Mic Archive

Tambourine

Peaks up close
up to 120 dB SPL
Sources
1211 independent: not from a mic maker

Frequency bands

jingles3.5 kHz – 16 kHzpeaks near 4.1, 6.1 and 10.5 kHz
head150 Hz – 500 Hzthe head adds little in these recordings

Own analysis: 1/3-octave band levels of the first second after the hit (dB re loudest band), plus a 12 ms attack window and spectral peak picking. A band is listed where the level stays within about 10-15 dB of the loudest band (weaker bands are given with their level). "tone" = clear spectral peaks; "noise" = dense or broadband energy. Measured from: VSCO 2 CE Tamb1-Hit_v2_rr1, Tamb1-Shake_v1_rr1; Virtuosity Drums Tamb1_Shake.

Sounds it makes

Hit (head)jingles plus a faint thump
Shakecontinuous jingle
Thumb rolldense, intense roll

The sound

Pairs of small metal discs (jingles) clash when the frame moves: almost pure high-frequency noise.

Playing techniques

  • Shake roll: held upright and shaken
  • Thumb roll: a moistened thumb rubbed along the head, a dense roll
  • Knee and hand: fast, loud repetitions
  • Angle: 40–50° balances head and jingles14

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.

Peaks
120 dB or moreat short (close-mic) distances; Neumann knowledge-base article on maximum SPL: a tambourine 'is a lot louder than one would assume'; at short distances it 'can easily reach SPLs of more than 120 dB'. secondary13

Recording it

  • Distance: 15–30 cm (6–12 in); move back or off-axis if it is too bright
  • EQ: a small cut around 6 kHz leaves room for other bright instruments12,11

Mics

  1. Electro-Voice 635A 2 sourcesClose, overhead
  2. Shure SM57 2 sourcesOverhead, close
All the mics sources name, by setting and role (9)

Studio

Overhead

Stereo pair

Room

Close

Stereo pair

The 22 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Distant condenser (unnamed)
    distant, about 4-6 ft (1.5-2 m) away
    stand about 4-6ft from a condenser (RAMI, paraphrase)1
  • Distant small-diaphragm condenser
    distant, about 3 ft away, levels kept fairly low
    SDC about 3 feet away, levels fairly low, high-pass and high shelf cut (JG96, paraphrase)1
  • Distant large-diaphragm condenser
    distant, at least 4-5 ft back
    LDC, staying at least 4 or 5 feet back (heatmiser, paraphrase)1
  • Overhead Shure SM57
    overhead, about 2 ft above the tambourine
    SM57 overhead about 2 ft above the tambourine; result a lot drier (sausy1981, paraphrase)2
  • Distant large-diaphragm condenser
    distant, about 4-5 ft back, moving side to side to tame the chink
    Space between the mic and tambourine really do make a big difference. (Justsomeguy)2
  • Room ribbon, figure-8
    top, about 3 ft up, angled diagonally toward the source, untreated room
    figure-8 gave the perfect blend of direct sound with the ambience (RecordingMaster, paraphrase)2
  • Overhead 2 × drum overheads
    distant, played from the control room through an open door into the kit overheads
    The distance takes the edge off of the 'chink'. (Track Rat)2
  • Close Shure SM57 or Shure SM7B
    close
    Get yourself a Shure SM57 or an SM7b and you will get great results at a very reasonable price. (Paul Drew)3
  • Distant microphone (type not named)
    distant, at a distance in a large, untreated space
    One of the most important things in getting a natural sound from shakers, tambs, etc., is distance.4
  • Close wide-cardioid mic
    distant, farther away than you'd like; tape half the jingles
    you'll probably have to mic the tambourine from farther away than you'd like, and use a mic with a wide cardioid pattern.5
  • Close 2 × crossed pair of cardioids or hypercardioids
    pair, crossed pair mixed down to mono
    A crossed pair of cardioids or hypercardioids mixed down to mono will simulate that nicely.5
  • Close Electro-Voice 635A
    distant, back the mic off a few feet
    Back the mic off a few feet; the EV 635a is a great hand percussion mic (A.David.MacKinnon, paraphrase)6
  • Overhead Neumann U 87
    distant, out a bit and higher up, like overheads
    Tambourines sometimes need really fast compression, but try distance first. (drumsound; favourite mics EV 635a and U87)6
  • Distant condenser (imitation C12)
    distant, player's back to the mic, 3-4 ft away
    I often like to record tambourine with my back facing the mic, maybe about 3 or 4 feet from the mic. (DrummerMan)7
  • Distant ribbon mic
    distant, a few feet back, about 3 ft
    a few feet back is good. 3 feet approx.; ribbons are great on tambo (joninc)8
  • Overhead Electro-Voice 635A / Audio-Technica AT4050
    overhead, about a foot higher than the player's head, a little in front, angled down
    I have the mic around a foot higher than the players head, a little in front of them, and angled down. (drumsound)8
  • Overhead 2 × drum overheads
    pair, play from the drum throne into the kit overheads
    sit on the drum throne and use the overheads; be conservative with levels (A.David.MacKinnon, paraphrase)8
  • Close Coles 4038
    close, smooth-midrange ribbon (also Beyer M160/M500)
    Likes Coles 4038s for close work (cgarges, paraphrase)8
  • Room Oktava MK-012 / MXL V67
    distant, a few feet to across the room
    Oktava MC012s and MXL V67s, weirdly enough for distance (cgarges)8
  • Close small-diaphragm condenser
    close, 30-60 cm away, slightly off-axis
    a small-diaphragm condenser 30-60 cm away, aimed slightly off-axis; jammed against the capsule sounds fizzy and harsh (paraphrase)9
  • Distant Small percussion advice microphone (type not named)
    distant, 3-6 ft from the mic
    If it jingles, rattles or scrapes, give yourself a good 3 to 6 feet from the mic for clarity and believability.10
  • Close Small percussion advice condenser (unnamed)
    close (distance not given); cut 3-4 dB around 6 kHz
    Javier Garza uses condenser mics on shakers and tambourine, cutting 3-4 dB around 6 kHz (paraphrase)11

