Recording a Brass Section - Mic Setup & Mixing

[@SpiritsOfAnotherDay]

Great stuff!!

[@Rothley131gamezz]

Thank you for making this video, I am recording a jazz band that have a trumpet player soon, I will definitely be using some of your tips

[@willstortimusic]

Good

[@MultiProximus]

I like that Lexicon reverb 224 near by .

[@samrosario7100]

Great Session. With the method of recording sections of a Big Band, How do you go about mixing sections dynamically? Is there an order to the recording process? Rhythm Section first, then Brass, Then Winds? Does it always come together cleanly? I'm afraid I might take my jazz band through the process and students may loose track of dynamic placement? Could an engineer easily make the necessary adjustments.

[@sewind6613]

Wow. Very helpful. Thank you.

[@mikebailey194]

Hey, I appreciated the video. I have a ska band with two trumpets and a tenor sax. Is it crucial to record all of them together at a time? Or can you get away with bringing each horn in individually?

[@jasondewilde5191]

Hi Mike. You can get away with one at time, but I generally like miking the ensemble to that "group vibe". For that you obviously need all the players there. Also, when you add one at a time, you are governed by the first instrument you record - that sets the "feel". You might find that though that the first instrument isn't playing the right feel, but it might not be apparent until you lay down the rest! One instrument at a time works well for spill, but for feel, do the whole section in one go! Good luck.

[@sambkvlogs]

Really Helpful, Thanks !

[@DejaGruvBand]

How many takes for each horn?

[@jasondewilde5191]

Hi there. From memory, it was probably only 3 takes. Good players actually made the job easy. The whole section was recorded at once obviously.

[@TylerTripsTunes]

@@jasondewilde5191 when you mixed the track did you use three takes from each horn and panned LCR or just one good take each horn?

[@jasondewilde5191]

@@TylerTripsTunes OK, I just had a look at the session that was archived. It was 3 takes, and I used the 2nd take only. This take had a few places where we dropped in, so it wasn't played completely all the way through. I then also did an additional Trombone overdub that took up a couple more tracks.

[@marike1100]

Looking for an LCD to record my alto sax in my project studio. Which would be a better choice a Sennheiser MK4 or the more neutral Shure Beta 27? The MK4 is a bit bright but it's extremely detailed and compete well with the Neumann TLM 102 and 103 mics. Shure recommends the Beta 27, SM 27 or KSM 32 and a few dynamics, and small condenser mics.

[@jasondewilde]

Hi Markus, I would actually put both mics there and do a test record. Either would be "suitable" but one will edge as a more pleasing sound. Alot depends on the instrument, the room, the player and of course the song. Give both of them a go. Good luck.

[@marike1100]

jasondewilde Hi Jason, as I said above the instrument is the alto saxophone. And fortunately I'm an experienced jazz soloist. So I'm confident in "the player", less so in my ability to pick a mic without recording with it. And since I don't have a budget for a Royer 121 or Coles 4038 with a quality preamp, I've decided to pick the mic with the flattest frequency response. So I ended up choosing the Shure Beta 27 which in demos sounds fuller, and less hyped in the high frequency than the MK4. And Shure markets the Beta 27 as an instrument mic appropriate for brass and woodwinds, so I'm feeling pretty good about my choice. I'll know for sure when it arrives and I give it a try. Thanks a lot.

[@dcp10200]

Markus Arike In my experience dynamic mics seem to work better as they generally give a softer transient as compaired to a condenser mic. I use the Sennheiser e609 when I record sax, it has a flat midrange and a sightly boosted low frequency that really brings out the character in horns and other instruments,the highs are boosted at around 5 Khz to bring out the detail of the horn and help it cut through the mix quite well. Since its a stage mic it is built like a tank and can withstand a fair bit of abuse as well

[@marike1100]

Doug Payne I'm using the Shure Beta 27 and it's been great. It records my alto with a rich, full sound that is not overly bright like many stage dynamics. I've also have extremely positive experiences with the AGK C214. Both are highly recommended for recording saxophone.

[@dcp10200]

I've heard good things about the beta 27 myself and the AKG 214 uses the same capsule as the AKG 414 ( the 414 has 2 capsules so that the polar pattern of the mic can be switched). I love the sound of condenser mics but I find myself looking to put eq on my tracks when recording with them. The e609 really complements my Mark VI alto and I don't really find myself EQing it at all, except some high pass filters to remove any rumble and unwanted low frequencies. But thats just my experience

[@Doctaj54]

the mics when straight into the SSL preamps or into others?

[@jasondewilde5191]

The mics went straight into the SSL preamps. There's no compression on the individual mics, but a small amount on the stereo pair. SSL Eq used a but too.

[@Jamalshookup1]

Thanks!

[@majigamusic]

I will be recording a Brass Band wow thanks a trillion

[@jasondewilde]

No worries. Good luck with it all and I hope you have fun!

[@CyanConfrontation]

May I ask what camera you are using while was talking? I need a camera for my recording

[@jasondewilde]

Hi there. I used a Canon S95 camera. Great for stills and simple movies.

[@davidcowan4705]

Lead trumpet players have the most difficult job of the group. It's hard to scream double A's and above without knocking the walls down.

[@muertopoeta]

We all understand a mix as a esthetical signal adding. Maybe you are asking about processing, and add some process to whole recorded signal isn't exactly a mix.

[@muertopoeta]

Nice demonstration, but i would like to listen your recording in this video and not your camera mic recording your experience. Cheers from Chile and sorry about my english LOL

[@TimKaseyMythHealer]

6 min. video and you don't say anything about the compressor? You don't say anything about the EQ? Its time I start making engineering/producing videos.

[@jasondewilde5191]

Thanks Sam.