Lutherie Dubosq Guitars - Posted - 02/02/2012:  08:03:01

I'm a luthier up in Canada and recently built a beautiful, powerful sounding banjo and would like to know if anybody has tips to recording a banjo to get its full sound.  We recently posted a video on Youtube (Bob's Banjo) featuring Robert Whisell where you can see some pics of the building process and a short clip of Bob playing; the video was taken by an HD camera but the sound does not make it justice.  I was thinking recording on my Boss studio... anybody ever get a really good recording?  What type of microphone should I use where should I put the mics?  (I have a couple SM58, an SM57 and an Apex tube microphone)

revellfa - Posted - 02/02/2012:  08:52:57

Hello and welcome to the hangout. I'm sure you will get many answers but my advice is as follows;

The microphone that gives the loudest, clean, clear, natural sound for me is the Shure Beta 98 clip on condenser microphone. I think this will really bring the sound of your banjo out. I would avoid a pickup as IMHO most do not give a very natural sound.

pearcemusic - Posted - 02/02/2012:  09:01:17

I find that the room you record in is as important (if not more) as the mic choice is.

Listening for resonant frequencies (room induced tones) and too much of a room induced reverb will help you choose a good space.

I listen for a tight, but not too tight sound in the room. Then try to use anything I have to minimize bounce reflections and reverberation (blankets over windows, pillows in the corners, etc).

Then ... it's all about mic placement. If you don't have a control room area away from the recording space,

then you can place the mic ... do a record test ... listen to it ... and move the mic until you get the sound you want.

Usually a tight space, and medium distance (not too close or too far away) mic placement will give a nice representation of the real world sound of the instrument. All of these things make a difference.

I would try all 3 mics that you own ... I'm sure one of them will do the trick.

p.s. ... make sure you eliminate all noisy interference... like humming refrigerator motors, air conditioners, computer cpu fans, etc ... it keeps the noise floor low, and the sound quality better.

The Pope - Posted - 02/02/2012:  10:57:28

Pearcemusic said: "move the mic until you get the sound you want." Isn't this a form of EQ? You're making it sound like you want it to sound. I think you should close-mic it so the room doesn't have much effect, no EQ on anything & listen on the flattest speakers you can. An anechoic chamber would be good. Also, if you're doing some changes, change only one thing, play it for a week, then record. Banjos need to integrate new stuff. YMMV 

JoeDownes - Posted - 02/02/2012:  16:22:37

Here are two approaches:

- Find a good sounding room and right mike placement. You'll end up with a good sounding recording that will need little processing. The tube mike will work better for this. Adjust the pickup pattern to get more or less room on the recording.

- Close mike the banjo and adjust eq and add a little reverb to the recording and you'll end up with a good sounding recording, too. Both the shures and the tube mike should work for this.

You can also combine the two approaches and close mike with a shure and pickup some room and a more natural sound with the tube mike.

pearcemusic - Posted - 02/02/2012:  16:57:05

quote:

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Originally posted by The Pope

Pearcemusic said: "move the mic until you get the sound you want." Isn't this a form of EQ?

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Hi Erik ... I don't think of mic placement and EQ as the same thing at all. If you get the mic placement right, then you might not need additional EQ (using an "EQ" or equaliizer on a board or software plug-in). The best engineers I work with all focus on mic placement when getting a sound in a tracking session. It can be trial and error until you find a mic, space, and instrument combination that achieve the sound you are looking for. Once you find it, that combo can go into your "bag of tricks" for future recordings.

That being said, there are as many recording methods as there are engineers ....

O.P.: Regarding close mic-ing: the banjo is a powerful instrument, and sometimes it benefits from giving the mic some space to get a full sound of the instrument from a listeners perspective, AND I find reduced pick and hand noise when a little distance is given. I'm not talking about several feet of distance ... just a couple, and this is only when recording the banjo by itself in a tight sounding space.