Recording Banjo

Posted on March 17, 2021April 9, 2021 by royerlabs

Alison Brown and Stewart Duncan Recording Banjo With Ribbon Microphones

Royer Labs and Deering Banjo Company teamed up with renowned musicians Alison Brown and Stuart Duncan, with engineer Matt Coles at the controls at Nashville’s historic Compass Studio, to make this video series on recording the banjo with ribbon microphones. Alison and Stuart have played on many hundreds of recordings and share their deep knowledge of recording the banjo. Matt Coles gives expert advice on microphone placement, working with the back side of R-121s, how to work with the ribbon microphones figure-8 pattern, phase relationships, and more.

Recording Engineer:

Matt Coles. Recorded at Compass Records Sound Studio, Nashville TN.

Signal Chain:

Royer ribbon mics through API 3124 preamplifiers, recorded to Pro Tools. No EQ or effects used.

VIDEOS:
Episode 1: Alison Brown At Compass Records Sound Studio Recording Banjo With Ribbon Mics
Episode 2: Alison Brown & Stuart Duncan Duet Recording Banjo with Ribbon Mics
Episode 3: Stuart Duncan Recording Old-Time Clawhammer Banjo With Ribbon Mics
Episode 4: Stuart Duncan on His Favorite Ribbon Microphone Positions
Episode 5: Engineer Matt Coles Tips on Recording Banjo, with Alison Brown

Episode 1: Alison Brown At Compass Records Sound Studio Recording Banjo With Ribbon Mics

Alison Brown introduces this video series, which was shot and recorded at the famous Compass Records Sound Studio in Nashville TN. Hear Alison play “Steam Powered Aereo Plane” and talk about her Deering Julia Belle banjo and how she records it with ribbon microphones. Recording Engineer Matt Coles joins her to talk about his favorite places to position a ribbon mic on the banjo.

Episode 2: Alison Brown & Stuart Duncan Duet Recording Banjo with Ribbon Mics

Alison Brown and Stuart Duncan play “Arkansas Traveler” together, then recording engineer Matt Coles walks us through his banjo recording methods. Matt talks about mic positioning, using the R-121 backwards on banjo, phase relationships, and more, while Alison plays solo banjo to demonstrate. In this video, Alison plays a Deering Julia Belle miked with two R-121s and Stuart plays a Deering Vega Vintage Star miked with one R-122V.

Episode 3: Stuart Duncan Recording Old-Time Clawhammer Banjo With Ribbon Mics

Stuart Duncan walks us through how he uses ribbon mics to record old-style Clawhammer banjo, plays “Arkansas Traveler” and shares his feelings about using ribbon microphones throughout his career. Stuart plays a Deering Vega Vintage Star banjo in this video, with an R-122V tube ribbon mic in front and an R-121 behind picking up the tone coming off the rear of the instrument.

Stuart Duncan Talks About His Favorite Ribbon Mic Positions for Recording Banjo With Ribbon Microphones

Episode 4: Violinist and banjo player extraordinaire Stuart Duncan shows us where he likes to put a ribbon mic on his banjo, and explains why you’ll want to move the mic closer or further from the instrument depending on the recording situation. Stuart also pulls out a second ribbon mic and shows two positions he likes when recording with two mics. Stuart plays a Deering Vega Vintage Star banjo during this video.

Episode 5: Engineer Matt Coles Tips on Recording Banjo, with Alison Brown

Recording Engineer Matt Coles summarizes his banjo recording tips and shares a few more pearls of wisdom on how to get the most from banjos with ribbon microphones. Alison Brown caps off this video series, taking us out with a beautiful rendition of “Oh Susanna” on her Deering Julia Belle banjo.

Learn more about Deering Banjo

Recording the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square & Millennial Choirs and Orchestras with Royer

Posted on June 15, 2020June 15, 2020 by royerlabs

Jason Graham, Recording and Broadcast Engineer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, explains how he uses ribbon mics when recording The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (formerly Mormon Tabernacle Choir) and also The Millennial Choirs and Orchestras.

Preamplifier and placement information is included in the video. The songs featured in the video are included below in their entirety.

Mics used:

SF-24V: Choir, Oipe Organ, Room
SF-2: Choir
SF-24: Sections
R-122V: Strings
R-121 Harp
dBooster: support Woodwind mics

Amazing Grace

Be Still My Soul

Bile Them Cabbage Down

Come, Come Ye Saints

Erlkonig

Recording Trumpet with Engineer Michael Bishop & Cancer Blows Charity Concert

Posted on June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 by royerlabs

Multi-Grammy Award winning recording engineer Michael Bishop explains how he mics and records this phenomenal CancerBlows live performance. Featuring some of the best-known trumpet players alive, the music is fantastic and Michael’s thoughts on how to capture brass, orchestra and big band properly using ribbon microphones is invaluable.

Huge thanks to Ryan and Niki Anthony, Michael Bishop and Erica Brenner.

See more details about CancerBlows.

The recording is available on Music=Hope Records and all proceeds from the sale of the recording help fund cancer research. Purchase the music: CD/DVD (the full concert and music experience): https://www.cancerblows.com/shop.php

High Resolution HDTracks

Stream the music

Tim Pierce – Recording Electric Guitar With A Royer R-122V

Posted on May 31, 2018August 13, 2018 by royerlabs

Tim Pierce has been one of LA’s most prolific and in-demand session guitarists for decades. In this video Tim walks us through his basic home recording techniques (including gear used), builds guitar layers on a track, and demonstrates how he mixes a Royer R-122V and a Shure SM57 to shape and record his guitar tones.

In this video (#2 of 3) Tim digs into some great Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan electric guitar tones, demonstrating how he blends an R-122V and an SM57 to capture all the tone and power his 4×12 cabinet is kicking out.

