Help needed recording sax

[RobAnderson]

Generally aiming a decent condenser mic between the bell and the finger holes tends to work best for me.

Which mic to use really depends on the particular sound color you want for your particular purpose. Not sure how any capsule on an Oktava MK012 body could be a U67 clone, but I guess that would be the first thing I'd try.

Tracking with compression can be OK if you know what you're after, and your player is stationary and consistent, but I'd not compress on the way in - you can do this in the mix later.

[GZsound]

It really depends on multiple things. The song, way the player plays, the sound of the horn, etc.

I have used a LD condenser placed a couple of feet in front of my horn with pretty good results, but it's a fairly mellow sax (1949 Selmer balanced action). For rock and roll I have a 1932 Conn that I play into an SM 57 to get a sound that cuts.

Putting the mic below the bell will mellow the horn, putting the mic above the bell and closer to the top stack will get you a brighter sound with more key/pad sound..

I think the Rode would be too bright and the Oktava also too bright. Try the 609 and see what you get. Or...put the Rode about five feet out and see what you get.

[edva]

Lots of good advice so far. Sax is usually recorded mono, and the reverb would in most cases be a larger, better sounding space than your room. So no point in using a room mic, it would likely give you a boxy, phase shifted result. I'd use the less-bright of the condensers, presumably the MC-012 with the Joly capsule, no compression. RNC is a good pre-amp, use low gain, and leave a lot of headroom. I'd start about two feet away, mid-way to the horn. In a better room, maybe four feet. No reflexion filter. Use a second mic for an alternative sound, maybe in a spot where it sounds best to the ear, compress that one if you like.

[Markdefunk]

Thanks for the advise guys, much appreciated. I have a few ideas to work with now...