Recorder
- Range
- F3–D7
- Sources
- 32 independent: not from a mic maker
What it is
A duct flute (fipple flute) of the early-music and school world, made in a consort of sizes from garklein to sub-great bass; the alto in F is the standard Baroque instrument. Renaissance recorders have a wide bore and a warm sound rich in harmonics; Baroque-style recorders a narrower bore and a range of "two octaves and a tone".4
Also called descant recorder, treble recorder.
Range
F3 to about D74175 Hz – 2.35 kHz
The usual consort, from the bass's lowest note (F3) to the soprano's D7; the soprano reaches G7, and the large sizes go down to F1 (subcontrabass). My span from Wikipedia's size list, not one instrument's range.
Tuning: Modern recorders are mostly at A = 440 Hz; A = 415 Hz is the de facto standard for Baroque music, and pre-Baroque music is often played at 440 or 466 Hz. The source gives the pitch, not the temperament.4
- Garklein: Lowest note C6.4
- Sopranino: Lowest note F5; written an octave below sounding pitch.4
- Soprano (descant): C5-D7, G7 at the top; written an octave below sounding pitch.4
- Alto (treble): Lowest note F4; the standard Baroque recorder, written at pitch. A Baroque-style recorder spans 'two octaves and a tone'.4
- Tenor: Lowest note C4; written at pitch.4
- Bass (basset): Lowest note F3; written an octave below sounding pitch.4
- Great bass: Lowest note C3; written an octave below sounding pitch.4
- Contrabass: Lowest note F2; written at pitch.4
- Sub-great bass: Lowest note C2.4
- Subcontrabass: Lowest note F1.4
The sound
Like a whistle or an organ flue pipe: the player blows through a windway across a window onto a sharp edge, the labium, and the tube's resonance sets the pitch. There is no embouchure, so blowing harder raises the pitch; players change loudness by shading or half-holing as they raise breath pressure. The larger sizes (bass and below) have keys.4,2
Where the sound goes
A retired orchestral oboist who also plays recorder says the sound comes mainly from the finger holes, not the bell, so the mic needs enough distance to take in the whole range. DPA's flute page says its flute techniques apply to recorders too, but gives nothing recorder-specific.2,3
About the range
Range: the consort sizes go by their lowest note: garklein C6, sopranino F5, soprano (descant) C5, alto (treble) F4, tenor C4, bass F3, great bass C3, contrabass F2, sub-great bass C2, subcontrabass F1. The soprano plays C5-D7 (G7 at the top). Sopranino, soprano, bass and great bass are written an octave below sounding pitch; alto, tenor and contrabass at pitch.
Tuning: modern recorders are mostly at A = 440 Hz; A = 415 Hz is the de facto standard for Baroque music, and pre-Baroque music is often played at 440 or 466 Hz.4
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.
| Player's exposure (dosimeter) | |
|---|---|
| 88.2 dB(A) | music teachers' daily noise dose; Teachers of recorder classes (school), average daily exposure; Behar et al. (2004) as quoted in a teachers' magazine secondary5 |
No measured level for a single recorder found. A music-teacher hearing article quotes Behar et al. (2004): teachers of recorder classes had an average daily exposure of 88.2 dBA, among the highest doses in that study. That is a class of children playing, not one instrument. The low recorders are quiet: a player calls tenor to contrabass "really quiet", though some low instruments speak unexpectedly loudly on their bottom notes.5,2
Recording it
- Gearspace (2020): the oboist above used a Royer R-122 ribbon about 3 ft (90 cm) away, at eye level, aimed down at the middle of an alto; he has also used a Neumann TLM 103 on soprano to tenor. Another poster suggests low-self-noise mics in a quiet room; for the large recorders two Neumann TLM 170s or Schoeps mics, or one TLM 170 plus a Schoeps BLM 03 boundary mic on the floor, with a TLM 103 or KM 184 as the upper mic for more highs. A third says a large, lively room gives free reinforcement and lets you back off from key noise.