Tim Pierce – Recording Heavy Rock Electric Guitar with an R-122V and SM57, #3 of 3 video series
In the final video of this 3-video series, Tim plays HEAVY detuned electric guitar and also does some screaming solos. Have some fun and turn this one up loud! Tim shows how he blends an R-122V and an SM57 to capture all the crunch and power of these styles.

Darlingside

Posted on May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 by royerlabs

Recorded live at the Folk Alliance Convention, in the Sweetwater/Royer/Mojave Pop-Up Studio

Stereo Room Mic – SF-24
Cello – SF-2
Violin & Violinist Vocal – SF-2
Acoustic Guitar (left, into small guitar amplifier) – R-122V
Foot Taps – Mojave Audio MA-100’s
Acoustic guitar (right) – Mojave MA-300
Vocals – Mojave Audio MA-1000, MA-300, MA-301

Darlingside came into our Pop-Up studio with a few friends and a ton of energy, worked out the final details of the song on the spot, then killed it in this beautiful take.

Engineers: Dan Ankney, Nathan Heironimus
Mixed by Dan Ankney

Recording Chain: Royer Labs and Mojave Audio microphones fed into Universal Audio 8p’s. Recorded to Pro Tools.
Sweetwater Studios, Royer Labs and Mojave Audio set up a portable Pop-Up studio in a hotel conference room at the 2016 Folk Alliance Convention in Kansas City and recorded a number of artists and groups attending.

Darlingside “Birds Say” (© Darlingside)

Fab Dupont / Will Knox

Posted on October 22, 2014December 23, 2014 by royerlabs

Acoustic Guitar – SF-1
Violin – R-121
Banjo – SF-2
Standup Bass – R-122
Drum Overhead – SF-24
Drums, Tom-Toms – R-122
Drums, Kick – R-122V
Drums, Hi-Hat – R-121

Producer: Fab Dupont. Engineer: Meredith McCandless

When our friend Fab Dupont set out to record singer/songwriter Will Knox’s album “The Matador And The Acrobat” with engineer Meredith McCandless, they decided to track the album entirely with Royer ribbons (except for a condenser on Will’s vocal and a dynamic on the snare). Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process that Fab and company so kindly put together for us.

Vocals & Guitar: Will Knox
Violin: Clayton Mathews
Banjo: Kyle James Houser
Standup Bass: Chris Anderson
Drums: Timur Yusef

Visit Fab’s website at www.fabulousfab.com. Visit Flux Studios at www.fluxstudios.net.

Puremix.net is an educational website featuring a wide assortment of videos on recording, mixing, mastering and much more. Puremix.net was created by Fab Dupont; his partners in Puremix now include Ben Lindell and Ryan West.

Robert Friedrich on Recording The San Diego Symphony

Posted on October 7, 2014April 13, 2015 by royerlabs

Pianos (dual) – R-122V, R-122
Woodwinds – SF-2
Strings – SF-2
Hall Ambience – SF-24

Recording Engineer: Robert Friedrich
Producer: Erica Brenner

In this video, Grammy-winning engineer Robert Friedrich talks about using ribbon microphones extensively while recording the San Diego Symphony playing “The Carnival Of The Animals.” Of particular interest is his microphone technique on the dual pianos, which were positioned side-by-side and recorded with a pair of R-122V’s and a pair of R-122’s.

Pianists: Jon Kimura Parker and Orli Shaham

Videographer and Photographer: R Chaney

“Carnival of the Animals” (Camille Saint-Saens)

Jonathan Merkel

Posted on October 7, 2014December 11, 2014 by royerlabs

Heavy Electric Guitar – R-122V

Producer/Engineer: Johathan Merkel

Guitarist/Producer/Engineer Jonathan Merkel shows how he records heavy electric guitar using an R-122V to capture his Mesa Boogie Uberschall amplifier. This song was recorded in Jonathan’s home studio, so the 1×12 Mesa cabinet was placed in a closet for isolation.

Jonathan shows complete signal paths for all phases of electric guitar recording and walks us through blending R-122V, SM-57 and DI tracks for his final guitar sound.

“Fuel the Fire” (Jonathan Merkel)

Johathan’s company Beat Chamber is a Contemporary Song Catalog and Production company which produces and licenses music for film, TV and multimedia projects. https://www.beatchamber.com

Lukas Rossi and Kenny Aronoff

Posted on October 3, 2014December 8, 2014 by royerlabs

Drum Overhead – SF-24
Drum Rooms – SF-24, R-122V, R-122
Electric Guitar – R-121

Recorded by Ross Hogarth
Recorded at Sweetwater Studios, Ft. Wayne IN

Grammy winning Producer/Engineer Ross Hogarth gives a seminar on his techniques for recording drums and electric guitars with ribbon mics, showing mic placements and letting us hear mixed and isolated ribbon-recorded tracks.

Drums – Kenny Aronoff
Full mix, conversation about drum mic placement, then isolated ribbon-recorded tracks.
“Dreamer” (Lukas Rossi)

Electric Guitar – Lukas Rossi
Full mix, conversation about electric guitar mic placement, then isolated ribbon-recorded tracks.
“Dreamer” (Lukas Rossi)

Adam Del Monte

Posted on September 5, 2014April 14, 2016 by royerlabs

Classical Guitar – R-122V

Produced and Engineered by Adam Del Monte

From the Adam del Monte Performance Series.
Guitar built by Francisco Manuel Diaz, Granada.

Recording Chain: Audio on all videos recorded with one R-122V into a Millennia Media TD1 Half Rack Recording Channel, light EQ applied, into a Lexicon reverb.

Category Archives: R-122V