Mic Archive

Saxophones

Alto saxophone

Saxophones: Soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone. Many sources write for 'sax' in general, so their advice is filed here and shows on each member's page.

Also called alto saxophone.

Part of the Saxophones family; that family's advice shows here too.

Range
Db3–A5
Overtones to
about 3.9 kHz
Peaks up close
up to 113 dB SPL
Sources
10 (7 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

23 setups from 10 sources, 7 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio

Room

Named, no placement given

Close

  • Coles 40381 independent source
  • Electro-Voice RE201 independent source
  • Neumann U 871 independent source
  • RODE NT11 independent source
  • Sennheiser MD 4212 independent sources
  • Shure SM581 independent source
  • close mic at the bell (type only)1 independent source
  • condenser or ribbon (type only)1 independent source
  • large dynamic (type only)1 independent source
  • large-diaphragm cardioid condenser (type only)1 independent source
  • large-diaphragm condenser, cardioid (type only)1 independent source
The 15 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Room Saxophones advice Coles 4038
    room ambience must be good
    Pete Thomas (saxophonist and producer): Coles 4038 is great for saxophones (paraphrase).1
  • Named, no placement given Saxophones advice Neumann U 87
    studio, listed among suitable condensers
    Pete Thomas lists U87 and U47 among studio condensers suitable for sax (paraphrase).1
  • Named, no placement given Saxophones advice Sennheiser MD 421 or Electro-Voice RE20
    studio, listed as fine
    Pete Thomas: RE20 and the Sennheiser 421 are fine for saxophone recording (paraphrase).1
  • Close Saxophones advice Sennheiser MD 421
    studio, close
    Praised for smooth tones by two posters (paraphrase).2
  • Close Saxophones advice Neumann U 87 or Electro-Voice RE20 or Coles 4038 or RODE NT1 or Shure SM58
    distance, 12-18 in, aimed between the bell end and the player's left hand
    A well-balanced portrait of the sax's whole range is usually attained 12 to 18 inches from the horn.3
  • Close Saxophones advice Electro-Voice RE20 or Coles 4038 or Sennheiser MD 421
    close, 12-18 in
    Personal favorites include the Neumann U 87 condenser, the Electro-Voice RE20 dynamic, and the Coles 4038 ribbon (saxophones in general). ... You can't go wrong with a Sennheiser MD 421 (saxophones in general).3
  • Close Saxophones advice Shure SM58
    close
    Some of my most cherished sax sounds were recorded with a Shure SM58 (saxophones in general).3
  • Close Saxophones advice Neumann U 87 or Electro-Voice RE20 or Coles 4038 or Sennheiser MD 421 or Shure SM58
    close
    Personal favorites include the Neumann U 87 condenser, the Electro-Voice RE20 dynamic, and the Coles 4038 ribbon (saxophones in general). ... You can't go wrong with a Sennheiser MD 421 (saxophones in general). ... Some of my most cherished sax sounds were recorded with a Shure SM58 (saxophones in general).3
  • Close Saxophones advice large-diaphragm cardioid condenser (type only)
    distance, about 1 ft from the bell, 45 degrees up; or a second mic about 6 in below the bell
    One foot from the bell at about 45 degrees up; or two mics, one above the keys and one below the bell (paraphrase).4
  • Named, no placement given Saxophones advice Royer R-121
    comparison, Albini against the Coles 4038
    Albini compared the R-121 and Coles 4038 on saxophone on a demo CD (page gives no verdict).5
  • Named, no placement given Saxophones advice Coles 4038
    comparison, Albini against the R-121
    Albini compared the R-121 and Coles 4038 on saxophone on a demo CD (page gives no verdict).5
  • Close Saxophones advice large-diaphragm condenser, cardioid (type only)
    distance, 18 in, aimed just below the middle of the body
    Large-diaphragm condenser about 18 inches away, aimed just below the midpoint (paraphrase).6
  • Close Saxophones advice large dynamic (type only)
    distance, 18 in, aimed just below the middle of the body
    Large dynamic microphones offer a fuller, softer alternative (paraphrase).6
  • Close Saxophones advice close mic at the bell (type only)
    close, very close to the upturned bell, pop style
    In pop music sax mics sit very close to the upturned bells, for a bright, raspy sound (paraphrase).7
  • Close Saxophones advice condenser or ribbon (type only)
    distance, about 18 in, over the bell aimed at the middle of the keys
    Both condenser and ribbon mics do a good job; aim over the bell at the middle of the keys (paraphrase).8

Studio and stage

Named, no placement given

Close

  • DPA 4006ES (variant of the DPA 4006A) maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
  • Shure SM571 independent source
The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Named, no placement given Saxophones advice Shure SM57
    Pete Thomas calls the SM57/SM58 a great versatile mic that needs no phantom power (paraphrase).1
  • Close Saxophones advice DPA 4006ES (variant of the DPA 4006A)
    close, beside the bell on the player's right
    The spot slightly to the player's right-hand side, next to the bell, is a good starting position.9
  • Close Saxophones advice Shure SM57
    budget, close
    Most-mentioned mic in the thread (about 7 posters by my tally); aim more at the body of the sax for a warmer sound (paraphrase).2
  • Named, no placement given Saxophones advice Shure SM58
    budget
    Mentioned about 3 times by my tally as the dynamic alternative (paraphrase).2

