Clarinet Mic Selection?

blackelk · Post by **blackelk** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:43 am

So, today I am tracking clarinet and I was wondering what mic you would use to record one. I've never recorded one before, but I figured a AT4050 would be sufficient. Also, how would you place the mic?

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:54 am

The few times I've tracked one it's been as part of a horn/winds section and I wasn't close micing anyone. The room will play a big part in the sound. Have them play and walk around listening till you find a spot that sounds great. A 4050 or a nice ribbon at chest level a few feet in front of the player in a good sounding room will give you good results too.

vikingrecording · Post by **vikingrecording** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 8:07 am

I used a Beyer Dynamic m260 about 6" in front and about 6" up the clarinet and got a wonderful woody tone, i was super happy! of course having a great soulful player really helps!

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:09 am

a good microphone 6" to 2' in front of the horn aiming at the middle of the body of the clarinet... ldc, tube, or ribbon according to taste...

john

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 4:00 pm

toaster3000 wrote:a good microphone 6" to 2' in front of the horn aiming at the middle of the body of the clarinet... ldc, tube, or ribbon according to taste...

john

yes. +1

I've personally used used AKG 414, Stock Oktava 319, U87 and a Rode NT1 on different occasions with this setup and they all sounded good.

blackelk · Post by **blackelk** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:28 am

I ended up using a 147 and a fathead as a room, and I achieved a pretty nice result. Thanks for the suggestions.

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:40 am

I always find classical instruments to be easier, to make sound good than guitar related stuff. Listeners react the same way, there is this huge guitar tone I labored on, everyone goes ho hum, and then the saxophones and the viola come in, where I just threw a LDC on a stand and pointed it towards the thing with a little compression and people go "Wow, that sounds soooo amazing".

Part of that is novelty. Anyhow, recording clarinet is fun, enjoy yourself.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 12:14 pm

Clarinet, being a reed instrument like the Saxophone, can be kind of abrasive if you record it too clean. I find that I usually want to either use a nice fat preamp, or a mellow mic like an RCA 44 or 77. Of course most of us dont always have access to those beauties! Some other ribbons are just as nice, or of course the good ole SM7b may do the trick.
Though of course you arent generally going for a fat greasy tone with a clarinet as you would with a sax!
Sometimes it sounds best to mic father away from the clarinet if you can, and let the air in the room do you compression and high frequency roll off.
I personally hate clarinets, having grown up in New Orleans with that whole cult of Pete Fountain thing.
Now the Oboe, that's a man's reed instrument.

junomat · Post by **junomat** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 1:21 pm

I've had good results with reed instruments using a Sennheiser 441

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:07 pm

mobtownstudios wrote:I've had good results with reed instruments using a Sennheiser 441

+1.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:04 pm

Dynamic like an SM58, or M88, or M69, or RE11... or possibly an M49 or RCA 77. depends on how it works in the track.

klangtone · Post by **klangtone** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:08 pm

I've had some success with a ribbon on the keys and an omni down by the bell, mixed together.

Roy

vapour trail · Post by **vapour trail** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:32 am

how does he play?

hard, loud, shrill: ribbon, re20, m88 darkish mics
soft, smokey: good LD (valve) condenser ;

in any case, a good room is important

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 8:21 pm

Clarinets, although similar to saxophones in that they are single reed instruments, radiate sound in a completely different way. I find the most even balance across the instrument (including the tonal break) comes from miking overhead. Most classical clarinet players I've worked with have preferred this positioning and I've found a number of engineers who prefer it as well for classical-style clarinet recording. I've never been able to get a saxophone sounds that I like from this miking, but it works wonders for clarinet.

I've also miked clarinet from the front on a number of occasions and that can work well, too. I did a live, in-the-room, no-headphones Klezmer record a few years ago where that type of miking worked better to spot the clarinet within the ensemble. That was helpful in terms of rejection, but usually, the overhead position is my starting point for clarinet recorded by itself.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:26 am

that is a cool technique, chris. Will have to try that.

John

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Clarinet Mic Selection?

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