by Darol Anger
IN THE STUDIO:
If the violin is the solo or main thing of up to 3 instruments, go for stereo. If it's a nice classical solo sound, try having a couple mics up about 8 feet point down at the floor on each side of you about a couple feet off.. You have to be standing on a hardwood floor or a big piece of plywood for this to work right. If you want a huge and intimate sound, try pointing one mic at your chin from about 2 and 1/2 feet off (it would be out at about 1:30 position from you, if the neck of the violin points to twelve) and the other mic at as close to a perfect right angle on the other side as you can get it.
If the violin is an element in the mix, I've found that mono is a lot easier way to go. Put the mic up over and slightly to the right of the mid-neck position about 15" up, and aim it at an angle down at your chin. If you want stereo, do the same with the one mic and place the other mic firing up and across from lower left to upper right, below the instrument, aimed at the middle of the inner bout. About a foot or 2 away from the violin.
those old Neumann tube U-47's are perhaps the coolest microphones ever made, but not everyone has one or can get it; I generally like any side-address large diaphraghm mic except for AKG-414s, which seem to accentuate the upper mids too much and make my fiddle sound like it's always going "Arrrrrr!" A good old KM-84 is always great. I often use a Coles mic, made in Britain,it's a wonderful ribbon mic available new from a guy in California named Wes Dooley. The Beatles used them at Abbey Road a lot. My new favorite is a relatively inexpensive Audix SCX-25, and also the Audix OM-6 mic. I'm using the SCX-25 a lot with the Peavey tube mic preamp, and can take it on the road.
ON STAGE:
For stage, it gets more complicated. If you're playing Bluegrass, try to stay with a mic on a stand. You get more flexibility in that you can play softly close to the mic or very hard far away. The range depends on the mic. Shure SM-57s work just fine, or any dynamic mic. They have a really short range, which helps the feedbackk situation. Distance range is from 2" to about eighteen inches. Condenser mics can be bright, but the Audix OM-6 is really really good. I have started to carry one around with me. Your distance range is from about 2 inches to about 2 feet, or if it's a small room, 2" to four feet. Every instrument has a different 'sweet spot', but I like to put it above and slightly to my right, above where the bow crosses the strings- but pointed at the end of my chin! That mellows and focuses the sound slightly.
Otherwise, the Crown GLM-100 is a fantastic little condenser mic which can be attached to the violin (it comes with a little alligator clip thing) in various ways. In the photo,
- (1) is the actual mic. Get it next to but not over the soundhole, really close to the top.
- (2) is the mini-XLR connector which I epoxied to an old chin rest which I cut down. This allows for a semi-permanent mounting on the instrument. This is great for louder situations. For loud drums, though, you'll need a pickup. The L.R. Baggs combos are good.
For truly loud situations, go for an electric instrument. The Rich Barberas, T.F. Barretts,and especially the Aceto NV are good.
Good luck!
