Brass
French horn
Brass: Trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba and their relatives. Brass is loud close to the bell, so a mic's maximum SPL matters as much as its response.
Also called French horn.
Part of the Brass family; that family's advice shows here too.
- Range
- B1–F5
- Overtones to
- about 1.9 kHz
- Peaks up close
- up to 128 dB SPL
- Sources
- 8 (5 independent)
Mics sources recommend
14 setups from 8 sources, 5 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
- beyerdynamic TG D71c1 independent source
- Electro-Voice RE201 independent source
- Electro-Voice RE3201 independent source
- Neumann TLM 1031 independent source
Distant
- Neumann TLM 1031 independent source
- Shure KSM1371 independent source
- Shure SM811 independent source
- condenser, large-diaphragm1 independent source
Main pair or array
- AKG C4141 independent source
Multi-mic plan
- Royer R-122 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Royer SF-24 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
The 8 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close Electro-Voice RE20 or Electro-Voice RE320close, 8-12 in, pointed at the bell
An RE20 or RE320 about 8 to 12 inches away, pointed at the bell (via search-result text; page gave 403).
1 - Close Neumann TLM 103in front of a baffle behind the horn, pointed at the baffle not the horn
Place your mic in front of the baffle, pointed at the baffle, not the horn.
2 - Distant condenser, large-diaphragmdistance, performer midway between mic and a reflective surface, 4+ ft each side
Horn: Neumann large-diaphragm condensers, C414, NT1, SM81; boundary mic TG D71c; use the reflective surface (paraphrase).
3 - Main pair or array 2 × AKG C414distance, stereo pair XY, midway to a reflective surface
Listed among horn mics, with an XY pair 4+ ft away (paraphrase).
3 - Distant 2 × Shure SM81distance, XY pair, midway to a reflective surface
Small-diaphragm option listed for horn (paraphrase).
3 - Close beyerdynamic TG D71cboundary mic on the reflective surface
Boundary mic named among horn options (paraphrase).
3 - Multi-mic plan section spot: Royer R-122 + room: Royer SF-24spot on the horn section, plus a stereo room mic
Horn section of a Malcolm McNab session captured with R-122 ribbons and an SF-24 room mic (paraphrase).
4 - Distant Shure KSM137 or Neumann TLM 103distance, in front of the bell (behind the player)
Horn: KSM 137 (small-diaphragm) or Neumann TLM 103 (large-diaphragm); the horn projects diagonally backward (paraphrase). ... Horn: KSM 137 or Neumann TLM 103; a compromise between main and spot mics helps in mixing (paraphrase).
5
Studio and stage
Named, no placement given
- beyerdynamic M 1301 independent source
- Cascade Fat Head II1 independent source
- Sennheiser MD 4411 independent source
Close
- Shure SM571 independent source
The 3 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Named, no placement given Cascade Fat Head II or beyerdynamic M 130budget
Three posters suggest it: a horn is a very warm instrument, you can use a ribbon (paraphrase). ... One poster uses it on all brass (paraphrase).
6 - Named, no placement given Sennheiser MD 441budget, used market
Two posters suggest it for a used-market buy (paraphrase).
6 - Close Shure SM57budget, start 2 ft from the bell
One poster: start about 2 feet from the bell and adjust (paraphrase).
6
On stage
Clip-on
- DPA 4099 CORE+ maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure PGA98H-XLR maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
The 3 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Clip-on Brass advice DPA 4099 CORE+clip-on for brass
4099 for instrument-mounted live use gives more isolation and gain before feedback than the omni (paraphrase).
7 - Clip-on Brass advice DPA 4099 CORE+clip-on for brass
The 4099 gives much more isolation and higher gain before feedback than the omni (paraphrase).
7 - Clip-on Brass advice Shure PGA98H-XLRclip-on, brass
A condenser optimised for brass, with horn clamp and in-line preamp (paraphrase).
8
Range
B1 to about F5961.7 Hz – 698 Hz
Sounding range from VSL; written a fifth higher (horn in F). Pedal notes below are possible but rare.
| Low | B1–D3 | mellow when soft; rough when forced |
|---|---|---|
| Middle | Eb3–Eb4 | full, resounding |
| High | E4–F5 | bright, intense, brilliant |
Overtones reach about 1.9 kHz (the highest harmonic within 40 dB of the strongest, at a moderate level; louder playing reaches higher)10.
Where the sound comes from
The sound
A long narrow tube and a wide bell, played with the hand in the bell: harmonics fall off steeply above about 1-2 kHz, so the tone is darker than other brass. It gets much brighter when loud (cuivré).
