How to Mix Banjo Part 1
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- In this video, we use three simple EQ moves to correct the most common issues with recorded clawhammer banjo. You can use any audio editor. Free ones include Garage Band and Audacity. For this video, I use Logic Pro.
I was just interviewed by Brad Kramer on his amazing Glory-Beaming Banjo Blog! Please visit his blog and give him some love. Comments on the article would be deeply appreciated:
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The Old Time Herald says that Tom and Jon "...are not only masters of their instruments, they attack the songs here with energetic vocals and tight harmonies...repeated, deep listening reveals high creativity and even experimentation, hinting at all kinds of riches to be mined from future listening."
Brad Leftwich says of our album, 'Sinful to Flirt,' "...a delightful collection of classic fiddle-banjo duets, played with energy, skill and respect for tradition!"
The Banjo Newsletter reviewed the album and loved it. Dan Levenson says, "it reminds me of the old players and recordings I loved when starting out and old time was still old time. ... Don't miss this CD."
Friends of American Old Time Music and Dance in the UK agrees that "...this CD is a little gem."
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I just found this video and I hit SUBSCRIBE so hard my mouse exploded into hundreds of plastic shards shooting across the room. Everything was explained with incredible efficiency and usefulness; any quote from this video is educational. You are a great teacher.
Hahahah! Thank you, Gary! I guess I owe you a mouse. Glad to have you aboard...though my "recording banjo" series didn't get very many views, so I don't do them as often as I would personally like. I'm planning some more so staaaaay tuned!
If this is the tip of the iceburg, let's go deeper for sure. Great video. More please
Thanks, Matt! I did go a lot deeper, but for my Patreon supporters only. There's a very limited audience for this kind of thing, I'm afraid!! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, Tom
I´m just starting to record my banjo and this video was exactly what I was looking for. I´ve seen your other videos but this one made me subscribe your channel. Thanks a million!
Awesome!!! I have several more vids on this topic as it's near and dear to my heart (and daily life!). Good luck on your banjo recording.
Love the recording process and the further I go down the rabbit hole I am getting less frustrated and far more fascinated and dedicated to improvement in technique , ear training , arrangement, etc . Creating good recordings takes a lot of skill sets . Far more than I ever had considered even just a couple years ago 🤯🤯🤯
Thanks so much for this comment! Yeah, I just am totally obsessed with the recording arts and still feel like I have so much to learn. I love experimenting with sounds and recording techniques! It's a lifetime of discovery. Cheers to you!
@@FretlessFury Cheers to you as well! And much thanks for all the time/ effort sharing your discoveries with your fellow explorers 🙏🎶☮️🎶💟🎶☯️🎶🙏
I like the direction you're going. Banjo has been difficult for me to record and get sounding just right. I'd love to see more about mic placement, different effects, mixing techniques, etc. Thanks, Tom!
Hey Kyle! Glad you like this direction. I'll be weaving in these recording/mixing howtos as I go. I agree that clawhammer banjo is hard to capture! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@Bentlee Alessandro Yup, I have been watching on flixzone} for since november myself :)
Great video!
Thank you, Deering Banjos! You guys rock!!!
Thank you so much! As someone who spent last night recording claw hammer in a windy cabin last night with questions on mixing, this was the perfect resource for me.
Sounds like a lovely way to spend an evening. Glad the video helped!
Not boring! you're the only person who puts out videos on recording and mixing banjo that actually plays the banjo.
Ive got Logic now and want to perfect recording and mixing a banjo. You're the guy I turn to for tips so keep making content, its very helpful.
So glad you like the vid! I'm currently doing a module on recording clawhammer. Yesterday I did a public video on mic placement options for banjo: ruclips.net/video/eCF6iAOSxQ0/видео.html
4:37 I've been looking for someone to get into the banjo frequency space. So far, so good.
I loved this. Please do more videos like this.
Great video keep the banjer ringing
Great! Finally a Logic Pro Video on EQ-ing open back banjo. I have been doing home studio recordings using Logic Pro for banjo (and other instruments) - and this is an excellent starting point for this problem of EQ and banjo. I find my banjo always sounds somewhat harsh and or muddy in my room - and using EQ (plus some compression pug-ins, perhaps) makes a huge difference. This video would be helpful no matter what DAW a person is using. These principals remains the same. The banjo opens up with EQ. Thanks for this lesson. (FYI: I saw the link at the Banjo Hangout Website).