On stage

Close

The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Shure KSM141 or Shure KSM137 or Shure KSM109
    one mic 6-12 in from the instrument (percussion list)
    One microphone placed 6 to 12 inches from instrument; experiment with distance and angles if too bright12

Advised against

  • Room condenser (unnamed)
    distant, standing far away in a poor room
    I'd recommend avoiding using a condenser and standing far away unless your room sounds good. (Greg_L)1
  • Close close mic
    close
    direct sound tends to suck; at least 3 foot distance (Steenamaroo)2
  • Close condenser (unnamed)
    close
    Most condenser microphones can't handle the high SPL of a tambourine when close micing. (Paul Drew)3

Sources

  1. HomeRecording.com forum: How to record tambourine (2013 thread)forum · homerecording.com
  2. HomeRecording.com forum: Recording tambourine... (2013 thread)forum · homerecording.com
  3. Production Expert: Get A Great Percussion Sound - Free Percussion Recording Techniques (Mike Thornton, 2020, with Paul Drew and James Ivey)magazine · production-expert.com
  4. ProSoundWeb: In The Studio: Hand Percussion Recording Tips (Jon Tidey, 2014)engineer · prosoundweb.com
  5. Recording Magazine: The Doom of the Dumbek (Paul Stamler)magazine · recordingmag.com
  6. Tape Op message board: Percussion session today - HELP (2021 thread)forum · messageboard.tapeop.com
  7. Tape Op message board: Upping my percussion recording skills (2020 thread, page 2)forum · messageboard.tapeop.com
  8. Tape Op message board: Upping my percussion recording skills (2020 thread)forum · messageboard.tapeop.com
  9. Violet Recording: How to Record Percussion (editorial team)magazine · violetrecording.com
  10. Recording Magazine: Drumming and Drummers and Mics - Oh My! (Paul Vnuk Jr. with David Blascoe)magazine · recordingmag.com
  11. Daley, D. (2006) Recording Latin Percussion, Sound On Soundmagazine · soundonsound.com
  12. Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcementmanufacturer · 2007 · music.arts.uci.edu
  13. Neumann: What Does Maximum Sound Pressure Level (Max SPL) Mean?manufacturer · neumann.com
  14. Vienna Symphonic Library Academy: Tambourineeducational · vsl.co.at