Recording Bluegrass Soon, I need some guidence

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 9:40 pm

We are doing Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, Upright bass, Vocals.

O.K. guitar I can handle but would appreciate stylistic advice

The other instruments I do not have experience recording. I said fiddle and not violin on purpose.

Again with vocals, style tips would be very helpfull.

I appreciate any feedback. I am not familiar with this genre at all so I could use all the help I can get including links to good modern bluegrass mixes to listen to for reference.

I only have a 8x10 Iso room to work with if that helps at all.

Thank you so much in advance

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:22 pm

Just an iso booth? No kitchen, living room, etc.? The very essence of bluegrass begs for a group performance, and an iso booth will KILL that!
Try to find a room that they can all be together in and have a little "breathing space".
What mics do you have? Fiddles take to a good ribbon real nicely. It takes some of the "scratchiness" out of them.
As for links, try going to fretsmag.com and look up Scott Rouse's Recording Tips. Even if you can't afford the gear, there are some great
insights.

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:47 am

Go ahead... stick a bluegrass in an iso... they can't play... correction, they WON'T play that way!

The entire essence of bluegrass is group performance.

You need two things... a good ribbon and a good pre.

Set up the mic about chest high/midline of the instruments.

Place the mic in a non-nodal location in the room.

The players will naturally (should) form a semi circle around the mic. Traditionally, they will take a single step up toward the mic for solo's.

Typical arrangement (Left to Right) fiddle, mandolin, bass (in the middle) aco guitar.

I typically put up an LDC for the vox... using rule of thirds... away from the band (if they have a solo vocalist)

If you can set up a decca tree, that works too. If you go that route, just put up a dummy mic in the center (as above) and let em' have at it.

The best is to use a stereo ribbon, as above, and MAYBE augment the bass with a Beta52 or bass transducer.

Good luck, and remember that bluegrass is best recorded as simply as possible.

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:52 am

Best recording I ever did of a Bluegrass band was them standing around in a circle with two Omni microphones in the center. They were self balancing and played well together so my job was made much easier. ISO booths and separating musicians is NOT the way to go for BLUEGRASS or String Quartets (think about the similarities and you will get the idea)

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:11 am

Thanks a lot. I forgot to mention an important detail. There is one main guy playing all the instruments. So I will have to separate it. would room miking all instruments and then panning accordingly be the best way to go? or would close miking work best in this situation. I do not have a ribbon mic but I do have a pair of NT5. C414, MXL tube mic, and a handfull of other LDCs, SDCs and Dynamic mics. If I should pick a ribbon up, what inexpensive, quality options do I have?

Thanks again

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 12:56 pm

My only ribbons have been Beyers. I used to use an M160 ( Sad

), now I have an M260. They both do pretty well, but they're hypercardioids. I do have an Apex ribbon as well, but ribbons that cheap aren't really suitable for what you're doing; they're too dark. I like the NT-5's on mandolin, banjo, and guitar. All of these I run through a Grace 101 preamp (NOT the ribbon version). And even if it is one player dubbing everything, pt the player in a big enough space that has some life...

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 1:12 pm

I like the NT5 on the fiddle, but I think I'd choose the 414 for everything else except the vocal. You want the size and space thing as all have been saying so the 414 is sensitive enough to pickup anything clear out to the corners of the room. Omni....of course.

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:20 pm

thanks, any tips about vocals?????

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:32 pm

Start with that LDC Tube mic you have and go from there. Even if it winds up being a 58 that works the best.

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