breathing noise in mix -- help!

[Giganova]

hi guys,

I finally stepped up to decent microphones (Neumann KM184 and Sennheiser 441) and a high-quality preamp (Focusrite Green Voicebox mkii) to record my tenor sax in my little studio. The sound is really sweeet and increadibly accurate! I'm having one problem, though:

when I record my tenor sax, I have a LOT of breathing noise in the mix! I can somewhat suppress it by pointing the mic to the mid keys instead of the bell, and by equalizing the high frequencies out. That, however, also attenuates the high overtones. Do you have any idea how I can get rid of the breathing noise (= air coming out of the bell)?

Thanxxx!

[saxboy]

Keep experimenting with placement and distance.
The bell close to bell 2 feet away.
Bell but off center.
Bell but across the hole.
Low Bb and B tone holes.
1 foot from the center of the keys.
The further back you go the more of the room sound you will get.
You should be able to find a placement with that mic that will work. Usually the track covers key noise and air noise pretty well.
You don't want to have to roll the highs off because that part of the overtones in your sound is part of your sound too.
I would keep trying and use the experimentation as a wonderful lesson on sound and mic placement.

SAXBOY

www.gregvail.com

[Bloo Dog]

I'd try lowering the recording level a bit and backing away from the mic. In the mix you can also suppress those frequencies in equalization. My guess, however, is that your answer is to be found in the distance from the mic and mic placement.

This is assuming that you are referring not to the sounds of your own breathing but to a breathy sound in your recording.

If you're actually picking up your own breathing, you need to decrease the recording level and increase the distance and/or dampen the sound in that area of your studio. An acoustically "live" room will allow a good mic to pick up all kinds of sounds you ordinarily would want to suppress.

I agree with saxboy. Keep experimenting. You may also be too critical of yourself. I used to cringe when I'd hear recordings of myself.

[Giganova]

thanks for your reply!

Just as you said, it seems that mic positioning is in fact the key in getting rid of the breathing noise. Its much better now after I tried out lots of different positions and distances. A lower compression rate (3:1) on the channel strip also helped a bit. Also, maybe I was a bit too critical. Even though the good mics and preamp are so damn sensitive that you hear _everything_, its not too bad in the actual mix of the songs.