Saxophone Recording / Phase Alignment with faGuitarAlign – A testimonial from Producer Stephan “Grete” Weiser

Saxophone recordings are fun! It’s a vibrant acoustic instrument with powerful dynamics and unmistakable character—perfect for adding a special flavor to your mix. Today we take a sneak peek into the studio of Stephan “Grete” Weiser, a jazz musician and producer from Germany, as he records saxophone takes for the 6th album of his jazz band, the “Köstritzer Jazzband”.

Saxophone Recording Setup

Stephan always uses a technique incorporating three microphones to get the best out of the instrument:

• a clip mic, directly mounted on the saxophone
• an AKG C414 B-ULS (50 cm distance)
• a RØDE NTR ribbon mic (50 cm distance)

The clip mic captures the direct sound from the instrument, retaining maximum attack and immediacy, while the two other mics capture the room ambiance, similar to what a listener would hear. The RØDE NTR ribbon mic lends a darker timbre and detailed low-end warmth, while the AKG C414 delivers a brighter, airy presence with rich upper mids. By combining these three mics from different positions and with contrasting sound qualities, you achieve a tight, cohesive, and multidimensional saxophone sound.

Classic Microphone Setups for Saxophone Recording

• Single Large-Diaphragm Condenser (e.g., 15–30 cm off-bell, aimed near the middle of the horn): Captures a balanced blend of the instrument’s full body and brightness.
• Ribbon Mic slightly off-axis: Adds smoothness and tames excessive brightness, excellent for jazz or vintage flavor.
• Stereo Pair (e.g., ORTF or XY at 50–70 cm): Provides a spacious, realistic room image, highlighting how the saxophone radiates sound from both the bell and tone holes.
• Clip-On Microphone: Delivers articulate, isolated attack, and is great for live settings or blending with room mics for clarity.
• Multi-Mic Setups: Combining close, mid, and far mics (as in this article) offers flexibility to blend direct and ambient sound at mixdown.

Phase Alignment with faGuitarAlign

Mastering microphone technique in saxophone recording is crucial, and proper phase alignment is a key element. Since the clip mic is about 50 cm closer to the bell than the other microphones, severe phase cancellations can easily occur when blending the signals. Stephan is a big fan of our automatic phase alignment plugin, “faGuitarAlign.” You can hear and feel the excitement in his voice when he talks about this tool. He uses it regularly on a broad range of acoustic instruments—saxophone, cello, violin, double bass, piano, and more. In this video, you’ll see how he uses faGuitarAlign to perfect his multi-mic saxophone takes in just a few seconds.

Visual Tools: Correlation Meter and PhaseScope

Achieving perfect phase coherence can be challenging, especially when combining multiple microphones at varying distances and angles. This is where the correlation meter and PhaseScope built into faGuitarAlign become invaluable tools.

• Correlation Meter: Quickly shows whether two signals are in phase (+1), out of phase (-1), or somewhere in between. Watch for values close to +1 for optimal summation and mono compatibility.
• PhaseScope (Phase Density Scope): A sophisticated, vectorscope-inspired display unique to faGuitarAlign, allowing you to visualize the phase relationship across the frequency spectrum—not just as a single “in or out of phase” measurement, but with frequency-specific nuance.

Utilizing these tools during the alignment process helps detect subtle phase problems that are hard to hear in solo—and makes aligning multiple mics both surgical and intuitive, ensuring you retain the richness and dimensionality intended in the performance.

Manual Phase Alignment: Sample-Accurate Methods

If you’re not using an automatic plugin like faGuitarAlign, precise manual alignment requires calculating the necessary time delay for each mic track. Here’s how to do it:

• Calculate time difference: Measure the distance (in meters) between microphones. Divide the distance difference by the speed of sound (approx. 343 m/s at room temperature) to get the time delay in seconds.
• Convert to samples: Time delay (s) × sampling rate (Hz) = number of samples to nudge/delay in your DAW.
• Sub-sample accuracy: Some DAWs and advanced plugins let you delay signals by fractions of a sample for even tighter phase alignment, especially in high-fidelity jazz or classical recordings.

Modern phase alignment plugins handle these calculations automatically, but understanding the underlying math helps for troubleshooting and in situations where manual correction is needed.

Want to Hear the Final Product?

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