The Avett Brothers new recording, The Carpenter (on the American Record label), saw the North Carolina-based folk-rock band in the studio with engineer/mixer/producer Ryan Hewitt. Among the sessions’ miking duties, Hewitt used a Mojave Audio MA-300 multi-pattern tube condenser mic to capture performances of guitarist/vocalist Seth Avett. He also used MA-300s to capture room sound for the drums. He also now regards Mojave’s MA-200 tube condensers as his ‘go-to’ mics for recording piano.
‘Most of the sessions for The Carpenter took place at Echo Mountain Recording in Ashville, NC – which was built in an old church,’ Hewitt says. ‘I found that my MA-300 was the ideal solution for capturing Seth Avett’s performances. When recording a person playing acoustic guitar and singing simultaneously, it’s impossible to have complete isolation between the instrument and voice. With that said, it’s important to use the mic’s polar pattern to minimise bleed in order to achieve a modern, isolated sound. When you’re working with a producer like Rick Ruben, you really can’t have an excuse as to why there is so much bleed. You need to have an answer for that – and my answer was the MA-300.’
‘To gain as much isolation between the voice and guitar as possible, I used the MA-300’s fig-8 pattern. By aiming the top of the MA-300 at Seth’s mouth, the mic’s null rejected much of the vocal, enabling me to capture the guitar with minimal bleed so that I’d have maximum control over the track in the mix.’
Hewitt also used his pair of MA-300s to capture drum ambience: ‘While at Echo Mountain Recording, we did some drum tracking,’ he says. ‘The mics were placed about 15 feet from the drums to capture the fullness of the space. The result was really nice, true sound of the room.’
For recording piano, meanwhile, a pair of MA-200s has become his favorite choice: ‘The MA-200s are great on piano,’ he agrees. ‘In addition to using them with The Avett Brothers, I also used these mics to record British singer/songwriter/pianist Jamie Cullum. While placement of the two mics varies – depending upon the nature of the song – for a softer natured song, I put one MA-200 over the foot of the piano and the other in the curve looking over the hammers. This positioning gave a really warm sound, a nice stereo spread, and very little phase issue. Greg Wells was producing Cullum’s album and he was so blown away with the sound, he went out and bought his own pair of Mojave mics.’
Back with The Avett Brothers, Hewitt says: ‘The goal of doing another record with any band is to take it up a notch from the previous endeavor. One of the goals I had for this second effort with The Avett Brothers was to achieve a better acoustic guitar and vocal sound. With the MA-300, I feel I achieved that. Everyone in the band was really pleased with the acoustic guitar sound and the separation of the vocal.’
‘It turned out great,’ he reports . ‘I barely used any EQ on either the guitar or piano in the mix to get what I wanted out of those tracks. Both on input and during the mix, the fact that I used very little EQ was a win-win situation in terms of achieving the most natural sound. After hearing the results, Seth Avett went out and bought some Mojave MA-100s for his own use. I think that pretty much says it all.’
In addition to his work with The Avett Brothers, Grammy Award-winning Hewitt’s work includes recent projects with Matchbox 20, Joe Cocker and Sheryl Crow.
