Mic(s) for solo oboe and strings

Thanks ward - It's a home studio and I will be recording both the oboe and strings in separate takes, so there's no need for isolation. I've read that SDC's can be preferable for capturing transients and with instruments that don't have a lot of bottom end, but my NT-5s are cardiod.  I don't know if you gave the track a listen, but this is definitely not an orchestral setting. I plan to use some processing (e.g. a delay) and the part ducks in and out of the mix depending on function.  I like the Omni idea.  As for LDC's on the oboe, I have an AT-4033, MKID, NT1A and a UM-17B. Probably best to set up a couple and record simultaneously, right?  The Blackspade is the only one that gives me polar pattern options.  I'm thinking that and the Warbler.

Same for the strings?

I would mic the oboe with um17b in Omni or super wide cardioid 12" -18" back from the oboe, angled toward the finger holes. the 18" will add a "space or air " to the recording, where as close micing will give you more control to " place in the mix ". I kinda think of it like micing a trumpet or another treble ranged No sdc, this will skew the natural sound of the oboe.


www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/how-to-mic-an-oboe

www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/how-to-mic-a-flute-or-recorder

www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-university/how-to-mic-a-clarinet

These all have decent info and are a quick read.

What's in your mic locker?

Since what you are trying to do with the string instruments is to give them more realism, probably ought to judge them in context. What is usually lacking in sampled or synth parts is texture, so even if the instruments sound a little edgy by themselves, that is usually just what is needed to make them more convincing. Probably closer to the bowing so you get the missing details. I would be tempted to mic the oboe with LDC on omni if your room is okay, and then use some kind of cardioid to give it a point source. Dynamic might be just the ticket as you could get close to the bell without too much handling and fingering noise....

this.

If anyone wants some free pretty interesting and usable strings and things, Big Cat Audio put together some free players which use the University of Iowa's extensive sample library. The envelopes are sort of plain jane, but for the price of searching Big Cat on Google they are certainly well worth that. I can't remember where i got the oboe on song, maybe from Acoustica Instruments, some of it is from a Proteus module, but the piano and cello and most of the other orchestral instruments are all from Iowa. They are known for corn, this song is slightly corny, maybe, an experiment we shall call it. goo.gl/photos/TNGkYpThbmk9Bu1t8

Looks great. Have fun.

I'd love to hear how everything came out.

Nice.

Other than some early and embarrassing computer related madness, the session went well. I haven't gotten around to working with the string parts yet, but they're not as critical. With the double-reed player, I had a feeling that range of the part better suited an English horn so luckily I had a transposed part ready for the session. So our English horn player is an experienced and consulate player with a number of orchestras and recordings to her credit, and she was able to carve out large chunks in a pass. She was bemoaning the fact that her reeds were not up to her normal standards because she gets more work as an oboe player, not that I would have noticed - maybe on one or two notes that she pointed out to me, which she promptly fixed on the next take.  She mentioned that there's just no good way to close mic the instrument (she's even been recorded from behind overhead), and that generally speaking it's better to go with an ambient sound, which of course is not something homegrown studios are wonderful at, but I surrounded her with gobos and threw up a Warbler MKID and a Blackspade UM17 about 3 feet in front of her, using both mics on every pass.

Strangely enough, when mixing last night, I found myself using the UM17 in the buried sections because it was warmer, and the MKID in the exposed more solo-oriented lines or in places where I wanted the part to emerge from the texture because I liked the way it cut.

Of course, I'm still so use the voicing of the VI instrument that I found the real thing too thin in places.  We'll see how my ears adjust over time, but for now I've panned the RL instrument slightly right, and pulled the VI way down and panned it about half-way left.  Of course, the performances are different, and it comes across half like an effect and half like a double, It's pretty subtle, but there are one or two places where I bumped the VI to compensate for variances of tone and to create a little more tail on some of the phrases.


https%3A//soundcloud.com/m57/back_to_monterey


The instrument comes in after 1:00 and plays a LOT throughout the rest of the piece so I'm very conscientious about it being too prominent and drawing attention when it's not featured. I could make a quick mix with the English horn up a few db if folks want, but I'm more interested in getting opinions about the mix and maybe how to better treat the channel. I've got a little compression going on at about 1.8:1 and some slate toys in the VMR.

Finished mixing in the string part. The player brought a cello and a violin to cover the range, and we tracked what amounted to a single take, which I panned moderately to the left, and brought it up in the mix to where I could gently, but consistently make it out against the virtual violas, then backed it down a skosh. Really makes a huge difference.

Also realized that I had pushed the hiss up exponentially when I first got those Slate plugs. I was just piling on and so hyperfocused on other things that it just creeped to the point where it was bad. There's still a bit too much in the intro and outro (that and some body noise), so I'll probably go back and re-track those parts at some point, but overall, I'm very pleased with how this one turned out. I learn so much with each new tune.