Recording Bodhran

[Stu Venable]

Does anyone have experience recording a bodhran? I've found a nice sweet
spot for the mic (on the back/open side of the drum, about 8 inches from the
rim, basically aimed straight at the head). The problem is with setting the
level. I find myself reaching for the preamp constantly, turning down the
level.

I've avoided using compression as the engineer who's going to mix the tracks
has asked that I record everything as dry/clean as possible.

Stu Venable, Jr.
www.poxyboggards.com

[Suso Ramallo]

Hello Stu,

Small capsule condenser omni is a good start (such as DPA or Earthworks). On
the back/open side (Of course), if you pick on the rim, you need find a good
distance of the mic (The rim pick level is usually to high).

No compression (no need), less is more.

Cheers

"Stu Venable" > escribió en el mensaje
ink.net...
> Does anyone have experience recording a bodhran? I've found a nice sweet
> spot for the mic (on the back/open side of the drum, about 8 inches from
the
> rim, basically aimed straight at the head). The problem is with setting
the
> level. I find myself reaching for the preamp constantly, turning down the
> level.
>
> I've avoided using compression as the engineer who's going to mix the
tracks
> has asked that I record everything as dry/clean as possible.
>
> Stu Venable, Jr.
> www.poxyboggards.com
>
>
>

[Paul Stamler]

I seem to be the only person on earth who records bodhran from the front
(beater) side. I usually use an Electro-Voice RE200; its treble spike does a
nice job making the skin sound audible, which helps out in a dense mix. If I
don't want that, then I'll use an RE15, which also puts just a tad of
natural compression on it.

But my real favorite thing is to record the bodhran with an XY pair. Again
RE200s or RE15s. 'Course, that does mean you'll need to figure out in
advance where you're gonna pan the thing in the final mix, and rotate your
array accordingly. (Or, of course, record direct to two track.) But boy, do
you get a big sound!

Peace,
Paul

[ScotFraser]

<< I seem to be the only person on earth who records bodhran from the front
(beater) side. >>

No, I do too. With a KM140 about 18" away. But I also put a 421 in the back, in
very tight for lots of proximity boost. I do this mostly because bodhran
players expect/demand it. Then when they complain about it sounding thinner
than their PA system makes it sound I can mix in a bit of the fatter sound from
the back.

Scott Fraser

[Suso Ramallo]

Hello,

On live application, I have superb results with a Shure SM98A on the rim
(inside the Bodhram with tape).

Cheers


"ScotFraser" > escribió en el mensaje
...
> << I seem to be the only person on earth who records bodhran from the
front
> (beater) side. >>
>
> No, I do too. With a KM140 about 18" away. But I also put a 421 in the
back, in
> very tight for lots of proximity boost. I do this mostly because bodhran
> players expect/demand it. Then when they complain about it sounding
thinner
> than their PA system makes it sound I can mix in a bit of the fatter sound
from
> the back.
>
> Scott Fraser

[Mike Rivers]

In article et> writes:

> Does anyone have experience recording a bodhran? I've found a nice sweet
> spot for the mic (on the back/open side of the drum, about 8 inches from the
> rim, basically aimed straight at the head). The problem is with setting the
> level. I find myself reaching for the preamp constantly, turning down the
> level.

There's something wrong with that? It's better than clipping. Drums
make a lot of noise.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

[EganMedia]

>The problem is with setting the
>level. I find myself reaching for the preamp constantly, turning down the
>level.

If you like the sound you're half done. At some point you'll turn the mic
preamp down low enough that the signal won't clip. When you find that spot
you're all done.


Joe Egan
EMP
Colchester, VT
www.eganmedia.com

[Scott Dorsey]

Stu Venable > wrote:
>Does anyone have experience recording a bodhran? I've found a nice sweet
>spot for the mic (on the back/open side of the drum, about 8 inches from the
>rim, basically aimed straight at the head). The problem is with setting the
>level. I find myself reaching for the preamp constantly, turning down the
>level.

It's a loud instrument. Start out recording very low. Keep it low.

You can try both miking the drum, and putting the drum in a live room and
miking the room for a more hollow and echoey sound. If you have a track
to spare, doing that gives the mixing engineer some more options.

>I've avoided using compression as the engineer who's going to mix the tracks
>has asked that I record everything as dry/clean as possible.

So, turn the levels down. If he needs to compress it, he can.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

In article >,
ScotFraser > wrote:
><< I seem to be the only person on earth who records bodhran from the front
>(beater) side. >>
>
>No, I do too. With a KM140 about 18" away. But I also put a 421 in the back, in
>very tight for lots of proximity boost. I do this mostly because bodhran
>players expect/demand it. Then when they complain about it sounding thinner
>than their PA system makes it sound I can mix in a bit of the fatter sound from
>the back.

I tend to use a 441 from about the same distance on the front, and it's
plenty deep enough without needing any proximity effect. If the room is
good, anyway. A small room with a dry top end and a couple big bass modes
can be a disaster.
--scott
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[John Halliburton]

We will use two mics on stage if we have the room, and this usually means at
large festivals, where we'd like to have two anyway. Part of the formula is
dependent on the bodhran too, for instance, Kevin Rice(www.baaltinne.com)
uses deep, tunable rim types with skins that provide a deeper, darker sound.
Our standard live mic is a D112 on the back, a few inches away. I'll use
anything from an SM57 to SM81 off the front. On our last album, Kevin
played inside the drum room with just a pair of D112 on either side, 18-24"
away. That turned out to be a great sound.

Best regards,

John Halliburton
Servodrive/Sound Physics Labs, Inc.

[ScotFraser]

<< I tend to use a 441 from about the same distance on the front, and it's
plenty deep enough without needing any proximity effect. >>

Normally the KM140 on the front would be plenty low end-y enough too, but the
bodhran player I most often record is in a band where the competition is a huge
Bulgarian marching bass drum, one of several very deep field drums, & highland
pipes.


Scott Fraser