Let's Record Clawhammer Banjo: Mic Placement with Tom Collins
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- I've been recording Clawhammer Banjo for 20 years now. In this introductory video about capturing the magic of clawhammer, I compare the sounds of 4 different ways to place the recording device.
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Punk/metal producer here doing a country bluegrass session soon. Thanks for your tips. I have to agree that the off-axis sounds more characteristic of a banjo and would sit much neater in a mix with an ensemble. If it were just solo or a duet with a fiddle, I'd go on axis just to get more bass.
Thanks for the comment! Was a drummer for many years, and love punk and heavy stuff. Glad this helped! When I record on-axis, I find that the resulting raw track is super spiked with transient information (unless I really back the mic off the source). Off-axis allows me to get the mic closer to get that immediate "on the speaker" sound that can be exciting. It's weird having a tonal instrument yield such transient-heavy material, and it sure makes it challenging to get right! I hope your session went well...thanks for your insight! Best, Tom
Thank you for doing this! Also, kinda random, but I really dig the thumbnail pick on the video.
Thanks, Brian! That thumbnail took some time, so I'm glad someone enjoyed it. Much more to come on recording clawhammer....
a trick : watch movies on Kaldrostream. Me and my gf have been using it for watching loads of movies these days.
A tip: you can watch movies on Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching a lot of movies during the lockdown.
@Lewis Jake Yup, I've been watching on flixzone} for since november myself =)
@Lewis Jake Yup, I have been watching on Flixzone} for since november myself =)
Great advice well explained - and so beautifully demonstrated! Thanks so much.
so grateful for this video. thanks so much!
My pleasure, Dot! Thanks for taking the time to comment! Cheers, Tom
Great picking, thanks for the info
Thanks for watching!
Great video! I finally got my banjo quest tshirts, love them! If I wanted to just produce more volume with an amp and microphone say if I’m outside, where would you put the mic? Center front of banjo 12” out?
Awesome! So glad you like the t shirts!! You'll have to experiment with live sound reinforcement. I'd probably put the mic off-axis to the right of the pot. The dead-on recording position can overwhelm mic/preamp pretty easily I've found. Also, amps add a tone of color to the signal, so you'll probably want to find an amp that is specifically geared towards amplifying acoustic signals (vs pickup). Let me know how it turns out!
While this is one of the first videos I found looking for tips, and is useful, I'm more aiming for amplification in a noisy environment rather than recording. I'm velcroing the mic to the rod in back of the banjo, and from moving the mic around back there, it seems louder if I point the mic down toward the bridge rather than up toward the neck. I'm kinda just looking for confirmation of my suspicions, even though pointing it down makes the cable come out in a funny direction 🙂
Howdy Tom! I started on guitar and moved to Irish tenor. Made some adjustments during lockdowns for more "full" solo sounds. Been looking for a name for an odd off/inverse-clawhammer style I fell into (and really like). It sort of combines traditional boom chuck with left hand hammer-on and pull-off in an open tuning (ADae/d). Thumb always falls on the down beat, on whatever string the melody is on, so there's heavey "boom"-downbeat emphasis in the melody. I've yet to find anyone who mentions or uses the same style. Any clue?
I've just been calling it the Hammerclaw, since it's inverted. Or, more personally, the Andybob style.
Tom your info has been really helpful and I hope to get involved at some level with Patreon. What is the tuning your playing in? Thanks for the help.
Signed.....just a newbie due to the pandemic.👍👍👍👍
Thank you so much! I'm in double C for this video. Hope to see you over on BQ! Best, Tom
Excellent video thanks Tom! I have a cheap CM25 which came with my audio interface. I’ve really struggled to get a recording from it that I’m happy with. What mics would you recommend for recording clawhammer, in the mid-high end range?
Hi Bayard! Glad you enjoyed this video. There are many mics that are a good match for clawhammer, and many that are not. Whatever you choose, make sure you can audition the mic in your own space to make the decision. Sweetwater and Vintage King are two of my favorite vendors who offer trial periods on gear. I've demoed many, many mics in my studio, and my personal favorite for clawhammer is the Ehrlund EHR-M. Extended, rich, pure and honest. Pair them with a high end tube preamp, and they are perfectly matched to what I want to hear out of a clawhammer recording: honest, but euphonic and a little bit dreamy. Good luck and please let me know if you find a mic that makes you happy!
Great video - thank you. What type of banjo are you playing in this one?
can you play albatross on a 5 string banjo
Tom. Is your patron site solely banjo quest or may I also find your banjo blitz videos there?
Hey Jame, all of banjo blitz is on RUclips for free. Banjo Quest is the focus of the Patreon site which is, in my opinion, much richer and more detailed than Banjo Blitz. I took what I learned doing the Blitz series, and made it better for BQ. We also do tunes on BQ, and the community that has coalesced around the project is totally awesome. I hope you'll join us!