On stage

Clip-on

Close

  • DPA 4011ES (variant of the DPA 4011A) maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
  • Shure SM137 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Clip-on Saxophones advice DPA 4099 CORE+
    clip-on, on the bell (saxophone clip STC4099)
    4099 CORE+ with the STC4099 saxophone clip listed as the directional instrument option.9
  • Close Saxophones advice DPA 4011ES (variant of the DPA 4011A)
    close, beside the bell, for isolation on a noisy stage
    Directional (cardioid) mics isolate the sax from stage noise but bring proximity effect (paraphrase).9
  • Clip-on Saxophones advice Shure PGA98H
    clip-on, a few inches from the bell
    A few inches from and aiming at the bell gives a bright sound with reduced feedback and leakage (paraphrase).10
  • Close Saxophones advice Shure SM137
    close, a few inches from the bell
    The sax is like the human voice, so a shaped-response (vocal) mic works well (paraphrase).10

Range

Db3 to about A511139 Hz – 880 Hz

E-flat alto; sounds a major sixth below written (written Bb3-F#6 with the high F# key; Ab5 without it). Altissimo goes higher.

LowDb3–E4full; the lowest notes honk
UpperF4–A5singing to bright
AltissimoBb5–F6thin, piercing

Written registers: low B-flat3-C#5 (no octave key), upper D5-F#6 (octave key), altissimo above; converted to sounding pitch. Boundaries are the usual fingering split, not a sharp change in tone.

Overtones reach about 3.9 kHz (the highest harmonic within 40 dB of the strongest, at a moderate level; louder playing reaches higher)12.

The sound

A conical bore gives both odd and even harmonics; here the first four harmonics are within 16 dB of each other and the level falls steadily above about 1.5 kHz.

Where the sound goes

Sound comes from both the finger holes and the bell; the sax has "complex radiation patterns"; the bell alone sounds hard (existing entry). DPA's bass clarinet note says it radiates like a saxophone.10,9,16

Recording it

Shure and DPA speak for live use; the others for studio. In pop mixes the mic is very close to the upturned bell (SOS 2008).7

Playing techniques

Frequency areas

How loud

Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.

Playing level
75–110 dBat 3 m; UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, row 'Saxophone' (single musician) secondary13
71–100 dB(Z)at 1 m; Alto saxophone, derived from the TU Berlin sound power values estimate14
Peaks
113 dBnot stated (peak column of the same table); UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, row 'Saxophone' secondary13
Dynamic range
29 dB(Z)sound power, whole range; Alto saxophone, Weinzierl et al. 2018, Table I estimate14
Player's exposure (dosimeter)
98.8–99.1 dB(A)dosimeter on the student; Jazz students (Portugal), classes with instrument practice, acoustic dosimeter over two weeks15
Sound power
82–111 dB(Z)sound power level Lw (dB re 1 pW), not a sound pressure at a distance; Alto saxophone, single notes over the whole range played as soft and as loud as possible, anechoic chamber TU Berlin, 32-mic spherical array14

75-110 dB at 3 m, peak 113 dB, in the UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, which says the figures are collated from a range of sources and the range depends on how loudly it is played. Weighting is not stated. No peak-SPL figure at the bell from a mic maker was found.13

Sources

  1. Cafe Saxophone: Recording saxophones (Pete Thomas, 2025)engineer · cafesaxophone.com
  2. HomeRecording.com forum: Which microphone to studio record a saxophone?forum · homerecording.com
  3. Recording Magazine: Miking Brass and WindsBob Ross · magazine · recordingmag.com
  4. Recording Magazine: Miking the Horn SectionMichael Schulze · magazine · recordingmag.com
  5. Royer Labs library: Steve Albini microphone comparisonsmanufacturer · royerlabs.com
  6. Sound On Sound: Q. How do I mike up woodwind instruments? (Hugh Robjohns, Nov 2003)magazine · soundonsound.com
  7. Sound On Sound: Q. How do I record brass in the home studio?Paul White and Hugh Robjohns · magazine · 2008-03 · soundonsound.com
  8. Yamaha Hub: Recording Acoustic Instruments, Part 3Mike Levine · magazine · 2022 · hub.yamaha.com
  9. DPA Mic University: How to mic a saxophonemanufacturer · dpamicrophones.com
  10. Shure: How to Choose the Best Mics for Brass, Wind, and String Instrumentsmanufacturer · shure.com
  11. Wikipedia: Saxophone (written range, transpositions, high F#, low A on baritone)reference · en.wikipedia.org
  12. MTG Solo Saxophones (Music Technology Group, UPF, via Freesound; SFZ by kinwie), CC BY 4.0; own FFT analysisgithub.com
  13. Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)eclass-b.uoa.gr
  14. JASA: Sound power and timbre as cues for the dynamic strength of orchestral instruments (Weinzierl, Lepa, Schultz, Detzner, von Coler, Behler)Stefan Weinzierl et al. · academic · 2018-09 · depositonce.tu-berlin.de
  15. 3rd International Congress on Environmental Health (Porto 2014), abstract: noise exposure of jazz and classical music studentsacademic · 2014-09 · recipp.ipp.pt
  16. DPA Mic University: How to mic a clarinetmanufacturer · dpamicrophones.com
  17. Sonicbids: EQ Cheat Sheet, Mixing Frequencies for Every Instrumentmagazine · 2026 · sonicbids.com