Best way to record / mix saxophone

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Best way to record / mix saxophone

I am about to record some tenor saxophone parts, for the first time! Anyone having some advice?

I will be using a MXL 2003 condensator mic and have a Tascam FW-1804 audiointerface. Maybe I can get my hands on a tube pre-amp (MindPrint Envoice MK II).
Any suggestions?

After recording, what's your experience?
- compressor
- delay (tape, sample, stereo)
- EQ
- reverb
- ???

Genre: poppy jazz

It's always a pleasure to read in this forum about shared experience, so...

Thanks!

iMac G5, Mac OS X (10.4.6), Logic Pro 7.1.1

Posted on Apr 24, 2006 3:15 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 24, 2006 3:26 PM in response to Mickey Moose

Saxes are generally pretty straight forward, but from my experiences...

Like the discussion going on about recording vocals, put a little space between the sax and the mic. It doesn't need to be much, but let the mic capture the whole instrument, not just what's coming out of the bell.

The mic you mentioned, although I'm not familiar with it, is a large diaphragm condenser, right? That should be fine. When it comes time to mix, put Logic's channel EQ on it, and activate the analyzer... make sure it's analyzing PRE-EQ. Chances are, there will be a bit of mid range "honk", that that mic will bring to the table. You can find that frequency range, and dial it back a couple of dB, just to smooth it out a bit.

Delay, and reverb, even a touch of chorus, can all work on a sax. Just be aware, that a little, and I mean a LITTLE, of each, can go a long way, otherwise, it'll get pretty cheezy pretty fast. Be tasteful, and respectful of the instrument.

My 2 cents...

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