- A poster's reading of Decca videos with Lucie Horsch: a spaced pair of TLM 170 R about 10 ft (3 m) up and a single small-diaphragm spot mic, probably an MKH 8040; other videos show a spaced small-diaphragm pair.
- The Baltimore Recorder Society's general mic guide recommends the Shure SM57 as a budget first mic and says its rolled-off top "can take some of the shrillness out of certain instruments".2,1
Mics
- 11 setups from 3 sources, 2 of them independent of any mic maker.
- On top: the mics more than one source names for this instrument, in any role, the most named first. That is a count of sources, not our verdict.
- Few independent sources so far, so the full list shows no counts.
No mic is named by more than one source yet: each names its own.
All the mics sources name, by setting and role (11)
Studio
Distant
The 9 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close Shure SM57listed, a budget first mic; its high-frequency drop tames shrillness
Recommended as a first mic on a tight budget; it "can take some of the shrillness out of certain instruments."
1 - Distant Royer R-122distance, about 3 ft (90 cm), eye level, aimed down at the middle of an alto recorder
"sitting about 3 feet from the mic (Royer R-122). The mic was around eye level and pointed down towards the middle of the instrument" (mken, retired orchestral oboist).
2 - Close Neumann TLM 103listed, soprano to tenor recorders
"I have only recorded tenor through soprano recorder ... I have used the Neuman TLM-103 on those and thought it did a fine job" (mken).
2 - Room 2 × Neumann TLM 170 (earlier version of the Neumann TLM 170 R)pair, for the large (low) recorders; pattern and distance to suit the room
"for the larger instruments, i'd either be using two neumann tlm170's or schoeps mics" - low self-noise mics in a quiet room.
2 - Close Schoeps BLM 03boundary on the floor, with one TLM 170 above, for the large recorders
"a single tlm170 and a schoeps blm03 on the floor"; a TLM 103 or KM 184 as the upper mic for more highs.
2 - Close 2 × Neumann KM 184upper mic in a pair with a floor boundary mic, for more high-frequency emphasis
"if i'd want some more hf emphasis, i'd switch to either a tlm103 (or a km184) for the upper mic."
2 - Main pair or array 3 × Neumann TLM 170 Rmain, spaced pair about 10 ft (3 m) up (a poster's reading of Decca videos with Lucie Horsch)
"If you're interested in how Decca does it ... TLM 170R spaced pair about 10ft up and a single SDC spot mic (probably an MKH8040)."
2 - Spot 2 × Sennheiser MKH 8040spot, single small-diaphragm spot with a spaced main pair (model a poster's guess from video)
"a single SDC spot mic (probably an MKH8040)" - forum reading of Decca session videos, not confirmed.
2 - Close RODE NTRclose, an active ribbon for quiet low recorders, where a passive ribbon's low output and preamp noise are a problem
"An active ribbon, like a Rode NTR, with its typically higher output, could certainly help a lot here" (studer58).
2
Studio and stage
The 2 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close DPA 4006close, about 5-10 cm from the instrument, aimed halfway between the mouthpiece and the left hand
"Approx. 5-10 cm away from the instrument, aim the mic halfway between the mouthpiece and the left hand"; omni for lower sensitivity to wind and pop. DPA: the techniques apply to recorders too.
3 - Spot DPA 4011spot, behind and slightly above the player's head, pointing at the finger holes
"spot-miked behind and slightly above the head of the player, pointing at the finger holes" (4011 cardioid or 4015 wide cardioid). DPA: the techniques apply to recorders too.
3
On stage
DPA (for the flute family): about 5-10 cm from the instrument, aimed between the mouthpiece and the left hand, with a 4006 omni because omnis are less sensitive to wind and pop; or a 4011 or 4015 behind and above the player's head, aimed at the finger holes; or the 4099 clip-on on loud stages.3
Problems to watch
Key noise on the low recorders; breath and wind noise close to the windway; low output and a high noise floor with ribbons on quiet low recorders (an active ribbon such as the RODE NTR helps); the bottom register is softer than the middle and top, which posters even out with compression.2,3