Thanks for the kind words and the plug!
My pleasure, Brad!
Tom, thank you so much for this video, I wish I had found it years ago. I'm recording some clawhammer for a track, and I'm struggling to get the recording to sound anything like what I'm hearing in my room. Cutting gently from 300-500hz is magic. How such a simple adjustment cuts the haze and brings the instrument to life has really floored me.
Hey Bayard! Glad this was helpful. I also often use a touch of compression. Attack is set 40-50 ms, with a fast release (to taste), and a 2.0 ratio. It helps keep the banjo punchy while plumping up the overall sound a bit. I'll be doing a video about that in the near future. Good luck on your recording project, and thanks for leaving a comment!
Tom, I have been using Ableton for a couple of years to do mixes and record stuff mainly for my own enjoyment. As an electrical engineer I enjoy getting into the weeds on the technical stuff but I have always been disappointed with my results recording and EQing/mixing the banjo. Thanks for the suggestions, I will try EQ in those bands to see how it works here. I would enjoy additional videos exploring the topic.
Thanks for the feedback, Kent. I have plans to do a video on compression at some point.
Funny about the wind. On this day back in 2018 a tree went down in my yard and ripped out all the wires coming to my house and blocked the road.. Funny to come accros this video.. I am in Mansfield MA
Ah! That's crazy, Jim! Thanks for the comment.
Thank you for this great video. I’d love to learn more about the best way to record clawhammer banjo and edit my recordings afterwards.
Glad you enjoyed the video, Caspar. I'll definitely be doing more of these in the future! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch.
I spent hundrends of dollers on recording equipment. I really need this banjo centric video. Thank you!!! Please, More!!!!!
Also, I would like more info on mic placement on the banjo. I've heard your recordings with fiddle, and they sound amazing! Could you also do some videos on ensamble recordings?
Hey Brian. Yes, I'll be doing more of these in the future! Thanks so much for your comments.
Worthwhile segment, but don't know how much of it I'll actually use! But good stuff if your deep into the rabbit hole!
True that! Thanks for watching and commenting, Randy. If you ever get into the recording process, this video will always be there for you!
I found this video very interesting and would like to see more. I have never considered recording myself, but I like the idea of using recording as a feedback loop to improve my playing. Thanks
Great video! I have an indie label and small recording studio so this fits right in with what I do here. I also always use compression for some punch and volume equalization, sometimes I add guitars and bass, drums, and other instruments. Sometimes I record with a micing technique called mid-side for widening an otherwise mono sounding banjo. Thanks!
Hi Stephen, I've experimented with m/s recording and really liked the results. I agree that compression is really important for that punchy, finished tone. Thanks for your comment, and thanks for watching!
this is super helpful thank you for a banjo specific mix video
NERD FIGHT! I realize this is an older video... I've become fairly obsessive with having some quality recording gear for my banjo - Banjo (GT OT-800) > mid/side Neumann TLM103 (mid) Avantone CV12 (side) > Avalon M5 Mic Pre > Universal Audio Converter > DAW. About $5,500 dollars later, I am still not super happy with the result. I have tried other mics, preamps, and plugins as well. I am excited to try working a little more with the EQ. I usually find myself boosting too much of the highs. Thanks for the video (and all the other tips and tricks in your other videos as well).
Hey Randy, I'm there with you, man! Recording clawhammer is not easy. It's hard to get it to sound natural and full. Your setup is excellent, so you should be able to get some great recorded sounds. I've had very mixed results with M/S recording and the banjo. It rarely sounds right to me. I haven't used either the TLM103 or the Avantone C12 clone. Large diaphragm condensers are often very colored, and I've only found a few that sound great with clawhammer. One was an original C12, which was way, way, WAY out of my price range. I'd try the following: place the CV12 off-axis and above the pot pointing down to the edge of the rim spaced at least 12" away. The banjo can overwhelm mics and preamps with transients, and I've mitigated this by not having the mic directly in front of the head. Highs can make the banjo sound harsh and brittle, so I often tame them with EQ. 1.6k is a nice place to add presence if you find that the track is dull. A little compression can add fullness to the sound, as can a kiss of dark reverb. Good luck in your banjo journeys! Tom
I loooove this video! More of it please! It would be great to know how to place the mic for ideal recording...perhaps an idea for another video. Thanks for everything!
