Mic Archive

Woodwinds

Oboe

Woodwinds: Flute, piccolo, clarinet, oboe and bassoon (the saxophones are their own family). Most of the sound comes from the tone holes along the body, not the bell, so sources aim at the holes.

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

Range
Bb3–G6
Overtones to
about 5.1 kHz
Peaks up close
up to 123 dB SPL
Sources
11 (9 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

23 setups from 11 sources, 9 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

Distant

  • microphone1 independent source

Spot

  • Schoeps MK 41 independent source
  • cardioid condenser1 independent source
  • condenser (clarinet technique, type only)1 independent source
  • microphone1 independent source
  • Royer ribbon microphone1 independent source
  • small-diaphragm condenser (type only)1 independent source

Contact

The 18 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Shure SM58
    close, about 20 mm from the first open tone hole (OP's trial)
    An SM58 also does the job for pros. (Pete Thomas)1
  • Close ribbon microphone
    close, placement not given
    A ribbon mic would probably be standard, and yes, they deal with higher frequencies well. (Pete Effamy)1
  • Distant microphone
    distant, about the same distance from the mic as the length of the instrument
    Basic rule of thumb is distance from mic being about the same is length of instrument. (Pete Thomas)1
  • Close DPA 4006A
    close, 15-20 cm at the finger holes
    Aim the mic at the fingering holes, 1/3 of the length up from the bell, at a distance of 15-20 cm.2
  • Close DPA 4011A
    close or spot, for separation
    Cardioid 4011A/4011C and wide cardioid 4015A/4015C listed as options (list of models).2
  • Close DPA 4015A
    close or spot
    Wide cardioid 4015A/4015C listed as an option for oboe (list of models).2
  • Close 2 × condenser, omnidirectional or spaced pair
    ensemble: between two oboe players, head height, aimed down
    Place the microphone between two oboe players at head height, pointing straight down at the floor, which should not be carpeted.2
  • Close Audio-Technica AT4047
    close, on a boom above the oboe and angled parallel to it, about 2 feet from the middle of the instrument; back off another foot in a good room; aim lower if breath noise
    the 4047 on a boom stand set up so that the mic is above and angled parallel to the oboe about 2 feet away ... the most natural sound is gotten from mic positions that capture the whole body, not just the bell. (littledog)3
  • Close Audio-Technica AT4047
    close, about 12-16 inches from the bell, tracked together with an SM57 placed right above it
    You might place BOTH mics about 12-16" from the TWO bells, one right above the other. (knightfly)3
  • Close Shure SM57
    close, about 12-16 inches from the bell, right above the AT4047
    the peak in the 57 just might be the cutting tool that makes the track. (knightfly)3
  • Close Audio-Technica AT4060
    close, placement not given
    excellent results with an AT4060 (littledog, paraphrase)3
  • Spot small-diaphragm condenser (type only)
    spot, 24 in out, aimed at the centre between the hands
    Small-diaphragm condenser mic 24 inches out from the instrument pointing at the centre.4
  • Spot condenser (clarinet technique, type only)
    spot, as for clarinet
    I mic them as I would a clarinet (oboe, English horn, bassoon). No model or distance given for oboe.5
  • Spot microphone
    spot, one mic between the two oboe players
    the oboes had a microphone between the two of them6
  • Spot 2 × Schoeps MK 4
    spot, one mic per woodwind section, mixed in low under the main pair
    do each section of the woodwinds on a separate mic ... Schoeps MK4 cardioid spot mics for the woodwind7
  • Spot cardioid condenser
    spot, on the oboes
    Spot microphones in cardioid or wide cardioid ... oboes (paraphrase of the spot-mic list)8
  • Spot Woodwinds advice Royer ribbon microphone
    spot, close mics on the woodwinds
    Royer ribbon mics on the woodwinds and low brass9
  • Contact Woodwinds advice 2 × Schoeps MK 4
    pair, stereo pair as overall woodwind pickup
    the woodwinds had a stereo pair of Schoeps MK4s as an overall pickup6

On stage

Clip-on

Spot

The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Clip-on DPA 4099 CORE+
    clip-on, near the bell, aimed at the keys
    Place near the bell but pointing towards the keys instead, to blend bell and tone hole sounds (paraphrase).2
  • Spot Sennheiser MD 421
    spot, one mic between the first two oboe players
    Colby places a Sennheiser 421 between the first two players of each woodwind type-flutes, clarinets, oboes, bassoons10
  • Clip-on Shure PGA98H
    clip-on, live
    PGA98H and SM137 listed for woodwind instruments including oboe (guide lists by family; paraphrase).11
  • Clip-on Shure SM137
    close or clip-on, live
    PGA98H and SM137 listed for woodwind instruments including oboe (guide lists by family; paraphrase).11

Studio and stage

Close

  • condenser (type only)1 source, 0 independent
The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Woodwinds advice condenser (type only)
    close, about 30 cm from the sound holes
    A mic placed about 1 foot from sound holes will produce a natural, well-balanced sound.11

Advised against

Range

Bb3 to about G612233 Hz – 1.57 kHz

A6 possible (VSL).

