![]() Most banjo micing techniques involve micing distances of 2' to 5'. The banjo needs space for the sound to develop. It's a relatively inexpensive investment and will likely do more to reduce ambience than any plugin. I also have Valhalla Vintage Verb and East West's Quantum Spaces reverb plugins.Īnyway, I might order some of the blankets recommended by LouDorn. I'm using an RME Babyface interface.įor a quick run down, effects that I have available include the Burnley 1073 and UA 1176 (bundle) plugins and the previously mentioned UA Ocean Ways Studios plugin. I'm running all the acoustic instruments through a Millennia HV3C and the bass and vocals through a UA LA 610.a perfect match for the Manley. ![]() But the banjo is a loud acoustic instrument and can be hard to "contain". I need to emphasize the room ambience is mainly a banjo issue. I really agree, more room treatment is likely the key. Maybe I should accept what the Ocean Ways plugin offers? As I said, it does sound good. It really sounds good but it's not the sound I'm looking for. I can get a great room sound using my UA Ocean Ways Studios plugin but it sort of specializes in ambient sounds. I know I can't hope to rival a pro studio recording but I'd like to get as close as I can. I've been trying to emulate that sound as much as is possible given that I'm recording in my moderately treated home studio. The Boxcars are one of my favorite bluegrass groups and I really like their dry vocal and banjo sound. These mics used in a M/S configuration yield great tone and a big sound. It sounds like maybe you don't necessarily have to? I'm using a Royer R-122 and sE Electronics Neve designed RN-17 (I have a stereo pair). Maybe I should try shortening the micing distance to about 8" to 12"? I was always under the impression you had to "distance mic" a banjo. I've been recording banjo using a M/S technique at about 2' and pointed at the junction of the tone ring and resonator and I really like the sound except for the moderate amount of room ambience. Hmmm.after reading some of these posts I'm starting to rethink my approach to recording banjo. ![]() (I agree that a nice room and some distance generally gives a more pleasing sound, but that may not be possible here ) eg noitall hasnot mentioned the mic being used, which is important. I am not so sure on the distance low frequency relation though as I see strings miced close quite a bit. A hard wooden board under your feet as you play can help to give you some pleasant early reflections. That said, most acoustic instruments sound better in a good room than a very dry one, so don't try to kill the reverb completely. I'd agree that treating the room (if possible) is likely to be better than removing reverb artificially (I have Isotope RX Advanced and find its dereverb module almost useless). So although you can certainly reduce ambience problems from the room by close miking, you may not like theresulting sound. A rule of thumb is often considered to be 1 to 2x the longest dimension of the instrument, which makes sense of the 2' to 5' mentioned here. For every acoustic instrument there's an "ideal minimum" distance where the sound from different parts have a chance to reach their natural balance, and for its lowest frequencies to be picked up correctly. Well even in a zero reflection room, miking too close will emphasise one part of the instrument over another eg pick noise, fret noise, soundbox noise. On vocals, for example, a movement of just 4 inches away from the mic can result in a 6db increase in room acoustic compared to the vocal. The easiest way to remove room sound is to mic closer. How close are you micing and with what microphone? If those panels are going to go anywhere, I'd put them either side of the microphone. Put something on the floor too if it's a hard surface. Dampen a full half circle around the microphone's back, and I would point the microphone down towards the instrument rather than straight at it parallel to the floor. Large polyester blankets and filled comforters will help aswell. What I'd do is go to a good will store and purchase anything large and dense. You'll just frustrate yourself, trust me. None of them work whatsoever for steady material, only somewhat work for things like drums because of the distance between transients and (generally speaking) a lack of important detail in the sustain of the sound. Given that this isn't a one-time thing, just forget about plugin restoration. You were asking this question about room treatment already regarding your banjo, right?
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