MORE OF THIS PLEASE 🎶☮️🎶💟🎶☯️🎶
Bro I literally double took when you engaged it
More videos please, there are very few videos like this out there.
That Timothy! I'll likely be doing more in the future for sure!
Great video! Thanks!
I don't play banjo, but I have recorded an original "string band" tune and a friend is sending me a banjo part for it. I just needed a basis to go by on my first try at mixing banjo. This was perfect!
Some day I will probably attempt to do the recording on a banjo track, so if you can smart us up on mic placement and mic types, that'd be schveete.
You have a great delivery, by the way. You could probably make great videos for anything...
saludos desde colombia tom....
Hello, Cesar!
@@FretlessFury I LOV the country music...quiero mesclar como lo hacen ustedes...donde puedo conseguir mas informacion de mezcla
I really like the video. personally I like the sound of the unaltered recording better than either of the eqs. it reminds me of old record I used to have of some oldtime banjo players.
I love this - am a patreon subscriber - getting into self recording and need this sort of informaton
Helpful and informative! But I played the video at x1.5 speed to be honest. What is the name of the song on the recording used as example in this video?
Thanks Marulken! Yeah, this video was done awhile ago, and I was still learning the ropes on how to deliver lessons via RUclips. I've recently totally redone this video, and did several more in a series for Patreon. The first video is free on RUclips, and you might find it helpful: ruclips.net/video/bLQsWnK3z0s/видео.html
This is awesome and I would love more like this and with more detail, for what it's worth 2 years later. Also, how do you identify the build-up of mids that you want to get rid of, versus desirable mids?
Oooh, this is such a good question. I'm always trying to get my banjo in my recordings to sound like the sound it actually makes in the room. Mics don't hear like we hear, so you have to tweak the sound like I did in the video. Low mids can make things sound "cloudy" or "gauzy". I remove mids when I feel that the recording is lacking clarity. I will say that mic positioning can mitigate a lot of this issue, and I've learned a lot over the 2 years since I recorded this video. I'll be doing more of this kind of thing at some point, so stay tuned!
@@FretlessFury Thanks for the helpful reply. This was the video that convinced me, p.s. and as a total novice, that I needed to EQ to get something resembling the acoustic sound I was hearing in the room. I'll look forward to hearing more from you on this!
Awesome video - thanks! I'm definitely interested in the topic - would be curious to know even more about it. For example, I notice you have some room treatments. I made a few attempts to record my banjo and get a decent sound. It's pretty tricky and there's not much info out there about it - especially not specific to clawhammer. I'm interested if you ever use any other plug-ins . .like compressors, etc. Thanks again!
Hey Chris, Glad you liked the topic. Yes, compressors are the next step in getting that full, beautiful, finished recorded sound. I'd like to pair this lesson with a lesson on compressors specifically for clawhammer. I love using compressors when mixing, and I think they can really help make a recorded banjo sound full. Stay tuned, and thanks for the comment!
After I posted this I thought - man, it would be cool if I still had that clip I tried to record on my banjo. Amazingly I was able to find it - from 2014. ruclips.net/video/TLr7HbaCFpo/видео.html. This was the best I could do and it was a real pain. It sent me straight back to the iPhone, lol. Since banjo blitz has improved my playing, though, I'm inspired to record some more . . I know you can help me! Thanks again.
How did you select 12K, 360, and 110 as the frequencies to boost or cut? How narrow or wide are those bands? Hope I got the terminology right. I'm tryng to ask when you choose 12K, 360, and 110, are those the center of some range that captures other nearby frequencies. How did you select those? I don't hear the second one as being the significant improvement over the first one that you describe, but I'm hearing impaired and using hearing aids to hear sound out of MacBook Air speakers. So far from a quality monitoring setup. Thanks for the education.
