Advanced Micing Techniques Capstone Part 6: Trombone, Sax, and Vibes

Sometimes, with experimentation comes reaffirmation of tradition.  I found this to be particularly true with this set of recordings.  The trombone was recorded from a distance of 5 to 6 feet, using a spaced pare of Neumann KM84 microphones.  

The recording sounds unbalanced from left to right with most of the sound on the right side and the breath and spit sounds on the left.  The recording would have sounded better with my Flea 48 tube microphone close micing the bell, minimizing the other noisy sounds of the instrument.  However, microphone placement is critical on these types of instruments when close micing.  Take the March 23^rd AMPL saxophone recording.  I used the Flea 48, but I had to mic the sax from the side and point down toward it from above the head of the player.  Notice how the sound of the pads and breath of the player are far more present in the recording compared to the January 20^th recording where I could mic the sax at neck level and point it at the bell.  In the photo, it looks like it is point at the neck, but that was because he swayed back and forth.

So in the case of the trombone and saxophone recordings, close micing resulted in far better results, but on a larger instrument like the vibraphone, multiple microphones is the way to go.  My main concern when setting out the track the vibes was the sound of the tremolo valve motor.  It makes a considerable amount of noise while spinning.  Fortunately, the vibraphone is such a loud instrument, the noise floor of the valves never bled into the recording.  Either way, I tried dampening it slightly by pointing the mices off-axis to the spinning parts and high up enough to capture the entire keyboard equally.
Microphones Used: 2X Neumann KM84s

The purity of tone was phenomenal and reminded me of the beginning of the theme song to the TV show Luther by Massive Attack titled, "Paradise Circus". 

One last thing to note about the recording is that I used sound absorption panels to deaden the Katzen Recital Hall, which significantly improved the isolation of the direct sound from the reverb.  There is no discernible reverb in the recording, which is impressive if compared to the previous recording made in the hall with the panels.  In the end, tradition yielded better results for these instruments than deviation.