Sax mic poll

[APAULOS]

I'm not really crazy about my microphones for close mic'ing a sax. What are your favorites? Looking for a Nelson Rangell(sp) Steve Cole type of sound.
P.S. not to be rude but I've already got the other stuff covered ie. Room, Player, Sax, Reeds, Mouthpeice. Just looking for Mic preferrences. Thanks.

[Cinemafixer]

I like the old GT model1 small diaphragm tube mic. Nice vintage sound on sax. If you check out the Roy Howell's massive Slide solo...thread and check out I gotta change - I used that mic on all sax parts there - I love the tone.

[APAULOS]

Cinema, I wish I could check that out. My soundcard went out on this computer [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] but even if it didn't these little speakers would still suck [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] But I will give the GT a listen...Thank you. Anyone else have any faves.

[marcusb]

I've never really been a huge fan of condensers on sax, or any brass really. I have had great success recording sax (alto and soprano) with an EV RE20 dynamic. Also ribbons (4038, Royer R121) are pretty much the mic du jour for recording brass.

Cheers,
Marcus

[Stone Knife]

I'm there with Markusb and the EV RE20 or -27 as first choices. The Royers such as the R-121 are a delight but expennnn-sive- if you can borrow one, do it! (They need a pre- with lots of gain like 70dB BTW)

[APAULOS]

You know, it's kinda funny-I was just looking at the Royer R-121, R-122 and sf-1 microphones.
Stone knife, I thought that the beauty of the new Royers is that you don't need a high gain pre to run them...That and the fact that my monster sax player won't go through three ribbons in a day [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] But correct me if I'm wrong...It's been known to happen.
Marcus, thanks.

[English Jim]

I've had pretty good luck with a Sennheiser 421, about 1' away pointing towards the bell a little off axis.

[Bastiaan]

I was surprised how it sounded with a Shure Sm58. Pointed to the fingers.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Yup, the E/V RE20 is a fairly inexpensive option. I also use ribbons on occasion - sure, the Royers are very nice, but you might also want to check out the Beyer M160. Nice mic, and it compares very favoribly to the Royers for less dosh.

Condensers (Lrg Diaphrm) can work well in some situations, but are too "brash" in others. It depends on the sax, mouthpeice, player, room and tone you're after, but if I'm going to use a condenser, my first choice would probably be a Neumann U67.

[Stone Knife]

Mebbie we got some funky ones- but when we used a pair for small ensemble/classsical recording- had to crank 'em. They do take an enormous SPL- I've heard the first ribbon replacement set is free, even...
Royer has the new R-122 phantom-powered ones you mentioned, which I bet don't (shouldn't) require so much oomph. (Royer touts those as having "15 dB more gain" interestingly enough on their site:
There goes $1,200
Interestingly (to us here probably) the EV's and Royers are both managed by Telex now.