The Cheap and Easy Guide To Recording Vibraphone!

[@yechan7777]

Thanks for sharing soooo helpful!

[@BruceWayne-bt8yx]

I loved this! Thank you. Very informative!

[@ollivirtanen5167]

Great video as always! I always learn something new, keep it up!

[@samecoff2788]

This is helpful and cool. Thanks for taking time to do this. I love the H4N for location recording. The sounds you can capture with it are so much better than you would think given the price of the unit. I used to own both the Rode NT5 pair, and a pair of Fat Head II's. I have since gotten rid of both. I'm not someone who gets rid of a lot of gear. In fact, those are the *only* mics I've ever sold. I used to put the NT5's up against a pair of Oktava MK-012s and let my clients choose. No matter what the instrument was, they always picked the Oktava's, so I ditched the NT5s. Another more budget-conscious choice that is phenomenal on vibes is the Audio Technica PRO-37 mic. You can pick up a pair used for about $200-$230

[@pauljohn5584]

Wow thank you! I’m about to track a double of a guitar part in a rock song with a wooden umm… glockenspiel maybe? Lol sorry!!! I don’t even know the exact correct instrument I’m about to use but at least now I’m confident miking it up! Seriously thank you for this video

[@juana.velazquez9286]

Always great!!!!

[@sonicpalacevideos]

You are a beast on that Vibraphone! Thanks for the tips, I think I like the spaced pair best. On the ribbon mics, you could hear the percussive sound of the mallets but the over tones disappeared.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thanks. I should probably redo this video though. I’ve learned a lot since this was made..

[@anibalmonkeyfranco880]

Gracias aprendí bastante... lo apliqué para una grabación casera. Gracias

[@johnmartin6958]

This was super helpful. I just got a pair of Rode M5s and I love them! It's especially hard recording my vibraphone (Musser M44 Combo Vibe) because it's basically a tenor glockenspiel - gotta use mallets 2x as hard as any other vibe, but the Rode mics are awesome!

[@trevorwilliamsmusic]

Thanks, Tim. This is super helpful. I ordered a set of the Rodes (using your link) and I love them.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thank you! I actually have two sets of them now, too.

[@oli77sch]

Cool video, thank you. Me personally, I like small diaphragm mics like your pair of M5s in ORTF placement (less overexposed middle than with XY). My favorite is a Blumlein array with ribbons, but only in a good sounding room because the fig8 patterns of course pick up lots of the room sound. Mics above the instrument pick up more mallet attack than mics in front of the instrument. But most important: your playing is great! Greets

[@murimk]

Cool, great video as always! Admittedly I've only listened to this on the iPad speakers while cooking - so it all sounded the same to me. ;-) I'll be share to check again in my home studio later! There is another nice way to mic this thing, though, and this begins with a story. I'm a drummer and composer, really, with vibes being my fourth instrument or so. But I used to play vibes in my own band a few years ago while studying. I put a band together, and one of the guys I wanted to play with was a drummer, so I had to play vibes. ;-) Anyway, we were invited to play a gig in Aberdeen, Scotland, and our gig was right after mr. Joe Locke had done his gig. Apparently, there were two rental vibraphones in all of Scotland at the time - I had one and Joe the other (with one of those fancy pick-up mic systems). I managed to catch parts of his gig, which was great, of course, then there was a tight change over where I assembled my instrument and joe disassembled his. He very graciously greeted my (as there's apparently not that many of us around), before running of for a new gig in another town, so I didn’t get to play for him (luckily). But he was there for the sound check, and this is where I’m getting to the point. I asked the engineer to mic it from underneath to prevent bleed from the drums, and he did. Mr. Locke jumped up on stage putting his ears up to the PA system, talking about how he loved the sound of the instrument miked like that. So, I guess that's another way to do it, at least in noisy environments. :-)

[@TimCollinsVibes]

First of all - that sounds like Joe. He is the nicest guy (he was my teacher when I was at MSM years ago).. Secondly - in live situations I've sometimes had the vibes mic'ed from beneath- you get less bleed from the other instruments that way. In the studio however, I've tried it and you just hear all the rattling of the frame even worse than normal... at least that's been my experience.

