I did a music technology course a few years ago. Their advice on recording wind instruments was two mics: one close up (clip-on on the bell) and one for ambient (room) sound: then you mix the two to get the sound you want. Having said that, you cant argue with the photos you show right at the beginning. Plus, like you, they did also mention mic'ing the mouthpiece. As with all things, trial and error is the best way forward.
There is some great information packed into this video. I want to do both audio and video recording so that I can actually see myself and look for things I can improve. I could play in front of my bathroom mirror but, I can't hit rewind on the mirror. My best option at the moment for doing audio-video recording is my iPad.
Reading my mind. Really need to hear what I sound like outside my own head in the spare bedroom. Dream of sounding like the studio production version of my fav recordings (including "Your Latest Trick"). Working on long tones (boring but effective). Thanks again for the instruction.
Great Job Jamie! I love how you can break things down to a level that complete beginners can understand and assimilate. People will obviously have their own preferences so I think that you will get a lot of comments from experienced people, but your video is clearly for getting people started in an area that can be quite intimidating. And you have absolutely smashed that ! The only thing that I think a beginner needed to know, was at the what mic? Section. I think a quick explanation of Condenser Mic (Phantom Power) v Cardioid and Super Cardioid would be a great help. Gotta say, I loved that DPA…and so versatile. You just sold me one and I have too many mics as a singer multi instrumentalist with a home studio…Also absolutely essential in my book is a decent set of studio monitors or much cheaper, a decent pair of monitor (flat-neutral) headphones or you won’t really hear the actual sound that you are recording or have recorded. Because the speakers or Hi Fi headphones will "colour the sound". But Jamie…awesome. I can’t see why any beginner can’t get started with the information that you have given them. I would recommend the Focusrite scarlet to beginners too. It comes with Ableton and various plug ins (recording tools/effects) for free. Everything you need to get started on the computer. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I have bought and tried so many mics/mic pres etc over the years...just to capture the natural sound of a saxophone. The combination that worked for me was an ADK AREA 51 TT into a Focusrite ISA mic pre. Tenor sounds great, but the biggest surprise was soprano (which can sound thin and NASTY!)...it just shone with this combo. You can get a half decent sound with many mics but it involves so much faffing about with eq (and room eq)...but your advice to sort the room, mic placement and playing...all make a lot of sense.
I've watched a few videos about this so didn't expect it to be useful, but there WERE some great tips. This is by far the best video on the topic that I've seen.
Fantastic information in this video. You helped me have a deeper understanding of some of the industry techniques used to record our instrument. Thank you for putting this information together. I will be putting your advise to use to explore the possibilities.
Fabulous, easily understood discussion of almost esoteric (but not really esoteric!) subject. My personal preference was the SM58 for most even smooth and sound, and the Sennheiser for most authentic (as if I were in the room near the sax).
Great info as usual Jamie! My question is about dynamic vs condenser mics. I’d read that condenser mics are better because they’re more sensitive and therefore pic up the full nuanced range in sax sound production. However I couldn’t really tell in your samples and the dynamic mics seemed to sound quite good. Your preference?
My preference is to bat sounds best and really that’s all you should pay attention to. I’m actually trying out some new mics this week and I’ll post the results in the Inner Circle.
Nice video. My experience if it helps. Microphone : Behringer B5 (75 €) does the job, Shure SM57/SM58 (100 €) usable but not natural, SE V7x (100 €) my choice, Rode NT1 very nice sound but catches a lot of room noise. DAW : Reaper (70 €), Ardour (50 €) both available for Mac, Windows and Linux.
Ah the clip on onto a mug is a great tip thanks! I have the isolo that has the interface and I’d love to record more but I get overwhelmed by all the technology involved and just end up recording video on my phone and the sound sucks but I’m lazy! 😂
Nice video but I think a couple of things are missing, like; 1) For what purpose am I recording in the first place? Professionally for a production? For fun? 2) For what situation would I want to record with just my phone or iPad? Just some thoughts. Also, I don’t quite understand that comparison with recording with GarageBand on a Mac, and Audacity on a PC. Those two programs have little to do with each other. The type of recordings I’d make with GarageBand I wouldn’t be able to do with Audacity. For PC, Cakewalk would be a better comparison. Keep up the great work! 👍🏾
Hmm, following your urging I have now recorded and listened to myself for the first time since taking up the sax five years ago. I sound stoned (I'm not) and have no sense of cleaving to the backing track at all. This is clearly irremediable and after five years, deeply distressing. It could explain why there's always an awkward silence when I get up to play at jams.
