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hi guys and gals, i'm going to be recording an ep for an indie-ish traditional irish band and one of the members is a dancer. he does a mixture of irish tap and clogging, and i don't have much of an idea regarding how to capture it. ideally, i would be able to spend a lot of time experimenting with the gear i have, but he's only in town for a few days after we start tracking before he goes back to ireland. if anyone has any Micing tips/suggestions i would love to hear them. this is what i currently have in my possession:

AKG c414 b-uls
Pair of AT4040's
RODE NTK
Blue Bluebird
Pair of RODE NT5's
3 sm57's
Audix i5
AKG d112

the dancer also owns a boundary mic, though i don't know anything about it's make or model. i've also never used a boundary mic before, so i don't know much about placement or anything like that. any information would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
joel

Comments

bent Wed, 01/02/2008 - 16:29

We used to put 4 or 5 Crown PZM's across our stages when we had tap acts, then upgraded to AT895's (yep, that was overkill).

In your case you've got quite a selection there, lot's of combinations to be had!

I'd try the NT5 pointed at his feet with the 4040's in the room for some ambience, and I'd put his PZM down there a couple feet away from him - for two reasons:
1 - It will make the dancer feel like he's contributing more to the process.
2 - There's nothing wrong with an extra mic to play with in the mix.

rockstardave Wed, 01/02/2008 - 17:16

bent wrote: 2 - There's nothing wrong with an extra mic to play with in the mix.

bingo. i was going to suggest putting a whole bunch up and see how it turns out. be sure to remember where you put them and each mic's settings and orientation so that you can get back to us with your results!

sounds like a great chance for you to do some experimenting. (y)

TheFraz Wed, 01/02/2008 - 18:16

I found my self it a similar situation a month or so ago.
I used a 4040 about a foot back at 45 degrees.
but i also used the room mics from the drum set (it was a drum and dance duel). i forget what they were to be honest. but the combo worked well.
I was able to really capture the idea of the drummer and dance playing together.

TheFraz Thu, 01/03/2008 - 07:14

haha, Its hard to say. I think the dancer.
It was fun, since both of them had never played together before this session. but it worked out real well. Only needed about 3 takes.
I have yet to settle on which one to use. or I may just take what I learned from Jack Richardson and edit one kick ass duel together.

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