[@uhhhd1157]

love the joe locke mallets

[@perc.studios3450]

+1

[@michaelhayes6887]

Hi Tim. Sorry I have not been in touch lately. I had to work. Gotta give that up. Lol. This is something I can contribute to. The most important way to record the VIBE is with reverb. Neumann U87 mikes are best high above the instrument. Vintage reverb gear like a Yamaha SPX90 WARMS the sound and increases note duration beyond pedaling without blurring the notes by sustaining the pedal too long. It also expands the instrument's depth and breadth. Mallet hardness becomes less of a coldness issue, and you benefit from it and attack. It can kind of bend notes and you get sharp articulation. Brittle short notes are the death. Cold, not emotional. You can also assign the reverb in coverage patterns across the instrument accentuating certain octaves or ranges to expand. Its an old idea. I'm an old guy. Lol. To melt the bars use reverb and the best microphones ONLY. Sennheisers are cool for marimba.

[@michaelhayes6887]

I agree the bigger the mallet the bigger the fundamental tone, but changing mallets all the time is the equivalent of a pianist changing pianos all the time, or a sax player, or guitar player. Nice option but it's also good to play freely within a conceived sound for the song or piece.

[@glennhenrich992]

Very useful video,Tim, thanks. Always enjoy your playing and sound. I also play a Musser M48 and wonder how you have achieved the subtle slow speed vibrato; have you cut the fan blades down at the edges? I did this with good effect on two previous vibes (Premier and Saito). The vibrato on my M48 seems too strong in sustained 4 mallet playing.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thanks Glenn - no, I've never tried cutting the fans down. I just set the motor to go pretty slow usually.. it depends on the tune. I have a piece of electric tape on the motor that holds to speed setting in place while I'm playing.. otherwise it sometimes gets faster.

[@josephjbean]

Great video and I liked the demos! The H4n is a good recorder, but for almost the same price I often point people to the H5 these days. I'm a big fan of the interchangeable capsules you can switch out. If you ever get the chance it'd be cool to see what you think of the mid-side stereo capsule. You can record it as "RAW" mid-side and then mix it in Logic using the "direction mixer" effect. This setup lets you vary how wide the stereo image is in post which I think would help take out the hotspot in the center of the instrument that XY causes. Also for what it's worth the H5 (and I believe H4n) can be used as a USB interface as well which is extremely handy!

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thanks! I came close to getting the H6 when it came out awhile back, but I bought a new camera instead :). I’ve never tried the H5 but that’s a cool tip.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Forgot to mention- I’ve used it as a USB interface with logic before and it works pretty well, but the phantom power didn’t have enough juice to power the Rode M5s properly, which is why I went and got the PreSonus.

[@michaelhayes6887]

It's analogous to a drummer using brushes, sticks, or mallets over the same piece effectively and effortlessly but I felt it interrupted the split second flow of improvisation. I played live with both marimba and vibes switching between both within solo. But I never changed mallets. It interrupted the flow. On the midivibe I did the same. I changed the patches I had designed for the piece with a foot plate (ART X15). There is no right way. Lol.

[@NathanDefense]

Great video! I don't own any recording gear, or even a vibraphone for that matter, but unemployed high schoolers can still dream. Quick question: How is the room you're recording in acoustically treated? It it just the curtains, or do you have that foam stuff on the walls out of frame?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

It’s just my living room and it’s not treated at all.. behind the black curtain is actually a glass door that opens into a balcony..

[@nickbaker8066]

hey Tim - great vid. somehow i knew the spaced condensers would be the favorite. i have a pair of similar mics and i liked that placement. if you are doing a record with a small group where everyone is being recorded at the same time, with the spaced condenser setup, how much can you limit bleed from other instruments?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

All in the same room? You can limit some bleed, but not enough that you can really do a lot of overdubbing or anything after.

[@nickbaker8066]

@@TimCollinsVibes yeah for sure. thinking about a small jazz group doing live takes where you wouldn't want to overdub anyway, more like limiting bleed for mixing

[@TimCollinsVibes]

@@nickbaker8066 That's the way I recorded my last record - although we were in a proper studio and not my house. If you watch some of the videos you can see that we were all in the same room, but there are baffles set up between us to limit some of the bleed.

[@lorenzgolob9028]

Have you ever thought about using boundary mics and placing them under the resonators? I think that would be an interesting experiment, though I suppose there would be too much pedal noise...?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Wow, no... actually I have never seen one of those used on a vibraphone. It would be a good experiment.. I learned something today!

[@ullanta]

This is groovy, but what do you suggest for reinforcing a vibe in a large room with a densely-packed band on stage? These things are quiet, and hard to isolate.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Maybe then just one directional mic as close to the vibes as possible, pointing away from the loudest instruments (usually bass or drums). It’s not easy.

