 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2005-12-16 02:25
In this day and age digital equiptment and computers, when it's posible to have sitting in your basement electronics that are better then they used on the original soundtrack of Fantasia, it seems there aren't alot of clarinetists recording things. I've read 50-60 posts on which ligature one should buy, which clarinet sounds good on throat E and if one should swab from the top or the bottom of the clarinet. But not alot of people are really willing to "show" their work. Is it posible to have a space on a board like this for people to upload sound files of things they record? Listening to people comment on music would be way more fun than talking equipment.
In any event, I'd like to talk alittle about some recording technology that I've been using for over 2 years now. I've done a few CDs for people but it's been mainly for my own use. I started with a Yamaha Aw16g. A stand alone digital recorder various reverb, room sounds and other effects built in. To make a long story short it has 2 built in mike preamps with phantom power( some mics need a power supply) bottom line, you can spend a whole lot more to sound better than this will sound and the goal is to get it on tape or disk or whatever.
I've found over the years I love the sound of ribbon mics on the clarinet, I've use a shure sm 33 for years, think the mic on Carsons desk, Johnny Carson not Carson Daley. I'm using other shure ribbons and AEA ribbons now into a few Grace preamps, but get a pair or ADK Hamburgs, I got them for 499 for a matched pair they go into right into the Aw 16g. and they sound like butter, sure you can spend 10K on mics but hell nobody is going to buy a clarinet CD anyway. These ADKs sound great and not very expensive, you can learn alot about recording with a rig like this. When I was in the Army we spent alot of money to get recording quality that I didn't feel was anywhere near this good.
AW 16G sorry new model AW 1600 $1499
Match pair ADK Hamburgs $499
Being able to put you money where you embouchure is PRICELESS!
Tom Puwalski, former soloist with the US Army Field Band, Clarinetist with Lox&Vodka, and Author of "The Clarinetist's Guide to Klezmer"and most recently by the order of the wizard of Oz, for supreme intelligence, a Masters in Clarinet performance
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2005-12-16 02:35
Interesting you bring this up... I find that the best practcing tool for me is my iBook. It has a great little mic in it and I usually record a portion of my practicing and then listen to it afterwards. It really exposes aspects of my playing that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. It lets you critique yourself, if you will.
It would be great for people to post some recordings of pieces that they have made using their own equipment too, I'd be interested to hear!
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: aberkow
Date: 2005-12-16 03:03
I've been looking into a low cost home/portable (about $500) recording set up recently myself. It seems to me that with the cost of equipment continuing to drop it just makes sense to have some basic gear. I don't have any illusions about the differences between what I'm looking for and a real recording studio. However, it'll be nice to be able to make demo or audition CDs for myself or my groups. I also think that it's a good idea to not only record your practicing, but also practice your recording. After all it's a much different feeling than playing in a live situation.
Adam B.
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2005-12-16 03:28
My Clarinet mentor Dr Gold, just got this small 2 track Microtrack 24/96 unit for under $400 it has phantom power decent built in mic pre amps and it sounds really good. It's about the size of an Ipod and records on flash cards. I have these little small diaphram cad GXl 1200 mics, about $50 each, that I think with this unit you could front end being able to computer edit really well. For a total cost of slightly less than $600. After Christmas maybe way less.
I know there are going to be a ton of people who will write with a bunch of sugestions for ways to spend tons of money for recording, I'll admit it you could buy stuff that sounds better than the above microtek rig, but to get twice as good you'll spend 10x the $. I'd love to post some stuff with various low cost recording set ups so people can hear what you can get for around $1K or less. I'm not saying we don't need recording engineers or studios anymore, but I don't go into a studio unless I'm getting payed. I've never had the money to pay lots of people to go into a studio. But having some decent gear you can get people to play for you if you'll record something they need.
Tom Puwalski, former soloist with the US Army Field Band, Clarinetist with Lox&Vodka, and Author of "The Clarinetist's Guide to Klezmer"and most recently by the order of the wizard of Oz, for supreme intelligence, a Masters in Clarinet performance
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2005-12-16 03:35
Tom Puwalski wrote:
But not alot of people
> are really willing to "show" their work. Is it posible to have
> a space on a board like this for people to upload sound files
> of things they record? Listening to people comment on music
> would be way more fun than talking equipment.
Ha!
What a can of worms you've opened! With the way people savage each other at times on this board, only actual pros like you or music majors would dare to do this. Seriously, you'd need to have categories, so, for example, someone who's a half-decent amateur and plays with a jazz or folk combo mainly for fun and wishes to upload a file of his band in action isn't subject to ridicule, the purpose being not to showcase his technique (although it would be game for CONSTRUCTIVE criticism), but just to present how he enjoys his hobby.
Steve Epstein
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2005-12-16 03:40
It's also been my experience that most of the people that call them selves recording engineers were really hung up into specs and having all the "competative" recording toys and didn't have the EARS.When you do get infront of one of the great ones, it seems they can have you play into a big horn and it would sound good. They also have to have the stuff to be able to do a Britney spears album if they are luck enough to get a call. Average equiptment, maxed out usually sounds better than state of the art used marginally. It's amazing what you can learn to hear when you start doing your own recording, you listen to other recordings alot more intensly than you did before. So everyone should get some gear and start recording and we should all get to listen. Boy that would be fun. Maybe you shouldn't be allowed to post comments unless you had a track that could be listened to. Now that would be interesting.....
There was a lot of talk about being a clarinet geek. I have one When you're clarinet Mic cost more than your clarinet you just might be a clar geek. If your preamp cost more than your clarinet you're just a geek!!!
Tom Puwalski, former soloist with the US Army Field Band, Clarinetist with Lox&Vodka, and Author of "The Clarinetist's Guide to Klezmer"and most recently by the order of the wizard of Oz, for supreme intelligence, a Masters in Clarinet performance
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