LowBb3–F4thick, heavy; the lowest notes loud
MiddleF#4–Bb5bright, reedy; most solos lie here
HighB5–G6thin; shrill from about D6

French-system boundaries (VSL); the Viennese oboe splits at A4/Bb4 and A5/Bb5.

Overtones reach about 5.1 kHz (the highest harmonic within 40 dB of the strongest, at a moderate level; louder playing reaches higher)13.

The sound

A double reed on a narrow conical bore: the fundamental is weaker than the 2nd-4th harmonics, with a strong region around 1-1.5 kHz, which gives the nasal tone.

Where the sound goes

The sound leaves from the whole instrument, depending on which holes are open; Ross says the bell of a woodwind is mostly a timbre filter except on the lowest notes. This fits the existing entry ("most of the sound comes from the tone holes").5,18

Recording it

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
74–102 dBat 3 m; UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, row 'Oboe' (single musician) secondary14
95–112 dBnot stated; hearingconservation.org decibel chart, 'Sound Levels of Music' secondary15
69–90 dB(Z)at 1 m; Modern oboe, derived from the TU Berlin sound power values estimate16
Peaks
116 dBnot stated (peak column of the same table); UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels, row 'Oboe' secondary14
97–103 dB(A)at the player; same study, LASmax (slow) per rehearsal or concert17
114–123 dB(C)at the player; same study, LCpeak per rehearsal or concert17
Dynamic range
21 dB(Z)sound power, whole range; Modern oboe, Weinzierl et al. 2018, Table I estimate16
Player's exposure (dosimeter)
83–89 dB(A)at the player (meters on tripods with microphones close to the players); Polish opera and symphony orchestras, group rehearsals, concerts and performances; 14 samples17
Sound power
80–101 dB(Z)sound power level Lw (dB re 1 pW), not a sound pressure at a distance; Modern oboe, single notes over the whole range played as soft and as loud as possible, anechoic chamber TU Berlin, 32-mic spherical array16
84–99 dB(Z)sound power level Lw (dB re 1 pW), repertoire-weighted average; Modern oboe, pp and ff sound power averaged over the range, weighted by how often each pitch occurs in Beethoven's symphonies16

74-102 dB at 3 m, peak 116 dB, in the UK Sound Advice table of representative noise levels (collated from several sources; weighting not stated). Read from search-result text, because the PDF text would not extract.14

Sources

  1. Cafe Saxophone forum: Recording an Oboe (2024)forum · cafesaxophone.com
  2. DPA Mic University: How to mic an oboemanufacturer · dpamicrophones.com
  3. HomeRecording.com forum: Recording an oboe?? (2002)forum · homerecording.com
  4. Production Expert: Free woodwind and sax recording techniques (2020)magazine · production-expert.com
  5. Recording Magazine: Miking Brass and WindsBob Ross · magazine · recordingmag.com
  6. Sound On Sound: Jake Jackson: Recording The 2012 Olympic Anthemsmagazine · soundonsound.com
  7. Sound On Sound: Richard King, How To Record Acoustic Ensemblesengineer · soundonsound.com
  8. SoundGirls: Recording an Orchestraeducational · soundgirls.org
  9. Mix: The Changing Landscape of Orchestral Recording (engineer Steve Smith, Music Works Studios)magazine · mixonline.com
  10. Mix: Sound Reinforcement for the Boston Pops: Miking the Orchestra (BSO live mix engineer Steve Colby)magazine · mixonline.com
  11. Shure: How to Choose the Best Mics for Brass, Wind, and String Instrumentsmanufacturer · shure.com
  12. Vienna Symphonic Library Academy: Oboeeducational · vsl.co.at
  13. SHARC Timbre Database v2 (Gregory Sandell): harmonic analyses of McGill University Master SamplesGregory Sandell · academic · github.com
  14. Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)eclass-b.uoa.gr
  15. Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart, hearingconservation.orghearingconservation.org
  16. 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
  17. JOSE: Evaluation of Sound Exposure and Risk of Hearing Impairment in Orchestral Musicians (Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska, Dudarewicz, Zamojska, Sliwinska-Kowalska)Malgorzata Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. · academic · 2011 · portal.ciop.pl
  18. Sound On Sound: Q. How do I mike up woodwind instruments? (Hugh Robjohns, Nov 2003)magazine · soundonsound.com
  19. Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcementmanufacturer · 2007 · music.arts.uci.edu
  20. Sengpielaudio: Formanten prägen die Klangfarbe (instrument formant table after P. H. Mertens, 1975)sengpielaudio.com