 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2004-11-20 03:22
Would the microphone you are using greatly alter the sound or tone of the clarinet? I have heard a local woman play whose tone on the clarinet sounds simply fantastic. But, when she plays the saxophone or other reed instruments, her tone does not sound any different than any others I have heard. So I am wondering, if the mike she is using is her secret weapon. I have not been able to get close enough to the stage to take a look at it.
Any ideas as to what she could be using?
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-11-20 05:45
Maybe she's just an outstanding clarinettist and a good sax player[?]. I really doubt the mike will make anyone sound better than they actually are but, what do I know? 
- ron b -
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2004-11-20 10:57
Miking clarinet and sax are similar but subtly different. Sax responds better to a mike in the bell. Clarinet really needs a mike in the bell and one elsewhere or else things drop out - either throat tones (all fingers open) or bell tones (all fingers down), depending on where the single mike is placed.
There are players who really sing on one instrument and are just compentent on others. A couple of tenor sax players come to mind, who are tremendous doublers on flute, clarinet, soprano, etc. But then they pick up their tenors and it is like a breath of fresh air. Then again there are those annoying (no I meant inspiring) people who are astounding no matter what instrument they pick up.
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-11-20 14:23
Carol,
The microphone might be a factor. Here is a quotation from Artie Shaw, from the notes that came with the "Artie Shaw - A Legacy" LPs, that might illustrate the importance of the microphone. The reference is to his Gramercy 5 recordings:
"...on these recordings I made a point of playing close to the mike - so much so that you could barely hear the instrument in the studio. It gives the clarinet a juicy quality that it ordinarily wouldn't have. I was trying to do something that isn't often done, playing well below the volume of sound that normally enables you to achieve fluency."
Regards,
Hans
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2004-11-21 02:09
Yeah, but that was Artie Shaw. He would sound great playing into a tin can on a string...
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Author: ken
Date: 2004-11-22 00:14
...and only Shaw knows what he meant by achieving fluency.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2004-11-23 15:02
My vote goes toward her being excellent on clarinet and merely good on the other instruments. Perhaps she has worked on her tone on the clarinet more than on her sax. A good mic is hard to find, but it probably wouldn't make that kind of difference. If you get an opportunity, go up to her after a performance and ask about her set up and how she achieved such a great tone. Then come back and tell us about it.
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2004-11-23 15:27
I have seen mikes with what looks like foam rubber over them. Don't know what that is for. Sort of wondered about that because her tone can only be described as soft and lush. But, Yes I will talk to her next time I see her and try to get the whole scoop for the board.
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-11-23 19:30
Carol, it is a wind or pop screen. Has little to no effect except to stop plosives and wind sounds.
Different mic/instrument combinations will get different sounds, and the position of the mic relative to the instrument can radically alter the recorded/amplified result. Even so, I think the other folks here nailed it -- she probably is just a better clarinet player than sax player. A mic can change your perception of certain sound qualities, but unless the engineer/sound guy was completely incompetent, it is unlikely that the difference is solely attributable to the electronics.
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Author: ken
Date: 2004-11-25 21:01
Chiming in, I suspect this lady is a clarinet player first. To those of us who know and can hear the difference, you can distinguish almost immediately a sax player who doubles on clarinet, as opposed to a clarinet player doubling on sax. And, with the exception of the tenor sax, all others sound like variably-pitched chain saws to me. v/r Ken
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2004-11-26 01:44
Got my new Musicians Friend catalog today and spent a good hour going through the various mikes, amps, etc and completely boggled my own mind. But, I think I will try experimenting with my own mikes, I have one that attaches to the end of the horn that was made in Germany. I have to tape it on with electrical tape so it doesn't pop out and off and land in somebody's drink. Then I have a Shure which is easier to use and stays where you put it. I saw a gentleman playing at the last jazz festival I went to, who had a mike on the end of his clarinet that stuck way out like a periscope. A friend said to me, What's that? I said, Oh about $800.00. I didn't see that it had any other parts except the long extension part. He didn't sound much different though. Thanks for listening to my musings.
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Author: GEM
Date: 2004-11-27 01:11
The most important characteristics of any microphone are "frequency response" and "pickup pattern." Frequency response means that particular range of sound frequencies, measured in Hertz, which the microphone picks up best. Pickup pattern is the area around the microphone in which the sound is detected, and different microphones have significanly different pickup patterns. Therefor, as long as one uses a microphone which responds to the frequencies one intends to produce, and one stays within the area that the microphone picks up sound, then the microphone will - and note this - only make one sound as good as one is. A talented sound engineer can correct a great deal of error in a recorded performance by applying various filtering techniques and pitch changes so that a performer's studio recording sounds BETTER than they can perform live. Although some filtering and reverb can be done on even inexpensive sound mixing boards, it is nearly impossible to do a complicated correction process in a live venue. That's why so many "pop singing sensations" lip sync their concerts - they aren't quite talented enough to do it all live. There is an outside chance that your performer was using a microphone somewhat more favorable to the clarinet, though I tend to doubt that the frequencies produced by a saxophone are far removed from a clarinet's. So I agree with those who say your performer was likely a better clarinetist than saxophonist.
GEM
BTW we haven't even discussed sound mixing boards and speakers, but they will have an importan role as well.
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