Members zarquin Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hi Guys,I am hoping someone here might have some ideas for recording a tibetan singing bowl.. ( more info on what they are is at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing_bowl ) In use in a room, they produce this really large sound that really does fill the room, and it feels like it's right next to my ears... However, a dynamic mic near it just doesn't give me the levels that i would be expecting.. i tried pointing the mic at the rim, into the bowl, at my ear.. nothing that great... any ideas on how to approch this?? is close mic'ing not the solution?? Thanks,[zar] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Warhead Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Try some omni mics from a distance, where it sounds best to your ears. War Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 is close mic'ing not the solution?? Give that man a gold star. Try either an ORTF or Blumlein pair. Capture the sound in the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zarquin Posted February 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 Thanks guys.. I was suspecting that this was the case... now im going to have to try different rooms in the house and buy some microphones thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted February 22, 2006 Members Share Posted February 22, 2006 I've recorded Tibetan Singing Bowls in my old house before. I'm sure a few of you are saying, "Well, of course you have!!" And they're not easy to record. They have a relatively low output compared to something like, say, an acoustic guitar. AND they have a very complex harmonic sound. AND you need to get the mics far away from the bowls to pick up that complex harmonic sound. Up close, you get more of the rubbing, and unless you want that... So where does that leave you? You must record these in the quietest room possible. The quieter, the better. In yet, the room must be large enough so that you can get the mics at least 3' away, in my opinion (YMMV). Probably more. And you need some mics (I'd probably go with an omni pair, but you can probably make do with others) that have a really hot output because of how quiet they are. You don't want to have to crank up your mic preamp and introduce even more noise than you're gonna already have from a home recording. Or try some sort of stereo pair, like Where suggested (I've never tried that because I didn't have mics that would do that at the time, but it's an idea well worth considering since you're trying to capture the sound you're hearing in the room). But assuming that you have a decent bowl player who doesn't make horrible rubbing and scraping sounds, your biggest problem recording at home is going to be the ambient noise, most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seaneldon Posted February 23, 2006 Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Originally posted by UstadKhanAli "Well, of course you have!!" GET A HAIRCUT, HIPPY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kendrix Posted February 23, 2006 Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Really interesting to see this topic pop up this week.My wife bought me a singing bowl for valentines day.To be honest Im struggling with getting it to fully spin up to full volume. Once it starts vibrating my pestil tends to catch an edge and dampen the sound down- just as its gets going. Is there some technique I am missing? It shouldnt be this hard should it? I love the sound. BTW- I agree on somewhat distant micing with Omni or Blumlein configuraions. A not-too-bright mic seems appropriate- perhaps a ribon or an pair of SDC's. How about micing from above the bowl? Like OH's over a snare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted February 24, 2006 Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 Originally posted by Kendrix Is there some technique I am missing? It shouldnt be this hard should it? I love the sound. BTW- I agree on somewhat distant micing with Omni or Blumlein configuraions. A not-too-bright mic seems appropriate- perhaps a ribon or an pair of SDC's. How about micing from above the bowl? Like OH's over a snare. It takes a lot of practice. And I'm definitely no pro at it. This is what a Tibetan guy told me: "The bowl tells you what to do. If you're applying too much pressure, it rattles; not enough, and it doesn't vibrate." So, as with so much of Buddhism, it appears to be the Middle Path... What is difficult is trying to go down that Middle Path. My guess is that the difficulty with ribbons would be their low output in an already problematic area (some of those high-output Royer ribbons excepted, of course). When I miced a bowl before, I had two widely spaced mics that were fairly far away but also high up. I don't know that this is the best way to do it, but it's the way I found best back then with the limited mics and space at my disposal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thesingingbowlorchestra Posted June 15, 2013 Members Share Posted June 15, 2013 I have recently completed a studio recording of 33 bowls and the technique that we used was to record the bowls in groups of three using four microphones; an AKG and Busman condenser in the centre and two SM58's one on either side of the group. The sound that you described is a sound that I have also been seeking for a while and the best way with single bowls seems to be one mic overhead and then a mic either side of the bowl. The two either side are quite essential as they should be mixed afterwards to give an overall sound. When recording a bowl with a single mic it can start to pulse (some bowls will do this anyway of course but to minimise this effect and get that 'room filling' effect I would reccommend that set up. The mic above the bowl (probably use AKG or Condenser) helps to capture the upper frequencies emitted by the bowl. Mixed with the lower frequencies from the side with some gentle panning should give the overall effect that you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thesingingbowlorchestra Posted June 15, 2013 Members Share Posted June 15, 2013 It depends on what kind of bowl you have. Is it machined or hand beaten? Size? If, as I suspect, it is a hand beaten bowl the best solution that I have found for this problem is a heavy weight felt or suede ended puja. It should be held firmly in the hand and moved very slowly around the edge of the bowl. With hand beaten ones it is best to examine the rim of the bowl and identify any problem areas for the movement of the puja so that extra care can be taken when moving over them. Another piece of advice that I could offer is that if it is a larger bowl then they need very slow resonation from the puja. Often it is a matter of patience and my biggest bowl (13" diameter) takes approximately 10 seconds for any audible sound to be detected. Patience and pressure of the puja are the key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members singingbowlguy Posted June 19, 2013 Members Share Posted June 19, 2013 I would like to hear a bit more on this setup. I am planning on recording my singing bowls & have not found much information on the web. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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