ethnic instruments

JustinHedrick · Post by **JustinHedrick** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:27 pm

anybody use ethnic instruments (a banjo sexto and so on) on a regular basis on recordings? i'm thinking about getting something like that. anyone??

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:11 pm

It's bajo sexto, not banjo sexto....

If you ever get into theater sound design, you'll have ample opportunities to explore world instruments. If I were paid a dollar for every rainstick I've heard in a low/no budget theater production, I could easily retire. Or buy a nice Neve desk

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:32 pm

* hides rainstick from self *

Cellotron · Post by **Cellotron** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:55 pm

Lemme see - lingering on the shelves and floor that I play in various degrees of mediocrity once in a blue moon are:
* udu
* djimbe
* dumbec
* gankogui
* shekere
* balifon
* numerous bamboo recorder style flutes from around the world
* bouzouki (that I keep tuned G-D-G-D and just play finger style in no relation whatsoever to the traditional Greek styles)

fwiw - I actually took lessons for the djimbe way back in the day when I was in college. that I keep tuned but I'm pretty rusty now. Regardless it's really fun to have these around for when the mood hits and a few have actually gotten played in some sessions I've done.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:50 pm

I empathize with the theatre sound guy.
I've done sound for some folk/world music acts before.
Let me ask, how do mike a bagpipe? Or an accordian? (much less a concertina). I've done bajo sextos a lot actually. They have a prodigous bass output! Most of the ones I have seen have some kind of pickup mounted. What are worse are the crude uprgiht basses that some mariachi type bands use. Pretty impossible to get any bass tone from without general mayehm ensuing. Pan flutes (like Andean groups use) are a feedback pain also.
my absolute all time least favorite ethnic (or otherwise) instrument to mic is the infamous bowed saw. Sure it sounds neat when its on a record, but try getting that to come out of a PA!

PS thinking about this makes me feel sorry for percussionists. Most of the time they get one 58 on each pair of congas and bongos, and thats about it. I have had guys really bug on me because I put up an overhead on them (Okatava Mc012).

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:47 am

Does Sweeden count as ethnic? If so, I recorded a Nyckelharpa yesterday. It's a very cool instrument, kind of like a cross between a violin and a hurdy-gurdy.

I also record singing saws fairly often. I feel calaverasgrandes' pain. It's a really tricky instrument to capture. You really need to have the mic quite a ways back to get the real sound (which is useless in a live sound situation).

GooberNumber9 · Post by **GooberNumber9** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:05 am

junkshop wrote:Does Sweeden count as ethnic? If so, I recorded a Nyckelharpa yesterday. It's a very cool instrument, kind of like a cross between a violin and a hurdy-gurdy.

Wow, those are strangely like indian sarangi:

Red Rockets Glare · Post by **Red Rockets Glare** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:08 am

I get a lot of folks asking me to play my tamboura on their records. I love playing this thing.

swelle · Post by **swelle** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:12 am

Wow, the nyckelharpa is a lovely instrument - I have a cd by a swedish band called Vassen that use it extensively and it sounds awesome.

Scroll down to the "Keytar" keyboard sitar - I've never seen one in person but the audio sample is interesting:
http://www.melodicas.com/melodicas.htm

cw · Post by cw » Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:36 pm

dwlb wrote:* hides rainstick from self *

haha i just bought a nice one for twenty bucks. but i wanted to record it in unique ways other than the blatantly obvious one.

japmn · Post by **japmn** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:49 pm

My jazzmaster is from Japan.

apropos of nothing · Post by **apropos of nothing** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:49 pm

I really like ethnic instruments like the banjo and timpani.

Which is by way of bitching about the word "ethnic" to mean non-caucasian.

Or maybe white people really don't have any culture.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:10 pm

apropos of nothing wrote:I really like ethnic instruments like the banjo and timpani.

Which is by way of bitching about the word "ethnic" to mean non-caucasian.

Or maybe white people really don't have any culture.

Hey I included accordian and bagpipe!
I think its the common euro-centric thing though. Occidental vs oriental. But you could also view ethnic instruments to be those "profane" instruments used for non-sacred music in the west. Sacred music in the west of course being largely choral and orchestral. So our ethnic instruments are all those silly fretted things like guitar/mandolin, multi-reeds like harmonica & squeezboxes and then jaw harps, hand percussion and like.

But on the subject of exotic instrumentation I have been interested in east indian stuff for a while. More specifically the electric/electronic stuff I see at some indian stores. Anybody ever pick any of those up? They look fairly crude and seem overpriced. But man, an elctronic tabla?

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