switchable bass roll off?

[Anonymous]

ok – so i’ve got a akg c519m microphone
http://www.akg.com/pro/p/c519group

this microphone clips on the bell, and is very close to the
bell when recording. I haven’t had time to try it out properly yet.

in the meantime can someone explain why i might want to use
the bass roll off switch on a sax? is something you would use in
a live band recording and not in a studio recording of the sax on its own?

I can understand using a bass roll off for a vocalist, but i’m a bit fuzzy on using with a sax

[William Cingolani]

congrats. Let us know how it sounds.

[john]

Bass roll off on a sax? likely not needed. The bass frequency range we’re talking about is between about 60 Hz and maybe up to 200Hz and the sax doesn’t really live in this range, especially an alto. so the bass roll off isn’t going to effect it, live or in the studio. having said that, if the mic is really close to the bell opening and you’re honking on your lowest notes the roll off switch could be good, anyway it’s not messing with the rest of the sax’s tone so won’t do any harm.
the only time I use bass roll off is on an actual bass track that is sounding a bit too boomy and bassy and rolling off a few DB’s around 140-160 Hz clears it right up. Some will nix everything under around 60 Hz because your speakers aren’t gonna handle it anyway.

[Anonymous]

thanks JF – reading the manual, its aimed at saxophones and clarinets and any brass instrument with a bell – so i was wondering why need it on an alto sax.

from what i’ve read it can help with reducing nearby sounds like low hum from air conditioners.

Thanks for the feed back!!

i will test out the difference eventually, bit often helps to be armed with information before testing things out (especially nitro glycerine) lol

[Bill Mecca]

bass roll off may help with key noise/handling noise. I usually roll it off, it ain’t hurting and may be helping.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Bill – i tried out microphone on monday for 1/2 hr, and compared it with & without the wind shield. i preferred the windshield on as without the wind shield the sound sounded too gritty and growly and buzzy for my liking with the wind shield on made it sound more mellow.

Hope to try it out on friday when i have more time, and try out the bass roll off to see if there is any significant difference in all the registers.

1st impression i got from playing back was the backing track wasn’t the right volume to blend in with the sax, and in play back the very low notes seemed to be four times louder than the middle and upper notes.
in terms of pitch everything sounded fine and not distorted.

So It looks like a case of getting used to logic pro settings and the gain settings on the audio interface to find the right balance when the sax plays alongside the backing track.

[wayne wojnarowski]

Come on Man call me I’ll I’ll tell ya how to do it !!!

[Anonymous]

Bang ti ti ti ti
Bang ti ti ti ti
Bang ti ti ti ti
Bam Ba Dam Bam Bam
Put ya glad rags
we’ll sing dat sang
we gonna rock
all nite long
we gonna rack around
da clack tonite

rock on wayne

[Bill Mecca]

you’re using a clip on to record? aim the microphone mid stack, at the lower part of your left hand. The bell keys will boom a bit. Not a big deal in a live situation on a gig since you are competing against guitars, but for recording I prefer a mic on a stand, and work the mic a bit, moving away for those booming low notes etc.

I record sax on it’s own track and then mix them together, a bit of reverb on the sax, maybe a touch of compression, and EQ to make it sit in the mix, rather than ride on top of the backing track. Shake it all together and you have rock and roll. LOL.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tip Bill will try that tomorrow with the microphone position. I’ll try and get a reasonable recording of the sax 1st before bringing in a backing track.

have to start reading up on compression & Eq – not used them before, as i’ve never used recording software and an audio interface.

[Author]

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