Hello good people! Today you are getting an update on my Major Project that we looked at before, the reimagining of the mash theme in the style of the 80’s. Much recording has done but I thought I would focus in on one key technique.
The recording and processing of the Sax!
What would an 80’s tune be without the sound of that sweet sweet sax? I’ve never recorded sax or had to process one before this task, so this is a nice guide for us both.
Microphone Set Up
Initially I had planned to use the techniques that I had learned from LinkedIn Learning. This would be to “place a mic about 18-24 inches away from the player's right side of the instrument, about half way up the keys then slightly down at the bell (Owsinski, Recording a Solo Sax: Technique One , 2012). Alternatively I could use two microphones to get a balance of room and instrument tone. I would “place the mic about 18 inches directly from the sax. Then add a second mic up on the left of the instrument near the reed” (Owsinski, Recording a solo sax: Technique two, 2012) . You would then move the mics around to get the perfect blend of ambience and decrease the sound of the valve click.
Then an unlikely savor appeared, one whose name will echo in eternity….
Tristram Dudley who is oh so lovely.
I went to the tech desk and Tristan recommended getting out an EV RE20 Cardioid Microphone for the close up and an AKG 314 at a distance. They would both face the mouth of the sax and be placed directly in front of the player.
Here is what we came up with
(Campbell, 2019)
It’s pretty good, got a nice balance and there is some room tone there. However, like all good audio engineers we must process.
EQ & Compression
I did some research as to what would make the sax sound great. I used a guide from talkingmusic.com. They had a section on what to eq in order to achieve or remove any sounds.
Also please note that whenever you get any advice off the internet for any form of audio processing use your ears. They should always have the final say! Golden rule did it improve the instrument and how does it sound in the mix?
I grouped both saxophones in Ableton and on the main group I put an 8 channel EQ. I removed anything below 100hz (low end) and above 10k (high end). You can get a lot of clicking and pressing sounds on a sax that can distract the listener. I also removed 500 - 1k to get rid of that honky noise and boosted 250 - 400hz for fullness.
Talkingmusic.com recommended a 3:1 compression ratio. So I put a generic compressor on and it sounded good to me! Why try and overdo it. 3.1 is a pretty light setting and with an instrument like a sax you want it to be lively and avoid squashing the shit out of it. If you wanted to do that maybe have one clean signal and one parallel compressed and blend the two so you have the peaks of the original with the full body of the compressed. Many ways to skin a cat.
Finally for no reason whatsoever I put on the stereo vibrato. I like the name and it made it sound nice. Always experiment!
Have a listen to the processed results
Final effect!
What is 80s sax without reverb? Which reverb you ask?? Well why not all of it. Turn that thing up to 100 and kiss the sky.
Here is a teaser for being so patient.
Works Cited
Campbell, R. (2019, November 2019). Saxophone... more like sexyphone. Retrieved from YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7uqw4s6Yo8&feature=youtu.be
Owsinski, B. (2012, October 24). Recording a Solo Sax: Technique One . Retrieved from Linkedin Learning : https://www.linkedin.com/learning/audio-recording-techniques/recording-a-solo-sax-technique-one?u=76178842
Owsinski, B. (2012, October 24). Recording a solo sax: Technique two. Retrieved from Linkedin Learning : https://www.linkedin.com/learning/audio-recording-techniques/recording-a-solo-sax-technique-two?u=76178842
TalkinMusic. (2015). How To Mix Saxophone. Retrieved from TalkinMusic: https://talkinmusic.com/how-to-mix-saxophone/
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