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i'm sure i could look in a book and find a couple methods which work alright for micing a cello for simple home recording, but i was thinking that perhaps there would at least be some different techniques that some of you would know about.

i'm a guitarist, and so know nothing about other types of stringed instruments. i haven't really had time to experiment with different set-ups and see if i could happen upon something that works. the mics i would be using would be an akg c1000s, and a rode nt-1, but if there would be better choices in a low price range, perhaps someone could mention that, also?

and another thing, i forgot where i was told that i could find the book, "Small Speaker Enclosures"? i've looked everywhere on the internet, but can't find a single reference to it.

i appreciate anything anyone can share.

regards, jet.

Jet,

You might want to look into using a pickup for the cello or other stringed instruments. In my experience, a decent pickup will cost about $150. By itself, a pickup will not produce the best possible sound that the instrument can make; however, when combined with a microphone and some quality mixing, it may sound quite nice.

-Andrew

By using the large diaphragm as a close pick-up and the AKG as a distant pick-up or vice versa, many sounds may be achieved. The more distant mic will grab the tones as they interact with the room. The close mic will be good for enriching the roomier sound by adding detail to the cello. Play with the faders to find your liking.

An omni mic would be ideal for a room mic. The AKG is switchable between cardioid and hypercardioid pick-up patterns. The hyper setting picks up sound at the back of the mic to a certain extent. This might capture more of the interactions taking place in the room kinda like the ideal omni.

Stereo pairs:

You must have two channels available to create the stereo image. Distance from the source to the mics, the elevation, and the amount of angle you point toward the source is something to tickle your fancy with.

Two pairs of cardioids can be place in an x-y arrangement, this is where the diaphragms would create a 90 degree angle and be placed very close to one another. One of them picks up more left and one more right. The sound source is centered between them.

ORTF arrangements are similar. 110 degrees is the angle between diaphragms and you space the mics 17cm, or something close, apart. This can work really well in a larger setting. The center image may be weaker than expected if you are within close quarters. It really comes down to experimenting.

A split-pair omni setup uses two omni mics spaced several feet apart, capsules parallel, and diaphragms pointing straight ahead. This is very good for orchestras, but it may work well for a solo instrument. This will definitely add some room action and if spaced too far apart the center image may suffer. It can help to use a spot mic with this to add that extra gravy. Then you need three channels.

Beefin',
Mike

thanks, guys. i appreciate it, mike...i'll try out your suggestions and see how they go. sounds a lot better than some weird oatmeal container/egg carton/sm57 techniques i've heard about.

regards, jet.

The C1000 will give you an OK sound. The NT1 will make it sound like the player has sandpaper on the bow no matter where you put it.

A C3000 or a 414 are very nice on cello.

Recording a cellist at the mo, and I have an STC 4038 about 4 feet away, above the stand. yes, I am aware of reflection issues, but my ears say "that's a beautiful sound". I can add 12dB of hi shelving and it still sounds gorgeous (and that's with Alsihad).

This is an amazing mic, but don't tell anyone...

yeah, especially steve...he might buy some of those.

jet

yes, I am aware of reflection issues, but my ears say "that's a beautiful sound"

Reflections are everything. If you have the right reflections, isn't that the beautiful sound? I know nasty reflections and they don't look so hot.

jet wrote:yeah, especially steve...he might buy some of those.

jet

I'm sure everyone could've worked that out for themselves.

yeah, that was kind of the point.

it's not my fault that you're getting picked on about reflections; i'm only looking for advice.

jet