Відео

Thanks so much for checking us out. Much appreciated.

@@RickySweum My pleasure! Keep it coming!

Yes, I really enjoy recording sax in the manner you described. Thanks for your insight :)

Thanks so much for checking this video out. I can't remember trying the Beyerdynamic 201, but I'll surely look for it to try out on your recommendation. All the best ~ Ricky

@@RickySweum I think the 201 will sound closer to the 414, but the RE 20 seems to cut really well as is if you are playing in a band

@@saxofonistacr totally agreed. The RE20 is my favorite on-stage mic.

Yes, I totally agree. I think in certain contexts the EV will be perfect, but for solo sax it looses the full spectrum of sound. Many thanks

Thank you so much!

Thanks so sharing your experience recording saxophone. Yeah, those 414s truly pick up everything, lol. The RE20 definitely reduces the room noise. I don't have a Senn 421, but I know they are great for sax. All the best to you ~ Ricky

Much appreciated, thank you. I'm glad you were able to find some benefit from this video. All the best to you 😃

@@RickySweum I have the R-10 and I like it a lot. But, I'm thinking about buying the Neumman 103 to record the sax. I already had Neumann 102 - but I didn't like the result. I want to test the 103. Have you used the 103? If so, did you like it?

I haven't yet tried the Neumann 103, but I want to. If you do and post any videos, please let me know. All the best ~ 🙂@@landersax

@@RickySweum I had a 102. But I don't recommend it for the Saxophone. The tone wasn't good. Many thanks for the reply. If I ever record it, I'll let you know. All the best.

Many thanks 😄

Thanks so much for your comment. Good luck with your comparison video, and please send me a link, or post a link when you've completed it (would love to check it out). All the best ~ Ricky

Thank so much for your comments. Sounds like you've got some good mics for recording flute. Have you tried rolling off all the low end? This will often cut out most, if not all the outside rumble during the day. Of course, there will be a occasional dog barking that will render a track useless, lol. All the best to you~

That's easy to do when the player is awesome though!

@@masonthomassax Much love. Thanks for the comment. Wishing you the best ~ Ricky 🙂

Many thank yous, Patrick. Hope you're doing well. 😊

much appreciation for your comment! thank you for listening. all the best 😌

Thank you so much Deane; it's great to hear from you. Wishing you the best! 🙏

Thanks brother Bill! 😄

Thank you so much, much appreciated.

Thanks so much for the comment and assessment. I've recorded quite a bit with all three of these mics, and they've all worked well. However, I agree with you, the VR2 doesn't take the winning prize on this particular demonstration. No special preamp on this, just directly into an interface...can't remember which I used. All the best to you

@@RickySweum Thanks for the reply - I’m a guitarist primarily but still play saxophone after many years. Am still considering picking up the VR2 when the time is right; thanks for making this video!

Thanks for the comment. Yeah, I've heard the sE8's are great, but I haven't tried them out on sax. All the best!

Thank you! Wishing you the best

Thanks brother!

Thanks man, much appreciated!😆

Much appreciated! Thank you.🙂

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy this.

Many thanks! I'm glad you dig it.

love your thoughts on each microphone, and I don't disagree one bit. All the best to you!

Many thanks for checking it out!

Thanks for your feedback! I've never used the RE15 or RE16, but based on your description, they seem excellent for on-stage performance; I'll be on the lookout for trying them out. All the best to you.

Hi Mark, thanks for the detailed response and insight! Room acoustics are critical, however, I'm always experimenting to see if I can find a good sound from my make-shift studio. I've only ever used my VR2 in my moving blanket studio and still love the sound, but I'm excited to try it out as you mentioned. I've never tried the Warm Audio mics, but they've been on my radar since they came out. Is the 87R2 your favorite on sax out of them all? All the best to you.

