Both Sides of the Booth - Episode 2 - Mic'ing Brass

Brass players and sound engineers everywhere should watch episode two of Aston microphones’ ‘Both Sides of the Booth’ series where some of the top players in the industry share tips, tricks and anecdotes, ranging from struggling to play ‘Hot Cross Buns’ through to revealing the best brass section of all time.

The video, hosted by Walker Lukens, features Mike Lewis (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird), Reggie Pace (Bon Iver, NO BS! Brass Band, Sufjan Stevens) and Stewart Cole (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) was recorded at Aston's Nine Lives Studios, a house converted into a home studio environment in Austin, Texas.

In addition to fascinating insights from musicians at the top of their profession, the video demonstrates some interesting mic’ing techniques and performances from each player, using Aston Origins, Spirits and Starlights and covering everything from distance-mic’ing, stereo XY and multi-mic set-ups, through to recording a trumpet through a mellotron, several pitch shifters a delay pedal and a pair of bass stacks!

For each mic set-up there are clips of the full mix, plus the sound from each individual mic, providing a fascinating break-down of the art and science of multi-mic’ing.

In between takes the trio discuss Miles Davis and Harry Connick Jr., the `Rocky’ soundtrack, Tony Visconti’s mic trick on David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, plus biting saxophones, cleaning your teeth and sleeping on the floor with cat hair all over your face.

Our thanks to the Aston USA team for this entertaining, insightful and truly unmissable inside view of some of the world’s finest musicians at work and play.

Watch the Video