I choose those frequencies based on what I'm hearing in the raw audio file. I will often shift them around based on the raw recording. Different instruments/mics/players/rooms all influence the choices I make. There are absolutely no rules, so you will want to make choices based on your own taste. MacBook Air speakers are definitely not ideal! I would struggle to hear any of these differences in that listening setup, and my hearing is not impaired. I would highly recommend coming back to this video with some reasonable way to reproduce sound: headphones if your hearing aids allow them, or studio monitors. It's really VERY difficult to mix on laptop speakers even for pristine ears!
Hey Tom
I'm late to this party and have now subscribed.
I couldn't find a follow up video that talks about mic placement,
and having made similar video about recording claw hammer, am looking for thoughts from more experienced engineers.
Hey Joel! Thanks so much for joining Banjo Quest! There is a video I did for my channel about recording banjo. You can watch it here: ruclips.net/video/1onbjx-p38c/видео.html . I find recording clawhammer to be amongst the more difficult instruments/styles to capture well. I have been on a personal quest of almost 20 years in trying to find the best ways to record it, and my opinions have changed over the years for sure! Mic position is so dependent on the mic and room, that it's hard to offer a blanket suggestion. I do find that getting off-axis from the pot helps mitigate the transients which can overload your mic/pre. The best mic I ever used on banjo was a C12 in a studio in Vermont. Of course, this was an $20k mic! Not gonna happen...for me at least! Once I heard that sound though, it helped sharpen my ears to what a good recorded clawhammer sound was. After demoing many, many mics, I discovered the Ehrlund EHR-M. Very C12-esque, though more accurate on transients. It's an extremely fast mic (due to the triangular capsule) and has a hugely extended range. It is airy, and shimmery at the top...almost tube-like...and otherwise flat. They must be paired with the right preamp though. Anything sluggish or "vintage" sounds muffled and gloomy. It's a perfect match with the preamps on my Crane Song Spider, which are modern and transparent. I've also used it with a LaChapelle pre and it sounded good if the tube stage wasn't driven hard. Forgive the long response, but this is very much on my mind as I prep for the Midsummer Online Banjo fest where I'm performing. Trying to dial in the tones for that show, so your question is timely! You might consider posting to the Patreon "community" section as we have some very talented engineers in the BQ community with a lot of experience that could help you. Good luck, and let me know what you find! (omg...that wall of text!....) Tom
@@FretlessFury hey mate
No probs here with a wall of info :) Like I mentioned, I have found so little on recording what we want a banjo to sound like, the more info the better.
I made a video aimed at people just starting out recording clawhammer - yours is a lot more comprehensive.
ruclips.net/video/3Wv1sb5eHl8/видео.html
Thanks from Tasmania, Australia!
@@JoelK Hey! Great video, Joel! I'm so pleased you've joined us at BQ. It's become a crowd-sourced banjopedia of sorts, and you'll be able to add to the knowledge there. I'm going to be doing more content on recording banjo this year for BQ, and I'm definitely doing one on compression. As you try different mics and recording techniques, I'd love to hear your results. Keep me posted! Lovely playing too! Cheers!
What’s the best set up to get a good banjo sound before you even get into a recording device or DAW? Good preamp, compressor? Should you record wet or dry?
Hey Timothy: unless you're really experienced with recording, I recommend recording dry and applying your EQ and compression in the mix phase. For my Banjo Quest videos, I do use a hardware compressor going in to even out the narration and banjo, and it saves a ton of time in post. For the Sinful To Flirt album, I went absolutely without any processing on the front end. A good preamp is important, but I would rank your room at the top of the list, mic next and finally preamp. Of course, performance is your most important thing to think about...always!
6min in before he starts talking about how to mix the banjo!
Yeah....making videos that stand the test of time is really hard. I've gotten better about getting to point faster! Thanks for your patience!!
@@FretlessFury fair enough :)
I’ve been recording wet because I have only one effects processor in my device, are you recording wet or dry?
Sounded like someone talking. I played it a couple of times....you called it a pop...was it saying “I buried Paul”.
CD baby is shut down. Can I still find your album somewhere?
