Mic Archive

Instrument

Bansuri

Indian side-blown bamboo flute, six or seven finger holes (Wikipedia). Played in several keys.

Range
A3–E6
Sources
7 (6 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

16 setups from 7 sources, 6 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

Close

Main pair or array

Distant

  • Lawson L471 independent source
  • dynamic microphone1 independent source
The 12 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Apogee MiC 96K
    close, 3 to 4 in (for online lessons)
    I use the Apogee MiC-96K ... a USB mic is ideal ... mics work best between 3 to 4 inches from your mouth.1
  • Main pair or array 2 × Line Audio CM4 (pair)
    pair, stereo pair to capture the full (bass) instrument
    suggests a stereo pair, such as a pair of Line Audio CM4s, to capture the full instrument (paraphrase of summary).2
  • Close two mics (types not named)
    close, one near the blowing hole and one about a foot from the far end, phase-corrected afterwards
    OP floats two mics, one near the blowing hole and one about a foot from the far end, correcting phase afterwards (paraphrase of summary).2
  • Close microphone (type not named)
    distant, 2-3 ft out and about 18 in higher than the flute, pointing down towards the centre of the flute
    2-3' out and about 18" higher than the flute, pointing down towards the center of the flute. Nearer the mouth and you'll get a lot of wind noise.3
  • Close ribbon microphone
    distant, above and to the side, angled down the length of the flute
    best sound from the side of the instrument and not in the front, which is where most people mic it from; ribbon angled down its length (paraphrase).3
  • Distant dynamic microphone
    distant, about 3 ft, aimed at the middle of the flute
    a dynamic aimed at the middle of the flute from about three feet rejects breath noise better; a condenser can make breath sound harsh (paraphrase).3
  • Distant Lawson L47
    distant, about 3 ft
    OP planned a Lawson at about 3 feet; reply: if its a great sounding bansuri you might want something less colored than the L47, but the lawson should do fine.3
  • Close Beyerdynamic MC 740
    distant, omni
    Final choice was a Beyerdynamic MC-740 in omni, which beat a Neumann U87 in a blind test (paraphrase of summary).3
  • Close Neumann U 87 or Neumann KM 184 or Neumann TLM 103 or AKG C414 XLII
    close, placement not given
    westsideryan: recorded before with a U87, turned out fine; U87, TLM-102, TLM-103, KM-184, Soyuz SU-13/SU-17 all sound fine, but not great. ... westsideryan: U87, TLM-102, TLM-103, KM-184 ... all sound fine, but not great. ... westsideryan: ... TLM-103 ... all sound fine, but not great. ... westsideryan: someone got good results with an AKG C414 XLII?4
  • Close 2 × Rode NT2-A (pair)
    pair, M-S (less sensitive to side-to-side head movement than XY)
    a pair of large-diaphragm condenser microphones arranged in an M-S configuration, which is much less sensitive to side-to-side head movements than the standard X-Y configuration (suggests Rode NT2A pair).5
  • Close Shure KSM137
    4-5 in above the blowhole, angled down at it, with pop filter
    KSM137 4-5 in above the blowhole, angled down, to reduce breath sounds; may need a pop filter.6
  • Close 2 × Austrian Audio OC818
    stereo (mono, M-S or Blumlein)
    Player records with two OC818 in mono, stereo, mid-side or Blumlein; "magic is in tracking well".7

On stage

Close

The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Shure Beta 57A
    close, single small-diaphragm dynamic for PA
    for live a single small-diaphragm dynamic, which rejects other instruments and floor reflections better: Shure Beta 57A or Beyer M88 (paraphrase).5
  • Close Beyerdynamic M 88
    close, out of the path of the blown air
    Beyer M88, though an M88 should stay out of the path of the blown air (paraphrase).5
  • Close Shure SM81
    close, in controlled rooms
    a condenser like the Shure SM81 works in controlled rooms (paraphrase).5
  • Close Shure Beta 58A
    close, festival PA (Rakesh Chaurasia, Leeds)
    It looks from the video as though the sound techs in Leeds made a wise choice of a Shure Beta 58A for the bansuri and an SM57 on the tabla.5

Advised against

Range

A3 to E68220 Hz – 1.32 kHz

across VSL's three sizes; about 2.5 octaves (six-hole) or 3 (seven-hole) per Wikipedia

Where the sound goes

From the blowhole and the finger holes; breath noise is the main problem close up.

Recording it

Shure: one KSM137 4 to 5 in above the blowhole, angled down at it to reduce breath; pop filter if needed. Akshat Mehrotra, a bansuri player, uses two Austrian Audio OC818 in mono, stereo, M-S or Blumlein through Neve-type preamps at 96 kHz/24-bit. Generic flute guidance (mic off-axis, angled to the foot) applies.

About the range

About 2.5 octaves (six-hole) or 3 (seven-hole) (Wikipedia). Examples from VSL: E bansuri E4 to E6, D bansuri D4 to D6, A bansuri A3 to A5.

Sources

  1. Bansuri Bliss: How To Prepare For A Bansuri Lesson (online lessons)educational · bansuribliss.com
  2. Gearspace: LDC Microphone for Base Bamboo Flute (Bansuri)forum · gearspace.com
  3. Gearspace: Recording Bansuri (indian flute) Sundayforum · gearspace.com
  4. KVR Audio forum: Looking for a good microphone to record a bansuri? (May 2020)forum · kvraudio.com
  5. recording.org forum: bansuri woodwindforum · recording.org
  6. Shure: Miking World Instruments with Alexander Duvelmanufacturer · 2015 · shure.com
  7. SoundBetter: Akshat Mehrotra, bansuri player's recording setupengineer · soundbetter.com
  8. VSL Synchron Bansuriseducational · vsl.co.at