How to Mix Clawhammer Banjo: EQ, Compression and Reverb
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- Опубликовано: 27 апр 2021
- I've been fascinated by the art and science of recording music for decades, particularly acoustic instruments like the banjo. Clawhammer presents unique challenges for the recordist, and in this video I take a look at EQ, compression and reverb and explain how I use these elements in a mixing chain to produce a rich, natural, open recorded banjo tone.
Headphones or good speakers are recommended!
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I do. If you'd like access to the full Banjo Quest experience, please join me at / tomcollins
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That low volume tip is an EXCELLENT one for hearing compression, especially when working in headphones and not studio monitors. Your ear drum and the tiny muscles that respond to sound are not unlike a spring in their mechanics... and the louder a sound is, the more the "spring" is at tension. This means that our ears have a natural form of self-compression. Louder sounds get "compressed" by our ears, which means judging mix compression with loud signals is confusing yourself by being unable to distinguish which compressor you're hearing - the one on the screen or the one in your head. :) GREAT tip, Tom!
Ooooh, I knew it worked...but I didn't know why. I struggled to really hear compression for sooooo many years. It was a major light-bulb moment to turn down that volume. It also generally helped me balance mix elements out too (like vocals). I'm pinning this comment. It's got great info!!!
Hi Tom. This is excellent. Thanks so much. Your explanations of how these things work ,not just for banjo but generally, are the best I’ve found. Really simple to get your head around. Thanks so much
So glad you found this useful! Thanks for the comment.
mixing banjo isn't hard when you play it that well! sounded soooo good raw man. I have to piece my parts together to even sound remotely like it isn't the first time a guitarist tries to play the banjo 🤣. I'm a big fan man you play it really well 💯
Awwww Thank you sooo much! Going from guitar to banjo is a HUGE learning curve. You just stick with it and you'll be golden!! Cheers! Tom
Thanks Tom, this helped me out quite a bit. You’ve definitely right about needing to scoop out some of those low mids.
Glad it worked for you, John!
This is exactly the video I was looking for. Thanks so much Tom!
Glad it was helpful, Jelle! I'm a huge fan of your gorgeous playing. Cheers! Tom
@@FretlessFury thank you so much! I'm currently recording my first album :)
I don't do any recording. I only run live sound for one band. A guitar, a mandolin and a banjo. I am just beginning to try to finesse eq. Finally getting some understanding of it. I have been using presets and am not happy with the banjo preset. Your advice has given me inspiration and confidence. Thank you!
Great, Amy! So glad it was helpful. I'm not a live sound expert, so be sure to post back here with your results so we can learn from them. My guess is removing some ~400 Hz from the banjo will get rid of competing frequencies in a live situation. Good luck! Tom
Thank you!
You're welcome, Bill!
I know this is a clawhammer channel, but do you think those EQ dips and compression settings would do well when mixing Scruggs style bluegrass banjo? Or is there a whole different approach?
I think they'd be a great place to start with bluegrass banjo. Just use your ears, trust your instincts and experiment! Feel free to report back here with your results. Good luck!
Hey Tom this was excellent. I am searching high and low for a good technique for recording the banjo and hearing the two mics side by side was excellent. My aim is to find the most natural sounding mic and I have been through a few. I liked the subtlety of what you did with the tracks too, compression and EQ, but I guess my aim is to have to do as little post as possible - hence the need for a good source. I am thinking of a tube condenser...what was the brand of the one you mentioned....I have not previously heard of them....it sounded gorgeous! Recording clawhammer is difficult!
Hey Tony, glad this was useful! I think large condensers for clawhammer can be good, but you have to be careful about too much coloration. I find that most large condensers are a little slow, and have a hard time capturing the transients. The Ehrlund M’s are different: because of the triangle membrane they respond to transients totally transparently. I pair them with a beautiful Peach Savannah tube preamp to tame their high frequency extension. If you go with a valve mic, I’d recommend a small/pencil condenser. They’re fast (but can be noisy for quiet passages!). Soyuz makes a tube pair of small condensers that are very nice. With any of these options, unless your room is incredibly well designed and treated, you’ll need post-processing to get it to sound right. The room has a huge influence on recorded sound, so make sure you’re in a great space! Best, Tom
Hey Tom. Really love your videos. I have a question about making video and recording music. Are the any apps out there, where it is possible to record video and sound editing in one app (eq, reverb, compression and so on) This is just for quick youtube recordings. I have not yet found any apps with video and useable sound editing in one app. Any advice - Maybe even a tutorial:-)
Great question! Most video editing programs have sound mixing baked in. I use Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve, and the sound options are solid (compression, EQ and reverb). I think iMovie also has some basic tools to use for sound. That said, I always use Logic for my sound mixing as I rarely capture audio in-camera, so I have to import and synch the audio anyway.