Hey y'all. I'm setting up to record some violin for the Evans and Stokes song Godforsaken. It's supposed to be this beautiful, emotive violin, but I'm not getting the right sound. The room I have to record in is rather big (I record vocals in a booth but it's too small a space for the violin so I'm out in the open room with no sound treatment). Does anyone know anything about recording a violin? Is it like recording the guitar? Do I need two mics? Is my condenser mic the wrong mic?
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That's a coincidence, Jen. I'm working on a violin piece, but I'm cheating and doing it with midi. Violin is one of those instruments that midi seems to handle well. Still not as good as the real thing, of course - I'm looking forward to hearing this. I'm impressed. I've always wished I could play the violin.
Oh yes, your question! No idea ?
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Thanks Gavin. I thought I would check if anyone from the Junction knew before sifting through what Google has on the subject. It's always easier just getting first hand experience, plus it's a lot more fun that way. We've got a nice midi recording for the song, but I'm I'm pushing for something authentic (if I could just pull off the technical aspects of recording it!).
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In a large space without dampening, I would put your back against a wall and center the mic in the room with a dark eq to start. Then bring the mic in closer if you need more clarity:)
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Thank you Tony. Back to the wall. Check. ✔
Would the mic work in the middle of the room if the room is 6x8 metres (that's 19x26 feet)? It's a condenser so it's really sensitive so maybe ❔❔❔
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Violin is actually very loud despite its size. If you experiment a bit, especially with a condenser mic, I believe you're going to find it difficult to get enough "room" in the recording... Do you have 2 mics? That would make things a lot easier 🙂
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Yes, I have two. What are you thinking?
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With your back against a wall place a mic close like you normally would, keeping the mic pointed at your body to diffuse the wall behind you. Then place the second mic all the way across the room angled up toward the ceiling at about 70 degrees. (experiment with that angle a bit depending on the brightness of the room) Then simply record each mic to its own track and mix to taste. Sometimes it sounds really cool to eq the instrument track darkly, then eq the room track bright 🙂
And, of course, since you're mixing 2 tracks you can also experiment with mixing two different effects! Be as weird as you wanna' be 😉
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Thank you Tony. You're the best. I'll give it a whirl.
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