Mic-ing an Air Organ

[auxiliaryoctopus]

Okay. There are probably, like, four people in the world who could help me with this question, but odds are one of them is on here.

I have some trouble mic-ing my air organ. I can't get the mic too close or it picks up the wheeze of the motors, but if I put it too far away the bass overpowers the treble. Any ideas? Julian? Kevin? Robert? Will?

[Harnk]

I don't think those fellas post her. Try Squirrelevel. He's online now.

[Jay]

Try using some compression to even out those levels. Personally, I'd stick the mic right up to it and not worry about noise.

[bedbug]

Originally posted by Jay
Try using some compression to even out those levels. Personally, I'd stick the mic right up to it and not worry about noise.

I agree. Air organs sound kinda funky to begin with. Just have fun with it.

[kerble]

Originally posted by auxiliaryoctopus
Okay. There are probably, like, four people in the world who could help me with this question, but odds are one of them is on here.

I have some trouble mic-ing my air organ. I can't get the mic too close or it picks up the wheeze of the motors, but if I put it too far away the bass overpowers the treble. Any ideas? Julian? Kevin? Robert? Will?

what is your recording chain? (mic type-preamp-recorder?)

I'd be happy to help.


Faiz

[kerble]

Originally posted by auxiliaryoctopus
Okay. There are probably, like, four people in the world who could help me with this question, but odds are one of them is on here.

I have some trouble mic-ing my air organ. I can't get the mic too close or it picks up the wheeze of the motors, but if I put it too far away the bass overpowers the treble. Any ideas?

I'd say try mic-ing it in stereo. One closer to the organ with the gain way down to cut the motor noise. Try turning up the treble on this one and cutting out some of the motor by decreasing the midrange.

Use the other mic a little further off, maybe getting more of the room sound (to taste) and cut as much bass as sounds good for the context of the song. A blend of the two panned closely to each other may fill out the spectrum of sound you are looking for.

Sometimes it helps to tune the guitar/bass/whatever to the organ, if it's particularly persnickety.

I don't think compression would work as well for something that's noisy. I'd recommend using a gate if it's too loud and setting the threshold to a volume slightly higher than that of the motor.


Faiz

[auxiliaryoctopus]

Wow, thanks for all the advice!

I only have 1 mic right now and I run it straight into my tascam 424 mkII (which has a built in pre-amp).

I also sort of like the wheeze sound too, but it does seem to drown some of the treble. Not a huge deal I suppose. If I get another mic I'll try the setup you suggested, kerble, that should do the trick.

I do usually tune to the organ, though it's in suprisingly good tune for an instrument I found on the side of the road.

[kerble]

Originally posted by auxiliaryoctopus
Wow, thanks for all the advice!

I only have 1 mic right now and I run it straight into my tascam 424 mkII (which has a built in pre-amp).


Hey aux.oct.,

When you only have one mic, you can get the same effect by just recording it twice, one with the close mic, one with the far. It's trickier because of keeping the tempo consistent, but if you count off a lead in on the keyboard you record first, you should be able to thicken up the sound.

Also, for about $100 bucks, you can get a simple Tube Preamplifier for your mic. ART MP is the one to look for. It's not Class-A quality, but it is affordable and it will give your microphones a little more detail to work with, esp. if you're just four-tracking.


Faiz

[adrian]

on this not does anyone know how to tune an air organ?

[*fuzzylights*]

Hi, I have a fan organ and the problem i have is that the sound for the keys is coming out of the top and the sound of the chords out of the front. At home I recorded it with a rhode nt1A about 50cm away and it sounds fine, but I'm concerned about micing it for gigs...
I'd like to avoid using two mics as much as possible, is there a "sweet spot" where i could get the most of both sounds? Any other solutions?
Thanks

[typewriters]

i made a contact mic from a piezo transducer and taped it to the inside of the air organ and it has a nice distorted sound

[*fuzzylights*]

That sounds like what I want, just didn't want to invest in a new mic without knowing someone who tried it successfuly first. Do you think an AKG C411 would do?
http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,123,id,272,pid,272,_language,E N.html
Or more a C416?
http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,128,id,273,pid,273,_language,E N.html
Or something else to suggest?
Thanks

[typewriters]

Originally posted by *fuzzylights*
That sounds like what I want, just didn't want to invest in a new mic without knowing someone who tried it successfuly first. Do you think an AKG C411 would do?
http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,123,id,272,pid,272,_language,E N.html
Or more a C416?
http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,128,id,273,pid,273,_language,E N.html
Or something else to suggest?
Thanks

yeah, those will work, but its only $2 if you can make your own

[*fuzzylights*]

Mmmm.....errr...wow..
How can i do that? Can you point me to a tutorial or something?
Thanks again

[*fuzzylights*]

Ok I replied to my own question.
http://home.earthlink.net/~erinys/contactmic.html
I shall have a go tonight