I'm working on getting it online. Thanks so much for asking! You might check my Patreon campaign if you'd like to support what I do: www.patreon.com/tomcollins Cheers! Tom
Thanks for your time and help. Iam neither for or against videos like this, I think most people would think banjo needs all the help it can get 😛🪕
Hey Mike, I just did an update of this video with compression and reverb as well. Check it out!
Wow, sounds like a bad storm. Whereabouts do you live?
I live in Salem, MA. The winds and the tides combined to make this the worst storm of the winter, and one of the worst storms I've personally witnessed. We're on the other side now though! Thanks for tuning in, Isaac!
This was when, a couple days ago? I live up in Hallowell Maine and we haven’t had a storm that bad for quite a while. Glad to tune in.
This was on Friday and Saturday. We didn't get any snow...just rain, flooding and extremely bad winds. Glad you guys up north didn't get it!
Sheesh. We got a little bit of wind but nothing more than that. Hope all goes well!
What’s the best mike to use?
Hey Timothy, Thanks for your question. There really is no "best mic". It's all personal preference, and what you sound like in your room plays a huge role in choosing a mic. That said, for clawhammer I used a Josephson C42 for years. Highly recommended for a crystal clear hi-res recording of clawhammer banjo.
I think this was a very good video and videos covering this subject matter are extremely worthwhile to do. On the other hand, I wasn't able to get out of it nearly as much as I think is actually in there. Maybe I'm just slow, but I found that you went too fast, and presumed too much foreknowledge on the part of the viewer. There was insufficiently detailed explanation for me to be able to really understand, in a practical and useful way, what you were really talking about a lot of the time - especially when you were manipulating things on the screen while you were talking - I couldn't really follow what was happening. But, truth be told - I generally find it very difficult to follow a video where all I see is an interface on the screen and a curser arrow moving around. I get lost. I want the person to look at me and talk to me and explain what they are going to do each time they are about to launch into a new subject area, and then to show what they are doing. Thus, I would have preferred to see you several times during the video, explaining what you were going to do next and why you would be doing it, and then to see the interface as you were doing it and explaining exactly what you were doing in greater detail than you did in this video. I think I'm going to have to watch this multiple times in order to learn more than "it sounds better if you play around with the equalization to lower the low end and raise the high end" which was really my main take-away from this one time through. I know there's way, way more in there than that, and I would have liked to have been able to catch more of it the first time through. Maybe I'm just being unreasonably demanding, since the video I have described would take more time and work to make.
Hey Marc! Thanks for the detailed comment. A lot of these vids that I do are to supplement my private lessons. I have my students record themselves, so I wanted to provide them with a basic "how to make your banjo recording sound better with EQ" vid so I don't have to keep sending the information to them via email, or take class time to do it. I figured I'd make it public just in case there was anyone else who wanted the information. After finishing this vid, I thought it could have either been a lot shorter, or a lot longer. I'm not altogether thrilled with how it came out, and I almost took it down, but there have been enough comments and private messages that made me realize it's not my video anymore. When I was starting banjo I wish I had information like this. It would have saved me a lot of time, and heartache. That's where a lot of my vid ideas come from. Anyway, I'll probably be making more of these in the future, and I'll keep your excellent points in mind when I do so. Cheers! Tom
Yeah boi, leave it up. I did it once for a full album, but now am mixing the second. I do full bluegrass instrumentation - guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin, bass, and vocals. You wouldn't believe how few resources there are out there on the topic.
Banjo is especially not straightforward because the head contributes all sorts of harmonic content, which makes the other strings vibrate too, creating even more. It's really not straightforward and involves lots of trial and error. That being said, it's good to see someone wade through it. I might make a video in the future too!
As current trends suggest all music will be banjo based by 2025, it's good to get in front of the wave.
Note I said bluegrass but I just mean instruments, I play without fingerpicks (I do either clawhammer, or like classical guitar which allows some nice possibilities on the banjer).
Three stories? Glad I live in a one-story. I would kill myself on the steps after a night of cider. :)
I live in a rowhouse built in 1828 in downtown Salem. My house goes up more than any other direction. And I've taken a tumble on more than one occasion!