[@Marimbalogy]

Great video! Question for ya, I just got the new Omega Vibe from Malletech. In the bottom octave, if I hit the bars even remotely off center, the bars buzz quite a bit (I think it's coming from where the cord goes through) Is this normal?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

I’ve never played an Omega vibe, but I’ve had that issue with cord that is too thin..

[@POKEPEOPLE85]

I've noticed that you've done several videos without resonators at all, and have still gotten a good tone. What would you recommend doing when recording without resonators in (if there is any difference)?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

I only did those because I was too lazy to put the resonators on a few years ago.. I record everything in my living room, and I try to be a good neighbor, although not all the time ;) I think if you heard it live in the same room, you'd notice a huge difference without the resonators... I basically don't recommend doing it if you are going for a full bodied acoustic sound. Without the resonators though, the tone lasts much longer.

[@hewi5134]

Using the vibes as a table?!?!? Unacceptable! For real though, great video. I've been experimenting a lot both the cascade fat heads and Oktava MK012 condensers. I'm curious if you ever used a combination of all 4 microphones, and what you thought of it. I really like the definition I get with the condensers, but my vibes have a great low end so I'm trying to bring it out a bit more--the Fatheads just pick up a lot of noise from my incredibly loud house(adjacent to a train yard).

[@TimCollinsVibes]

I never tried that actually - I don't have enough mic stands for that ;) I can imagine you might get some weird issues with phasing and stuff as well. But it's worth trying. I have not really used the Cascade fat heads in a while, just because they don't sound as warm as the Rode M5s to my ears anymore. I should probably invest in some more mics and do another experiment like this - I actually feel like I got a lot better at recording after I made this video.

[@blackforrestham7809]

Thanks for the pro-tips. I just acquired two AKG C214 condenser mics. I also have a Shure SM58. I sing/rap while playing vibraphone. Any recommendations on how simultaneously record vocals and vibes? I suppose anything will be better than recording from my smart phone!

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Hehe, well I've gotten better at recording since I made this video ;) - I bet those AKG mics are going to be sweeeeeet. As for singing and playing at the same time, I guess you just want to get the vibe mics as close to the instrument as possible and facing directly over the top, so that they pick up as little of your voice as possible... then you just have to try not to move your head too much away from the SM58 while playing the vibes ha. But it should work if you can point the SM58 away from the vibes.

[@blackforrestham7809]

@@TimCollinsVibes Thanks!

[@CoatiMundiWorld]

I appreciate you posting this. First of all, I'm brain dead when it comes to tek stuff so forgive the question if it comes off ignorant but how are you videotaping this? Do you have an interface between the audio and the camera? What mic are speaking into? Are you using a smartphone, etc.? Can you break it down? Much obliged ... Good stuff all way around from the playing to the sound.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

It's a lot of different stuff.. several cameras, a lavalier mic, and I mix everything together manually after the fact.

[@CoatiMundiWorld]

@@TimCollinsVibes Thank you

[@perc.studios3450]

Hej! Have you tried a silicone filled damper bar? I tried it on my m55 before it was stolen (long story...) and I found that it eliminated a lot of rattle. You have a great sound and it's a shame that the buzz is disturbing that sound ;) I think it was Vanderplas who made the damper I upgraded to, but I'm not 100% sure. You should try silicone anyways!

[@TimCollinsVibes]

I’ve heard of those but never tried one before. I’m so used to the buzzing that I don’t even notice it.. thanks for reminding me!

[@perc.studios3450]

@@TimCollinsVibes I hope I don't created a pet peeve haha

[@TimCollinsVibes]

@@perc.studios3450 haha - no it's all good! I definitely hear it in the studio.

[@michaelhayes6887]

Real nice. But lower height Microphones make both a brittle and distorted sound when notes are sustained. When a VIBE note is struck it travels down a capped resonator and then back up into the air in height and width. When recording and playing this unique characteristic of the VIBE needs to be captured but it is often overlooked for technique rather than music. Milt Jackson used the motor VERY effectively to warm a cold instrument with 2 Mallets only. Some inclusion of sounding better historically might help as well than Just recording cheaper. Respectfully.

[@juana.velazquez9286]

The name of the book. Thanks

[@TimCollinsVibes]

The Recording Engineer's Handbook by Bobby Owsinski

[@juana.velazquez9286]

Thanks

[@MRMR-el7uo]

At your website, trying to contact you it said i have to login first. Login did not work cos i was not registered. Your search engine could not find register. The saga continues....

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Hmmmm. That’s weird. Email me at [e-mail] then