How do I record a trumpet / harmonica?

[fingerace]

Hello guys, how are you?

I ve used a vocal mic to record trumpet before, but I was afraid to play directly on it... Don't ask me what the mic's make and model is, I can't remember it's not my studio.

Also, how do I record acoustic harmonica? I have a harp mic which I use to play live amplified harp with some distortion. Most harp mics distort intentionally so that you don't need any distortion from the amp to get "the amplified harp sound". My question is how do I get the acoustic harp sound?

Thanks a lot guys

[richiebee]

The trumpet is a hard instrument to mic properly, and how you do it, depends very much on the style of music.

The sound that comes out of the bell is very bright, and often doesn't even sound like a trumpet. Mic'ing on axis only works really for a power horn section (eg, Tower of Power). Point the mic down or to the side for a more trumpet sound, but understand that the further you go from being on axis, the worse it will sound. There's this sweet point that's hard to get, but is the only place it'll really sound like a trumpet! It's the place where you get some direct sound, and lots of reflective sound. I start two feet away from the mic, point at the mic, then move the horn down so that you can see the diaphragm over the bell. So, the actual amount you point down is not much at all... experiment around that area for the best sound.
Use the same mic for the harp, and just move away so you're not right on it. You will need to keep pretty still as you play to keep a consistent sound. How far away depends on a couple of things, but most significantly, the room you're recording in.

[fingerace]

Thank you very much Richiebee. The room has sound absorbant foam on the walls and ceiling and thick carpet on the floor. There is very slight 'bleeding' of a strummed acoustic guitar into the drum mics. I guess there's almost no reflection in that room under normal conditions.

The one time I recorded the trumpet, it was 2 - 2.5 feet away from the mic and I had the bell pointed downwards, but I think I had it offset by too much... Should I try placing the mic near a wall and try to get at least some reflection intentionally?

The hard thing is keeping still when playing the harmonica...

Thanks again

[richiebee]

I've found the problem to be getting room sound you want. It can sound really slappy if its a small room (and same would apply if you got close to the wall in a big room) You need to experiment... it's really the only way. I don't mind capturing a lot of my room for jazz stuff - it's a tiny room, but gives the right vibe. It'd be no good for most styles of music though.

What style (s) of music are you dealing with?

[fingerace]

Originally Posted by richiebee

I've found the problem to be getting room sound you want. It can sound really slappy if its a small room (and same would apply if you got close to the wall in a big room) You need to experiment... it's really the only way. I don't mind capturing a lot of my room for jazz stuff - it's a tiny room, but gives the right vibe. It'd be no good for most styles of music though.

What style (s) of music are you dealing with?

I play blues and easy jazz with the trumpet and blues/rock with the harmonica...

My grandfather's house has this huge living room, the ceiling is 4.5 meters... It's like playing in a hall! Huge echo/reverb, actually it's excessive for a recording...

The bad thing about the studio as I said is that it's soundproofed all around, and there is no reverb. It's build for rock/hard rock song production.

Maybe two or three mics in the recording room?

[richiebee]

It could work with those styles... you get a nice "living room" kind of sound that sounds good for jazz and blues.

I personally wouldn't mess with two or three mics... I would try and make one work. It probably matters what mic you use too.

Try and use a mic that doesn't give the trumpet too much edge, or brittle sound... if any of these are available, give them a try -

Royer R121
Sennheiser MD441
Electro-Voice RE20
Sennheiser MD421

I recently picked up an ElectroVoice RE20 to record my trumpet. I'm finding it fussy to get the right position, but when you hit that sweet spot, it sounds amazing. Very smooth sounding. I'll post some clips if I record something I'm happy with as a performance! I'm not in the best of shape just now!!!

[fingerace]

Right! Thanks a lot for the info Rich... I ll mess around with what I ve got!

I hope you manage to record some trumpet for us