@@RickySweum I didn't try all of the Warm Audio Mics, but there are many good demo videos. I could tell from the demos that I didn't like their tube mics. They don't sound natural enough to me. I purchased 3 of their mics. The WA-14, WA-87, WA-87R2. The WA-87R2 is definitely the best for a natural sound. Their first version of the WA-87 is too thin in the midrange and that midrange is what you need for a fantastic sax sound. The WA--14 is a little too course and not refined like a condenser mic should be. It's a very warm sounding mic and it almost sounds like a dynamic mic... it actually sounds better to me than the RE20, but a condenser mic should sound a lot more refined than the WA-14 sounds. I played the AKG C414 a lot between 20 - 25 years ago in nice halls in Europe. I would place it about 2 or 3 feet away and I would get a pure natural sound. I like the Warm Audio WA-87R2 even better than the old C414's. The WA-87R2 sounds even more natural, full-bodied and warmer than the C414. Google the "Sound on Sound" review of the Warm Audio WA-87R2. One more important recommendation. I've tried many different mic preamps. For the past 25 years I've never found anything better than an Aphex preamp for acoustic instruments. You can get an Aphex 207 real cheap or a 207D real cheap also. The 207D has digital outputs, but you don't really need that if you are using a mixer. You don't need the expensive Aphex models because these cheap models have the exact same sound and the same exact limiter. The limiter is amazing on this preamp. It is completely natural sounding. I've never heard another compressor or limiter that is so natural. It just limits your most explosive dynamics without changing the sound at all... it's done with an optic limiter. You really don't need a compressor or limiter if you're just playing jazz, but it comes in very handy if you are recording yourself... you don't have to worry about always looking at the levels. I'm using the Midas MR18 for live gigs... but even with this fantastic digital mixer, it sounds better with the Aphex mic preamp.

@@markwhite-what-da-jazz thanks for the detailed response. I'd love to start using an analog pre-amp. I've spoken to a few sax players that recommend the Universal Audio LA-610 Mk II Tube Channel Strip. Do you have any experience using this?

@@RickySweum I only tried this channel strip once recently in a friend's studio. I didn't take the time to try to get it sounding right to my liking, but I hear this is a fantastic preamp. I didn't like the one time I tried it because it changed my sound too much, but of course this can be avoided with the right settings. I am super picky about the sound of my sax. I always want the most natural sound. I want to hear the exact sound that I am playing on the sax and this is why I love the Aphex preamps. The Aphex makes everything about my sax sound so natural. It's like it's adding better natural room acoustics to your sound. It adds depth to the sound (extremely natural) and it makes the attacks of the sax sound like you are in a perfect room for the sax. You can't make an Aphex preamp sound wrong on the sax. When you read a review on an Aphex mic preamp, the reviewer might say that the preamp has a brighter sound than other brands. The truth is that the Aphex preamps add a little warmth, but it's very slight and natural... exactly what I love about it. I can tell you a couple of Warm Audio preamps that sounded terrible on my sax...the WA73 and the Tonebeast. The WA73 sounded too muffled on the lower gain settings and it suddenly sounds too bright and edgy when you set the gain higher. The Tonebeast sounds like it sucks air out of the room on your attacks... it's the opposite of adding depth to the sound.... like you are using reeds that are way too soft and the sound just blurts out without depth. The tonebeast has a lot of cool settings that change the sound subtly, but none of the changes help the attack of the sax. Here is the worse compressor/limiter I've tried: Klark Teknik kt-2a... the only way to get this compressor/limiter to sound close to natural is to keep it at a very low setting like you are barely using it and you shouldn't have to do this with a compressor/limiter... I also didn't like how it warmed up the sound too much. When I listened to a demo of the Warm Audio LA 2a clone, I didn't like how it muffled and warmed up the sound too much, so that is why I tried the Klark Teknik KT-2a. I've tried a lot of different mic preamps, but I always prefer the Aphex preamps.

@@markwhite-what-da-jazz thanks again for the great response. Wishing you the best.

Thanks for checking this out, Jordan. I'm glad you found this video helpful. Are you doing much sax recording?