Where the sound goes
Bell points backwards and to the side, so a front mic hears mainly reflections. The same guidance advises adjustable baffles behind horns to improve forward projection so players do not have to play as loudly. Agrees with the existing entry.5,11
Recording it
- Where: the bell points backwards. Three independent sources put the mic in front of the player and use the wall or a baffle behind the horn; others put it above and behind, which also shields mechanical noise; a few put a dynamic at the bell
- Distance: a few inches from the bell for a bright close sound; 1-2 m for a natural one
- Mics: large-diaphragm condensers or ribbons
- Watch: large level jumps; a reflective wall behind the horns helps the sound project4,6,3,5,2,1
Playing techniques
- Stopped: the hand deep in the bell; darker, buzzy, and a semitone sharp
- Cuivré: forced and brassy, strong high harmonics
- Mute: veiled and distant9
Where sources disagree
Close dynamic at the bell (BMI, one forum poster with the SM57 at 2 ft) against a distant condenser using the room (Ross, Thomann, Production Expert). Studio versus stage may explain part of it.1,3,5,2,6
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 | |
|---|---|
| 92–104 dB | at 3 m; UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, row 'French horn' (single musician) secondary11 |
| 90–106 dB | not stated; hearingconservation.org decibel chart, 'Sound Levels of Music' secondary12 |
| 60–103 dB(Z) | at 1 m; Double horn (F/Bb), derived from the TU Berlin sound power values estimate13 |
| Peaks | |
| 107 dB | not stated (peak column of the same table); UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, row 'French horn' secondary11 |
| 99–112 dB(A) | at the player; same study, LASmax (slow) per rehearsal or concert14 |
| 115–128 dB(C) | at the player; same study, LCpeak per rehearsal or concert14 |
| Dynamic range | |
| 43 dB(Z) | sound power, whole range; Double horn (F/Bb), Weinzierl et al. 2018, Table I estimate13 |
| Player's exposure (dosimeter) | |
| 91 dB | at the player; Sound Advice example: typical symphony performance level, 'eg trombone/French horn' (reaches the 85 dB daily action value in 2 hours) secondary11 |
| 85–92 dB(A) | at the player (meters on tripods with microphones close to the players); Polish opera and symphony orchestras, group rehearsals, concerts and performances; 43 samples14 |
| 87–96.2 dB(A) | dosimeter microphone on the shoulder; Portuguese symphony orchestra, general rehearsals of five repertoires (one horn position)15 |
| 92–93 dB(A) | dosimeter on the student; Classical music students (Portugal), classes with instrument practice, dosimeter over two weeks16 |
| Sound power | |
| 117.4 dB | maximum sound power level Lw (re 1 pW), no distance; Sengpielaudio table of maximum possible sound power, row 'Horn' secondary17 |
| 71–114 dB(Z) | sound power level Lw (dB re 1 pW), not a sound pressure at a distance; Double horn (F/Bb), single notes over the whole range played as soft and as loud as possible, anechoic chamber TU Berlin, 32-mic spherical array13 |
| 85–112 dB(Z) | sound power level Lw (dB re 1 pW), repertoire-weighted average; Double horn (F/Bb), pp and ff sound power averaged over the range, weighted by how often each pitch occurs in Beethoven's symphonies13 |
The UK Sound Advice table gives 92-104 dB at 3 m, peak 107 dB. No close-bell SPL found.11
Sources
- BMI: Recording Horns at Home
- Production Expert: What to listen for when recording brass
- Recording Magazine: Miking Brass and Winds
- Royer Labs library: French horn recordings (Malcolm McNab session, Gary Grant)
- Thomann Online Expert: Recording wind instruments, brass
- HomeRecording.com forum: Good microphone for French horn (brass instrument) recording
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a trumpet and trombone
- Shure: How to Choose the Best Mics for Brass, Wind, and String Instruments
- Vienna Symphonic Library Academy: Horn in F
- SHARC Timbre Database v2 (Gregory Sandell): harmonic analyses of McGill University Master Samples
- Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)
- Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart, hearingconservation.org
- JASA: Sound power and timbre as cues for the dynamic strength of orchestral instruments (Weinzierl, Lepa, Schultz, Detzner, von Coler, Behler)
- JOSE: Evaluation of Sound Exposure and Risk of Hearing Impairment in Orchestral Musicians (Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska, Dudarewicz, Zamojska, Sliwinska-Kowalska)
- Noise & Health: Evaluation of the noise exposure of symphonic orchestra musicians (Rodrigues, Freitas, Neves, Silva)
- 3rd International Congress on Environmental Health (Porto 2014), abstract: noise exposure of jazz and classical music students
- Sengpielaudio (UdK Berlin): Stoerquelle - Musikinstrument? (maximum sound power of instruments)
- Sound On Sound: Q. How do I record brass in the home studio?