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Re: help with tune on Pete Fountain video

Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2014-12-12 01:32

To Clarineteer:

I think I found the reason for your perceived nasal tone quality:

Microphone placement.

In the second song, Stranger on the Shore, I noticed a very dramatic change in tonal quality at 2:21 to 2:23. During this time, Pete moved his clarinet bell away from the mic that was right in front of it and placed the side of his clarinet next to the mic during those 3 seconds. During those short few seconds, his sound quality became extremely mellow even on my 3" computer speakers.

I have read various sources state that the high frequency harmonics that are not filtered out at the tone holes simply travel along the clarinet and are exited at the bell.

So, it appears to me that if Pete had played all 6 songs with the side of his clarinet next to the mic, I believe we all would have heard a very mellow rendition of all of his songs.

Just my opinions.

I was right.

From: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan99/articles/brass778.htm
Under "Recording Reeds":

"The key to recording reed instruments is to be aware that most of the sound doesn't radiate from the bell, but from the body of the instrument. In the case of the clarinet and similar instruments the higher frequencies beam from the bell and rely on being reflected back from the floor to become properly balanced with the lower harmonics (see Figure 3 above). This means that to record both the direct and reflected sound, the best mic position is somewhere between one and two metres away, approximately level with the top half of the instrument and aiming at the holes towards the lower half of the body from the front. There is no point in miking near the bell as this will only capture a very weak, thin and nasty sound!"

Post Edited (2014-12-12 02:14)

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