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Author Topic: tracking the marimba band  (Read 1692 times)

afirmamenti

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tracking the marimba band
« on: November 15, 2005, 09:20:37 PM »

hello...  first post, and a request for stories and information from personal experience.  In a few months i'll be undertaking the task of recording a band of marimbas playing traditional Zim music and island stuff.  there will be no more than 7 marimbas (from bass to soprano with some part doubling) and probably a trap kit.  the studio will be large enough to accommodate them all at once, but there are also 4 isolation spaces, all of which are fairly large.  i will have access to a pretty wide variety of mics (not much vintage), many large and small cap condensers and a couple royer ribbon mics. i will be tracking to 2".  any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
thanks,
Connor
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keithfarquharson

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Re: tracking the marimba band
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2005, 10:13:32 AM »

Connor

The best result I ever got with marimbas (while I was still in  Zimbabwe) was with KM 84's. For the smaller ones, a single KM84 around 3 feet above the instrument worked great and a pair for the larger ones. Good luck.
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Gone

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Re: tracking the marimba band
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2005, 01:37:51 AM »

I would try to put the drumset in  a booth, as well as any other percussion - with mics 3 or more feet from the marimbas (and up to 7 marimbas) you'll want to minimize that bleed. Depending on the music, you might be able to keep the marimbas in one room, perhaps in a semi-circle...

I have gotten the best results (that the artists were happiest with) using large diaphragm condensors or tubes. A few favorites have been U47s, U67s, TLM170s, M147s, UM70s. I have used small di a few times, but have found them lacking a little in the 'beefier' tones - again this may depend on the music. I plan to try a pair of DPA 4011, have used 'lesser' small di in the past.

If they are 'two mallet' players, you may get away with one mic per instrument (if they confine themselves to a small section of the scale for each song). If they are 'four mallet' players, or using the whole instrument, which is large, I'd suggest two mics. I have used X-Y, but it tends to make the center too strong (and it's the strongest part of the instrument anyway). So, spaced pairs are the best bet, using careful placement to avoid phase issues... Also, keep in mind that directly adove the keys might give you too much resonance from the resonators. You might need to back off or angle the mics a bit...

Good luck...
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compasspnt

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Re: tracking the marimba band
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2005, 06:39:23 AM »

On the larger marimba(s) with the extended bass octave, it can also work well to use two LDC's, with one for the higher end placed above approx 2-3 feet distant, and the other placed underneath the lower end, about 12-15 inches distant.  You would probably nave to invert phase on the underneath mic.

A pre-configured stereo X/Y mic can work wonders placed above the centre note of a mid to small sized one.

Marimbas are one of music's great instruments.

Best of luck.
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