Recording Glockenspiel

raindog.promo

Hey folks.

I bought a glockenspiel over the weekend (described on the label as a "Kent" glockenspiel) and was wondering if anyone has any tips for recording it.

It gives off a nice sound, the one i had before was very tinny/high freq transient sound. This one gives quite nice sounds and the mallets I got with it improves it too so it's not too loud, a nice bass sound and resonance off it.

I have an SM58 and a condensor. I was thinking condensor pointing in from the highest note keys at 8 inches away?

Any advice appreciated.

TelePaul

What sort of mallets did you get with it? Mine came with two sets (although it's not a Kent) and the material and mass of the mallet has a pretty big affect on the sound. I went LDC, 8 inches from centre, facing down on to the keys. There's a Glock break on That's Entertainment here: www.soundclick.com/glasshouserecordings

raindog.promo

Cheers for that. You can see one of the mallets in the pic. One end is wooden ball the other (odd shape) is rubber which i'm using as it gives the nicer sound.

Excuse the ignorance, what's LDC?

I'll try that position though, cheers.

PaulBrewer

Being very transient I'd be inclined put a 'slower' dynamic mic on it than a condenser first.
Distance will also help, maybe half a metre or more to get a balanced tone.

The difficulty in a mix of any density will be that in order for it to be heard it'll probably have the VUs bouncing with a condensers 'accuracy' being less desirable than in some situations.

However a condenser and distance could well work too, depending on the track.

TelePaul

raindog.promo wrote: »

Cheers for that. You can see one of the mallets in the pic. One end is wooden ball the other (odd shape) is rubber which i'm using as it gives the nicer sound.

Excuse the ignorance, what's LDC?

I'll try that position though, cheers.

Large Diaphragm Condensor, albeit a very catch-all term for them. Bit of compression too, as it is a percussive instrument. Splash of verb, though not too much, unless you're going for the Springsteen vibe (in which case thro some chorus on too!) They're a fun, fun instrument.

madtheory

Ya, good point about the mallets. Very important, like plectrums on an acoustic guitar.

As with any instrument, put on a good pair of headphones and move the mic around until it sounds the same as your naked ear. If you've no good headphones, then make test recordings with the mic in different positions. Then you nail the whole lot to the floor so it never moves, like they did in Motown!!

Glock is good for showing up the failings of a condenser mic. Nasty harmonic distortion, that high frequency jangle. What condenser do you have?

trackmixstudio

Don't forget to announce it just before it comes into the song:D

57 or i5 is the man for the job. 18" above and move it around for the best balance. The low notes will be louder so it will probably end up 2/3 along towards the high notes. A condenser will pick up too much of the high end shrillness IME

trackmixstudio

Here is a triphop track I recorded during the summer.
Glok is recorded as above. Outpost Alpha was their name.
Really great band but have since disbanded. Pity. I really enjoyed working with them. Singer is great!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2133088/blank.mp3