Svend Asmussen

photo by Keld Navntoft 2010

One of the big icons in Danish music is Svend Asmussen.
He is of course famous for his fiddle playing on the many jazz recordings he have done, but he is also know as a talented multi instrumentalist and composer.
He has played with all the big names throughout  the history of jazz and continues to play at a very high level even at an age of 97.

I found a great interview written by Richard Brooks for Fiddle Magazine in 2005 (in 4 parts), which I would like to share with you: http://www.scvfa.org/newsletter/articles/SvendAsmussen_FiddlersRag2005_03-04-05.pdf

The article tells us about his life with music, about jazz and Svend Asmussens collaborations and recordings. There is also a part on his gear, violin and electronics, which I of course have read many times :-)

At the end there is a transcription of the song: Swing Manouche

Clark Huckaby article on amplification

Clark Huckaby is a musician a musician, audio electronics technician and recording engineer. I found him while searching for good articles on amplification of fiddle.

While this article is a bit old I really found it to be quite interesting with some good info and observations.

It covers 4 subject: Microphones, pickups, preamps/amps/monitors and a chapter on how a pickup "hears" the bowing.

Read part 1 here, 2 here, 3 here and 4 here

The bedroom recording session

I have earlier promised an article about microphone placement for violin, but I never really got around how to go about that topic.

In varies recording websites and magazines you can find general rules about where to locate a microphone to get a good sound from violin, viola, cello and so on.

This info can often be a good starting point and explain some general rules and the theoretical back ground of instrument recordings.

Microphone vs. pickup for fiddle

I talk to a lot of fiddlers who wants advice on their stage amplification gear.

Questions about what microphone or pickup to use and with what amplifier or PA.

These questions have so many variables that they are hard to answer.

I have myself done much experimenting and found many good systems.

Pedal chain - which goes where?

I have often wondered about this myself.

- Where do I put my octaver in relations to my delay?

I have found a lot of good sounds by dialing in good tones in every pedal and connecting them in different order.

- What is the "right" way to chain your effects?

Well I guess there is no "right" way. But perhaps the are more sensible logical ways.

I have found great basic help here at the Boss site:

PART I

PART II

Violin & viola EQ and frequencies part ll

This is my second part on how to use EQ with your bowed instrument.

This time I am going to give a some "hands on" practical use when playing with a piezo pickup.  You will be able hear the difference for yourself in my sound clips and hopefully be on your way to better sounding gig and recordings.

Violin & viola EQ and frequencies part l

When playing in an amplified setting it is good to know some of the key frequencies in the tonal spectrum of the violin.

This will make it a lot easier to target the right frequencies when eq'ing and to communicate with the sound engineer in a language he understands.

Knowing the frequency for each string is only a small part of understanding what is going on.
The harmonics of each note are a big part of the perceived tone and timbre of a bowed instrument.

EQ for fiddle

Here is comment from my friend and expert sound engineer Peter Simonsen.
Peter is a versatile recording engineer and did the recordings for my first album. He also builds high-end microphone preamps and more.

Here is his comment on choosing a hardware EQ unit for live/stage use:

How mic placement affects tone

This article is an extract of an article made by microphone designer and engineer Bruce Bartlett.

Your mic technique has a powerful effect on the sound of your recordings and your amplified sound through a PA system. In this article we’ll look at how mic choice and placement affect the sound you pick up from various acoustic instruments. To get a good sound, you need to start with an excellent mic and mount it on your instrument where it sounds good.

Which mic should I use
If you want an accurate or natural sound, first go for a microphone with a wide, flat frequency response. Such a mic reproduces the true timbre of the instrument -- its fundamental frequencies and harmonics, and how loud they are relative to each other.

Microphones for violin

Wether you are performing on stage or recording in the studio it is good to acquire some basic knowledge about the different microphone types and their uses.
The right choice of microphone will save you from waisting a lot of time trying "fix" your sound and good sound makes you perform better.

Microphones come in 3 different types: capacitor, back-electret and dynamic - these three types has different properties but can all be brought to good use on bowed instruments.
The first two types requires some powering to work (phantom power). Tube capacitor microphones come with separate power supply and do not need phantom. Dynamic microphones does not require phantom powering either - be aware that phantom power can in some cases damage dynamic microphones, for instance ribbon microphones.

Strings for a five string violin

The problems when choosing strings for a five string violin is to get good balance from string to string and to get the same kind of response all over the instrument.

There are special five string fiddle sets: D'Addario Helicore, Super-Sensitive Sensicore, Pinnacle, Red Label, Old Fiddler and Thomastik Infeld Vision all come in a sets with a violin length C-string.

String Choices

There are a lot of choices in violin and viola strings.

Usually string types are divided into 3 groups: steel, synthetic and gut strings.
The different materials give the strings different properties: Playing in time, longevity, durability, response,  and of course sound characteristics.

The first and maybe most important thing is to realize that a good set of strings cannot make a lousy instrument sound like an expensive instrument.
Strings are more a tool for bringing out the tone that is in the instrument they are put on and help balancing out slight issues regarding volume, egality or sound.