[jdbojarski]

For those of you with experience doing multitrack recordings of yourself on sax, can you offer some suggestions as to recording technique:

1. Mic placement

2. Post processing/effects (reverb, compression, etc).

3. What type of software/hardware you find best/easiest. Standalone multitrack recorder VS. computer multitrack software

 

[ericdano]

1. About 6 to 12 inches above the bell sounds best.
2. Generally do a EQ roll off of low frequencies to get rid of the rumble. Then it depends. Using a vocal EQ setting and tweaking it is a good place to start. Compressor, that is a big subject. I generally like SSL type compressors. I switch back and forth between using Wave's SSL compressor and McDSP's G-Channel strip. Reverb….generally Altiverb. It is expensive but it is so amazing to use. Most computer programs have some sort of reverb. A good room reverb is generally good.
3. Computer is the way to go. It is really easy to get into, and Apple computers come with Garageband and it has a great entry level

 

[harmonizerNJ]

re 1: good question, will depend on the mic and the room you record in. Starter suggestion: start about a foot away, our horizontally from about the mid point of the horn. Others who are smarter than me on recording can probably offer a better starting point for mic location. Then experiment a little and use your ears.
re 2: It is good to record "dry" and not permanently burn in any compression or reverb when you record, but add it later. When I record myself on sax, I do not add compression, but I do add reverb. One pointer on reverb is to increase it until it becomes apparent, and then tone it down a notch.
re 3: if you are just recording one or two tracks at a time, and already have a good PC/MAC in the location where you want to record in, that will be an attractive option. If you want to record 5 or more tracks at once, you might need a specialized input device (multichannel preamp) or a standalone recorder. Some people like the standalone recorders for the simplicity (i.e. no Antivirus, etc) and the portability.

 

[Peter B]

I have a pretty simple recording facility set up at home comprising a couple of large diaphragm condenser mics, one cardioid the other switchable omni/cardi/figure 8. These are hooked up to an Alesis interface and from there to a PC running the Reaper DAW under Windows XP.

I have the mics rigged mid/side for recording my SAAT quartet, decoding with the Voxengo MSED plug in, but I also do some solo recording, and in the context of your question, I sometimes record all the parts of some of our quartet titles myself, just for fun. I do this standing in front of a music stand set to a height which is comfortabe to read from. I then set the mic boom up so that the mics are just above the top of the music stand and pointing down at an angle of around 45 degrees. When I play the sop part the bell of the sop is actually below the bottom of the music stand, (I've cropped this picture to show what I mean), but it doesn't affect the overall recording. I then add the two alto tracks and the tenor track, all dry, as previously suggested. I use only the cardioid mic for this, the bottom one in the pic, but if I'm recording myself to a backing track, then I record my solo track mid/side which lifts the solo recording quite nicely.

As for processing, well I find that a little compression is always helpful in adding depth to the end result, and I use the excellent Audiocation Compression plug in because it has a great range of presets. Reverb is a different matter altogether. I find it a very difficult fx to get right, but I use the Ambience Reverb plug in which again has a great range of presets, and sometimes manage to add just the slightest touch of reverb to good effect but more often than not I can't get reverb to bring anything to the end result.

Hope this is uselful..............

 

[dexdex]

I personally chose the standalone solution for recording. It is always a bit awkward to manipulate a computer and a bunch of saxophones alone and simultaneously. I use a Zoom R16 for that purpose: 8 simultaneous tracks real time, 16 for re-recording.
Easy rewind, mark tracks, almost totally fool safe, never lost any data. The device can be taken any place, runs on ordinary batteries, and costs the price of a pair of microphones.
All the post production can be made on computer.