@@RickySweum Little by little on my own. Trying to navigate my way through making my saxophone sound like an actual saxophone 😆

@@jordantaylorreed LOL! I know your feeling. I've found that most of the professional work I do recording myself at home, get highly processed for the final product, so, I'm finding that the best thing I can do is get a good clean and dry capture, then send that off to the producer/engineer so they can processes it however they want. The only time I need to get an "amazing" sax sound is when I'm recording acoustic jazz or solo saxophone.

@@RickySweum Aaaaaaaaabsolutely!

thank you, Sage!

Hi Rich, thanks for the comment and question. The RE20 is a dynamic mic good for the stage because it rejects a lot of the on-stage noise just like the Shure 57/58s, however, in my opinion, the RE20 sounds excellent on the sax because it has a beefier low/mid range which makes the sax sound fuller and less bright, which is what I find happens sometimes with the 57/58s. Everything can be fixed with a FOH engineer, but when that's not available, the natural EQ curve of the RE20 brings out the qualities I like best in the sax. Hope this helps!

thanks for the kind compliments, Patrick. Wishing you the best, my friend!

LOL, yeah, definitely not the real thing. Was a fun project though.

I really appreciate it, thank you!

Much love, Jim. Thank you!

Thanks for the awesome video response, Paul! I LOVE your top saxophone mic choices! I'd love a Neumann TLM 103 and a Coles 4038...those are stupendous mics, but also more expensive options. Someday, I hope to add both of those mics to my arsenal. Interesting factoid about Brecker's last album, thanks for sharing that. One of my Berklee professors told me about a session she was on where Brecker was recorded with one mic below the bell of the sax on the floor, and one above the bell. I've never tried that out, but it sounds interesting, lol! 😂

Thanks for the comment, Rob. I really don't do much in terms of cleaning my horn other than an occasional wiping down with a cloth, or a Q-tip dipped with rubbing alcohol. I've had some excellent repair techs gently wipe some lemon-scented pledge into the brass to help shine and freshen up the smell. All the best to you!

LOL, I love it. Yeah, that would be funny, it would come with to little fuzzy pointed ears on the top.

Thanks so much!

Hi Steve, thanks for the comment and the information about the MD421. For those live gigs, I've been looking into the possibility of bringing more control with me, not just a mic, but also a small pre-amp with tone and EQ controls. This way, say I was using an MD421, I may be able to adjust the tone before it even goes to the FOH. The JHS colorbox might be useful in this situation, but like good gear, it's a bit pricey. Do you have any recommendations for pedal-type portable EQs pre-amps?

Thanks for the great comment, Gunter! Yeah, I'd say the AKG is my favorite all-around mic for just about everything. On occasion, however, I'll enjoy using a ribbon, or dynamic, just for the variety of sound flavor. I've had an AEA R84 Active Ribbon mic on my "would like to buy" list for a couple years. Do you have any experience using this mic? Is it worth purchasing? It's around the same price as a Royer 121, so I'm not sure. I'd love to get both of those side-by-side in a play test. Thanks!

@@RickySweum Hi! I had the R92...you know the one you get different sound playing to the front or back. ua-cam.com/video/Seho1ItBI8c/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/iW4JjVbKCpg/v-deo.html Sorry, I don't know the R84. What I can say is that you can play very, very close to the mic, it's also a good live-mic. And it's small and very light. I was also thinking about trying the Royer side-by-side with the Voodoos, Unfortunately the AEAs are a bit harder to get here in Austria. I'd also be interested in the AEA KU5A, which is hypercardioid AFAIK. Cheers, Günter

Thanks so much, Rob! Yeah, I love playing in situations that are slightly less conventional, i.e. without a drummer or without a chordal instrument. It really inspires a different way of listening and interacting. All the best.

Thanks so much for your comment, Frank. Yeah, me too...I love the ribbon sound. All the best to you.

Much appreciated, Haze, thanks!

thank you!

most definitely 😊

You were awesome!