How to mic a french horn for progressive rock band

maggerino · 22nd June 2011

Hi everybody,

I joined a progressive rock band recently. For some crazy reason they wanted to hear what it sounded like with a french horn in the mix. Turns out it's not bad... not bad at all! As my ability to "jam" improves, the challenge now turns to finding a good balance. This is tricky as the horn's mellow and warm tone gets lost in the screaming lead guitar solos and aggressive drums. I am kind of the queen of counter-melodies so I don't have to dominate, but we really can't hear me at all.

Usually when a horn has a mic, it is placed a few meters away, sometimes even pointed at the wall to pick up the reflection. This approach gets the best of the tone quality a horn has to offer. But clearly that's going to cause challenges with everybody else's sound (and each of them has their own set of through two-meter tall speakers). My sound will go through the same speakers, but I need to find the best way to mic it. Any suggestions/ideas are appreciated!

The band is made up of lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums and myself on horn.

The studio is a decent size, around 50sq meters (5m wide and 10m long), with lots of fabric/insulation on the walls and 7m high ceilings. We don't really play gigs unless begged (once a year-ish), so I'm not too worried about playing in anything other than the studio... at least at the moment.

Any ideas of how to mic me?

Thanks in advance, Maggie

Starlight · 22nd June 2011

Maggie, I wonder whether you have posted this in the wrong subforum as your query doesn't appear to focus on the studio building or its acoustics.

The subforum called So much gear, so little time! may sound weird but it is described as, "General recording equipment discussion," so I guess recording equipment owners and engineers with the experience to answer your questions will be hanging out there.

My first thought was not about the mic so much as the ability of the engineer to check that players are not fighting for the same frequencies. I think it's a mixing issue. Go get some professional advice, though!

Dange · 22nd June 2011

Close mic (i.e. in the horn's bell) with something like this maybe......

Shure Beta 98H/C Cardioid Condenser Instrument Microphone | DV247

I've used that for a soloist horn in a big brass band (who are very loud) so I think it will cut it in a rock band.

That's not a dynamic one but if you got a dynamic one you could run it through a guitar amp and see if you can get some nice distortion effects going on. That could be used for gigging too

DanDan · 22nd June 2011

I am a bit confused about being in a studio with large speaker stacks.
Play in the control room?

If you need to mic close, there will be very high spls. A dynamic mic would be safest.
I quite like the Shure Beta 57A for this type of thing. But a 58 or Beta 58 are worth a shot too. More bass from the Beta 58.

DD

dkelley · 22nd June 2011

Too bad Mr. Entwistle isn't with us any longer. I'm sure he would have known the answer - only guy I'm aware of who played french horn in a rock band at times.

22nd June 2011	#1
maggerino Gear interested Joined: Jun 2011 Posts: 1 Thread Starter	How to mic a french horn for progressive rock band Hi everybody, I joined a progressive rock band recently. For some crazy reason they wanted to hear what it sounded like with a french horn in the mix. Turns out it's not bad... not bad at all! As my ability to "jam" improves, the challenge now turns to finding a good balance. This is tricky as the horn's mellow and warm tone gets lost in the screaming lead guitar solos and aggressive drums. I am kind of the queen of counter-melodies so I don't have to dominate, but we really can't hear me at all. Usually when a horn has a mic, it is placed a few meters away, sometimes even pointed at the wall to pick up the reflection. This approach gets the best of the tone quality a horn has to offer. But clearly that's going to cause challenges with everybody else's sound (and each of them has their own set of through two-meter tall speakers). My sound will go through the same speakers, but I need to find the best way to mic it. Any suggestions/ideas are appreciated! The band is made up of lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums and myself on horn. The studio is a decent size, around 50sq meters (5m wide and 10m long), with lots of fabric/insulation on the walls and 7m high ceilings. We don't really play gigs unless begged (once a year-ish), so I'm not too worried about playing in anything other than the studio... at least at the moment. Any ideas of how to mic me? Thanks in advance, Maggie

22nd June 2011	#4
DanDan Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Cork Ireland Posts: 6,825 1 Review written	Spill I am a bit confused about being in a studio with large speaker stacks. Play in the control room? If you need to mic close, there will be very high spls. A dynamic mic would be safest. I quite like the Shure Beta 57A for this type of thing. But a 58 or Beta 58 are worth a shot too. More bass from the Beta 58. DD __________________ www.irishacoustics.com www.soundsound.ie

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22nd June 2011	#2
Starlight Gear maniac Joined: Mar 2011 Location: UK & Slovakia Posts: 254	Maggie, I wonder whether you have posted this in the wrong subforum as your query doesn't appear to focus on the studio building or its acoustics. The subforum called So much gear, so little time! may sound weird but it is described as, "General recording equipment discussion," so I guess recording equipment owners and engineers with the experience to answer your questions will be hanging out there. My first thought was not about the mic so much as the ability of the engineer to check that players are not fighting for the same frequencies. I think it's a mixing issue. Go get some professional advice, though!

22nd June 2011	#3
Dange Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 857	Close mic (i.e. in the horn's bell) with something like this maybe...... Shure Beta 98H/C Cardioid Condenser Instrument Microphone \| DV247 I've used that for a soloist horn in a big brass band (who are very loud) so I think it will cut it in a rock band. That's not a dynamic one but if you got a dynamic one you could run it through a guitar amp and see if you can get some nice distortion effects going on. That could be used for gigging too

22nd June 2011	#5
dkelley Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2006 Location: Maple Ridge, BC, Canada (by Vancouver) Posts: 4,071 3 Reviews written	Too bad Mr. Entwistle isn't with us any longer. I'm sure he would have known the answer - only guy I'm aware of who played french horn in a rock band at times.