Great vid as I am experimenting with mics at the moment. How do you add the backing track so that everybody can hear it if you are only using an iPhone/iPad/USB mic and capturing your sax via video on the iPad camera or voice memo i.e. not mixing it or using Garageband?
I will say an iphone is vastly superior to an android for recording. Don't know why exactly, but I think they all have some kind of built in compression or automatically gain-stage--either way the mic never "pops" on them when overloaded. All the concerts on my channel (besides the first) are recorded with an iphone for that reason. If you're stuck with an android (as I currently am) I would get either a USB mic for phone/computer, or maybe a GLS audio knock-off SM57, and a behringer interface. Always use Reaper as the DAW, best there is and saves you hundreds to thousands. I guess the CakeWalk DAW is free now too*
When playing live, say.. a loud R&B gig, and NOT wireless.... mic choice? Sometimes multiple saxes (ex. 3) on stage will only use one mic between them.... any experience with this mic setup? Lastly, I've found, playing live you need to work up and down when micing straight soprano using a vocal mic setup. Thoughts? Wireless on a straight sop is also challenging. Peace
Well, sometimes you don’t have a choice live, you get what you’re given and it’s often an SM57 or something. Not the end of the world. I agree it’s tricky micing sop, and yeh, I move up and down the mic a bit. You need two mics ideally.
I can't post recordings using backing tracks to SoundCloud or social media without being immediately hit for copyright infringement. Not the composer's but users of the same backing track! I just made a GarageBand recording of me playing Summertime over the Jazz Backs backing track. On posting it to SoundCloud it was immediately taken off and I was given a serious warning that I was infringing copyright: I’ve previously had a similar issue with Facebook. Why don't you have this problem?
@@GetYourSaxTogether I've now found out from Better Sax and Jay's team and other sources what's happening. The SoundCloud thing is that professional karaoke jocks prep and then copyright their tracks of super-popular songs using available backing tracks. So if like me you choose to record a really popular karaoke song, like Summertime using the same backing track they've incoproated in their copyrighted piece, you fall foul of the issue I encountered. No good appealing either, SoundCloud side with the jock, which p****s off the original backing track maker no end incidentally. So the answer seems to be: don't record songs that are obvious karaoke fodder, and en-video your effort to RU-vid or Vimeo which are more fliexible if you don't try and monetise the result.
Room sound: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fAxHlLK3Oyk.html&ab_channel=TrilobiteJuice I have long used a Piezobarrel on my bass clarinet, which very accurately reproduces the acoustic sound of the instrument with no added ambient sound. For recording at least two mics - I use a pair of Rode M5s - are needed because of the length of the instrument. These feed into a Roland Edirol R4. My flat has a corridor with no external walls or windows which makes a good studio. (Laurie Anderson used this set up for "O Superman") For practice, rehearsal and performance I use a wireless transmitter with two receivers, connecting to an amp and to a pedalboard. giving clean and mediated sound mixed as required. I've used the same setup for C-Melody sax, though I omit the pedals (and where possible I omit the sax mostly on the grounds of its horrible ergonomics). Apologies - the clip runs for over 45 minutes.
Great video. I don't know what happens to me but just when I click record it's almost like I forgot the entire song. Thinking about the recording session as I'm playing throws me off. Also, I never know the output level I should record. Sometimes it gets too loud sometimes too low.
I have always wondered in a live performance no matter the mic the speakers and electronics take over and you lose control of the sound you want? Are we at the mercy of the sound company? Aargh!
But what would be the best way to see what the audience hears? After all we are playing for the people. I have a problem knowing how I’m sounding in others ears. I assume it’s just like our voice. Our vice sounds completely different to us, then it sounds to all the other people around us. So I don’t sound like what I’m hearing to others.
Sadly you can never play and have yourself hear it from a distance. You just have to get the best time you can and record or amplify it as best you can.
Listening to the raw Mics blind, I was like, wow, these are all not that good, then the last one, was, wow, so much more depth to the sound. Then it turned out to be the iPhone 11 😂
