Didgeridoo - minimizing breathing noises

[Professor T]

We're layin down some didge for our CD and I'm hearing a lot of the player when he breathes in. He's doing circular breathing and has to take quick breaths through his nose while he's playing. Any ideas for getting just the didge without the breathing? I guess I could put the mic right where the sound comes out, but that sounds a little unnatural.

[jonathan]

try to minimize compression, thatll mess it up more

use delay and try to create an ambience with the noises of breathing

low pass...

i know all these things dont REALLY help, but good luck!

[Studiodawg]

You can try having the didge player face a corner in the room and recorded the reflections from the wall.

[Studiodawg]

You can try having the didge player face a corner in the room and recorded the reflections from the wall.

You can face the didge player towards a corner and place microphone(s) towards the corner and record the reflections off the wall. This will certainly mellow the noises you are experiencing. I had to rewrite this because in the original post it sounded goofy.

[Harry]

it might be a technique thing he can work on?

That's what's always blown me away about didge playing. you don't even notice the breaths and after a while it's like the vibrations are just taking over.
like it's playing it's self or something?
I don't know how the hell those guys do it? amazing!

maybe the delay thing?
maybe record it with delay and if he plays to the delay he can time the breaths to the effect.
It wont sound natural...but I bet it would sound cool..especially with a tape echo:)

or go down low with the mic/LPF ??? I dunno?
I bought one a while back but I can't play the damn thing...but I did sing something through it once. that was cool:)

[hughmanatee]

i would suggest keeping the mic away from his face close but not too close to the dige hole, or try a room mic that is like opposite the dig player ie

( <====== ()
^his mouth ^ mic angled down 35 -45 degrees?

[audioboffin]

We're layin down some didge for our CD and I'm hearing a lot of the player when he breathes in. He's doing circular breathing and has to take quick breaths through his nose while he's playing. Any ideas for getting just the didge without the breathing? I guess I could put the mic right where the sound comes out, but that sounds a little unnatural.

G'day from Downunder!

Didjeridoo or Yidaki is an instrument that should be treated a bit like a drumkit, in that it's an "environmental" thing. What I mean by this is that similarly to drums, just close miking is not the answer, and some of the right room will really help your cause. I find that the best listening position will usually yield the best sound for the microphone. If the player's breathing is still overpowering or intrusive, then position your mic a little closer to the "bell" end of the instrument.

To give you a hint, Yothu Yindi generally use Shure SM 98's or Beta 98's taped to the "bell end of the instrument and pointed "up the spout" and with a goodly amount of HPF because the amount of low end right at the end of the instrument is astronomical.

Hope this helps.

:=)

[drumsound]

+1 on the room mic sugestion. The one time I put dig on a record there was an omni room mic and a mic at the bell. It was on a metal-ish record so in the mix I also added some modulated reverb of some sort (probably from the Eventide).