Reply To: Recording Violin

[Jesse DavisParticipant]

Hey Thinus,

Welcome to the Academy! And thanks for replying. I would LOVE to have a ribbon mic to record with but unfortunately, I don't. Likewise, I don't have the resources (yet) to tame the room so I just use what I've got. Lately our favorite recording method has been a large condenser as a sort of "close mic" maybe a foot and a half away from the violin and a pair of small condensers that function as a sort of pair of overheads that sit a few feet above the violinist. The dry sound coming in seems the best we've managed so far, and I typically blend the three mics in a way that favors the overheads with just a little bit of the close mic sneaking in.

This method can get a little dicey with phase issues however. Nothing detrimental, but if the performer is very animated things can start to sound a little..."phasy" (if that's a word), especially if I need to do extra takes or make a playlist. The room sound is also quite present but I find I don't mind that for the things I have been recording. The highs/high-mids are always something I keep an ear out for, but this method has definitely helped tame the offensive piercing frequencies.