Question:
Hi Guys,
There are propably many ways to mix an Alto sax in a band/ Orchestra, and as a guest/listener, am finding an awfull lot of terrible mixing taking place. The horn rarely sounds anything like it ,but more like an electonic kazoo. How would you best go about getting the natural sound of the sax backto be your final mix out at the mains. Any help would go a long way! Thanks
Rich
Answer:
Stick a nice dynamic mic like an SM58 (or a sennheiser 421 if you can get it) in front of the sax, not in the bell. The sound of a sax comes from the whole instrument, not just the bell. Also, if there are some extreme settings on the house EQ, it may cause the sound to be strange. Don't mess with the house EQ unless you know what you are doing. Instead, dial in a 6db cut on the parametric mid eq for the sax channel on the mixer, then sweep thru until the kazoo sound goes away.
Answer:
Another great mic to use on sax is an Audix D3.
Answer:
I personally have never heard it, but my band director has told me about a new mic used specially for mic-ing a horn. It's called something like "the ball", or somewhere in the general area of that. It's basically a ball that slides down into the bell, and connects with a 1/4" jack to a PA.