

Why not?

I've been doing that for quite a while [as I don't have a C-37 at the moment] and haven't blown up and SF-1 yet. They work great right in front of the bell of the instrument... same place I'd put a C-37 if I had one.

[PlugHead]

IMO,

Coles 4038 takes the prize for trumpet.

contenders are Royer R-121/122, SF-1, and AEA R-84. Ribbon mic's rule on brass.

Tho I've never used RCA 77's or 74's, they are often highly regarded for trumpet/brass...

A good dynamic mic like Senn 441, or EV RE-20 can be good stand-ins, but are often not as ( flamesuit on - 'warm') as an appropriate ribbon mic...

I'd consider taking your trumpet into a well equipped studio with a wide variety of these mics, and spend an hr. recording them - it'll save you money in the long run, and give you the best idea what YOU want in a mic.

These are very personal things, and what one likes, another won't...

best of luck in the search!

[Jetblack]

A 121 "backwards" with the phase inverted sounds great on trumpet. I gues it depends on personal taste.
Fletcher: Are you talking about a tube 37 or the 37 P?

[jdunn]

The AEA R92 works alright too.

[StefanM]

I know you are not allowed to like them here but I had good results with U87 / U89.
Another one: RE20

Cheers
Stefan

[adamtrumpet]

Thanks people;

I guess another consideration is that my home set up uses the pre-amps on the RME fireface; will some of these mics not be worth having without having an amazing pre-amp, will I benefit more from the phantom power mics eg 122 etc?

[Dave Martin]

I tend to go for a 77B, 77dx or 74b...

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by Jetblack

Fletcher: Are you talking about a tube 37 or the 37 P?

Absolutely.

[Vinylizor]

All of the mics mentioned here 'can' sound great on trumpet.

However, I'd say getting it right has more to do with what kind of trumpet player they are.

If they are a high lead, or jazzer playing a small bore horn they 'could' have a very thin, bright and brash sound. Ribbons and 'off axis' are your friends here.

If they come from a more schooled orchestral or college background, they will probably have a much bigger sound. If they are also playing heavier horns like the Monett or Taylors (the modern looking ones like Wynton plays) then the sound is going to be big and fat. They will have a sound that will sound like the guys from the above group playing a flugel! In this case even a brighter mic like a U87 should sound great.

Remember how loud they can be. Don't overload the mic or pre-amp!

[adamcal]

Ive had to record trumpet about 10 times since buying my R84 and every time the R84 has been amazing in that role.

prior to that I used a RE20 or U87, pretty good but love the R84.

[fifthcircle]

First choices are ribbons usually- The R121/122 are excellent as are Coles 4038 (a personal favorite on brass). The other favorite of mine (especially for jazz) is the Neumann UM57. Big. Fat. Rich. Used one on a pickup gig for Terrance Blanchard a couple years back and he remarked on the fact that he really liked the sound FWIW...

A couple Dynamics are cool, too- M88's are hit and miss with some players, but the Sennheiser MD441 is another sleeper on Trumpet.

--Ben

[matucha]

UM57 has quite a small headroom, you can easily "break it down" with louder voiceover. How far from the trumpet do you put your UM57?

[fifthcircle]

Originally Posted by matucha

UM57 has quite a small headroom, you can easily "break it down" with louder voiceover. How far from the trumpet do you put your UM57?

I haven't had any problems with that- used it on plenty of loud sources. I usually position it a foot and a half out or so. No brass instrument is going to sound good with a mic right up the bell...

--Ben

[T_R_S]

My vote goes to a U87 with the the pad on