Mic' ng Brass Instruments

Who needs to mic the brass section right. They're loud enough as it is, at least in my room. Trying to get them to play at a lower level is one of my biggest problems. In fact I'd only mic of brass instrument if I were making a recording but I digress. I'm supposed to be offering solutions for mic'ing these beasties. You can often get away with capturing entire brass section with just one or two unidirectional condenser mics placed a few feet away from each other. This will provide a very natural sound and would add some presents and provide sound for a recording if need be. If you needed a lot of amplification for say a solo then a unidirectional dynamic microphone placed anywhere from an inch to a foot or so in front of the bill would were pretty well. It's easy to get a pair of trumpets or trombones with one mic placed a couple of feet in front of both instruments. The main reason for switching to a dynamic microphone when close placement is required is twofold; 1) high volume produced by brass instruments can overload some condenser microphones, and 2) many people prefer a more mellow sound of the dynamic mic on brass since the brass themselves are already bright sounding themselves. Hope this helps.

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