The soprano saxophone has such a distinctive sound — to many listeners, it’s the sound of Kenny G, undoubtedly the biggest-selling pop artist to ever play the soprano sax. Let’s not overlook the contributions of legendary musicians such as Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, Steve Lacy, Branford Marsalis, Jan Garbarek, Grover Washington Jr., or Bob Wilber, who all left their mark on the soprano sax’s signature sound.
But how do you get sounds as good as theirs in a live venue or on a recording? What microphone and what mic placement will capture that unique soprano sax sound the best? Well, there are lots of options when it comes to mic placement, but we wanted to explore the influence of the microphones. We wanted to hear how much difference the mic makes when placed on the same horn in the same studio.
There are mics that you hear on soprano sax all the time, such as the Neumann U 87, the Sennheiser MD 421, and the ubiquitous Shure SM58. Plus, there are newer mics you may not have heard yet. For this recording session, we gathered 21 mics and had Sweetwater Sales Engineer Craig Edgar play through all of them. Here’s the soprano sax and setup he used.
- Horn — P. Mauriat System 76 Soprano Saxophone
- Mouthpiece — Selmer Paris S401D S80 Series Soprano Sax Mouthpiece – D
- Reed — Vandoren Blue Box 3.5
- Ligature — Selmer Paris One Screw
Recording engineer Shawn Dealey lined up all the mics in Sweetwater’s Studio A, routed them into Rupert Neve Designs Shelford channels with no EQ or compression, and recorded them into Pro Tools using Avid MTRX converters. You’ll hear Craig play soprano sax into each mic so you can hear how each mic interprets the sound.
The mics we auditioned included dynamics, condensers, and ribbons. If you’re not sure what those microphone types mean, check out our Studio Microphone Buying Guide.
The Microphones
Ribbon Microphones
Take a Listen
Here are the performances. Listen and see which sound you prefer. These are grouped by microphone type: condenser, dynamic, and ribbon.
Soprano Sax
What Was Your Favorite Mic?
Can you hear any differences? Which did you prefer? Did that help you narrow down your mic options for your soprano sax? If not, call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700, and they can help you find the perfect mic for your needs.