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Writer's pictureAndy Leeder

Live Jazz Quartet - Production Planning

Updated: Oct 2, 2018

I've been asked to record some more live jazz for some friends at JMI (Jazz music Institute) - Thanks JP ;P


This time it's gonna be Drums, Double Bass, Saxophone and Piano! Wow, so whats my plan? How am I going to mic up these instruments and what techniques am I going to use?

Lets get into it:


Gear:

I've been able to get ahold of some cool stuff for this recording,


3x AKG C414 LDC microphones - These guys are extremely flexible with varying polar patterns, HPF's and a switchable PAD. They're also great for jazz, providing a beautiful clean sound, suitable for any of the above instruments if used tastefully.

2x RODE NT5 SDC microphones - This is a matched pair, great for stereo micing techniques, set in a cardiod polar pattern. I'll be paying close attention to distance when setting these guys up as they are effected by the proximity effect and off axis high end loss. However they are great at picking up bright detail and have a high SPL. I made sure to bring along a couple of stereo bars to reduce the number of mic stands I'll be bringing along!

NT5's in an ORTF configuration

1x Active DI - Simply an easy way to get the clean double bass signal direct from the source!

1x Crown PZM mic - After using this guy last time I recorded jazz, I found that it really provided the extra bass that the recording needed, complimenting the room mic very well.

The Zoom F8! - It's been great to play around with this piece of gear yesterday and today. It's a portable 10 track location recorder that can track 8 mic/line inputs and the stereo mix out as well. I'll be recording directly into this guy, without the need to use a laptop or DAW. The WAV files get directly recorded onto two separate SD cards for redundancy, for later retrieval to mix in any DAW.


Microphone Techniques:


Room Mic: First off, some say the most important mic for recording jazz is the room mic. I'll be using one of my AKG C414's and dedicating a few minutes to finding a location where the balance of each instrument feels right when monitoring this guy, I'll have it set on omni directional to both capture the instruments surrounding it and to eliminate proximity effect.


Piano:

I'm going to use the NT5's in an ORTF configuration for the piano, set up with the lid open and hopefully (I haven't seen the room yet) with the null of the cardiod pattern pointed towards the drums to reduce cymbal spill. The end result should hopefully be a nicely stereo imaged and well balanced piano that will fit in with the room mic.


Drums: I'm going quite minimal here, and just using a single AKG C414 on the drums, to bring in only if necessary in the mix. It may be the case that the drums fill up the room well and will only need the room mic. However placing this mic gives me the flexibility to bring up the drums in the mix if necessary or isolate the kick's low frequency and bring that up some more! I'll move the mic around depending on what is necessary, but I'll start with it around 3 feet away, at drummers ear level and pointed slightly down if I want more kick, or slightly up if I want more cymbals. Check out this SOS article for a little more.


Double Bass:

With the active DI signal just in case, and the PZM placed nearby on the floor or angled in a corner, I'll be able to capture the bass relatively well, spending some time on the placement of the PZM will be important. I'd have liked a nice warm ribbon to place near the 'S' holes and bridge to pick up some of the finger pluck noises, however I'm sure I can make it work with what I've got!


Saxophone:

The final AKG C414! Here it goes to pick up a clean full bodied sax. I'll position it at around the players mouth level and angled down, slightly off axis to the bell around 30 to 40 cm from the player. I'm going to try it on omni first, then cardiod if drum spill is a problem. This setup should reduce the little clacks that can occur when playing a sax, while picking up the full sound emanating upwards from the entire instrument. Have a look at this article for a few more ideas.


I've got quite a short window to set up and sound check in (30 minutes give or take) so I think I'll be running around like crazy for a time, before commencing the recording. This will definitely be a fun challenge for me, wish me luck!



Bibliography:

1.https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-drums

2. https://reverb.com/au/news/how-to-record-a-saxophone

3. https://www.akg.com/Microphones/Condenser%20Microphones/C414XLS.html

4. https://www.shure.eu/musicians/discover/educational/polar-patterns

5. http://www.audiomasterclass.com/newsletter/what-is-a-pad-what-is-it-used-for

6. http://www.rode.com/microphones/nt5

7. https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-matched-pair-mics-necessary-stereo-recording

8. https://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en/what-is-the-proximity-effect

9. https://www.akg.com/Microphones/Boundary%20Layer%20Microphones/PZM30D.html

10. https://www.zoom.co.jp/products/handy-recorder/zoom-f8-multitrack-field-recorder

11. https://www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/principles-of-the-ortf-stereo-technique

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