Record all my tracks with the same mic?

[yetipur]

Is it good to record ALL my tracks with the same mic? Or should I use a combination of mics as well as use a DI box? What about ONLY using a DI box for all tracks and not miking anything? I read that the Beatles ONLY miked everything.......even Paul McCartney's bass. But then again they just happened to live in a time where they had the best recording equipment ever made(all tube consoles, tube compressors, and tube tracking machines) and the best mikes ever made(Neumann U47, and U67)

Thnx

 

[RAMI]

But then again they just happened to live in a time where they had the best recording equipment ever made(all tube consoles, tube compressors, and tube tracking machines) and the best mikes ever made(Neumann U47, and U67)

You mean nobody uses good equipment any more????

 

[soundchaser59]

All trax with the same mic?

I notice you didn't say which mic that would be.....

If it's a SM57, then no, please dont.

If it's a Royer or Coles ribbon then it's worth a try.....

 

[antichef]

If the mic is a good choice for each of the sources you're recording, then why not?

I was able to use the same phillips screwdriver for every screwing task the other day when I installed a ceiling fan, but earlier, when I was installing a ceiling fan in the next room, I needed a flathead screwdriver for some of the screws -- silly analogy, but you know...

 

[Jaticus]

Iv never installed a ceiling fan, BUT I SEE YOUR POINT!!!!!!!!!

 

[qiktune]

Is it good to record ALL my tracks with the same mic? Or should I use a combination of mics as well as use a DI box? What about ONLY using a DI box for all tracks and not miking anything? I read that the Beatles ONLY miked everything.......even Paul McCartney's bass. But then again they just happened to live in a time where they had the best recording equipment ever made(all tube consoles, tube compressors, and tube tracking machines) and the best mikes ever made(Neumann U47, and U67)

Thnx

23 years old and you're aware of The Beatles' recording techniques... +1 to you!!!

If it's your studio and your time why don't you try a couple of different techniques? Let's not forget that sometimes Maccas amp was mic'd from a few feet away ( do you have that kind of space? ). Also, there was a ton of spill from other instruments on a lot of their tracks - if I were going for those sounds I would mic up my bass cab and then monitor in the same room to allow some bleed. Yeh, sounds dumb but you just never know.......

 

[tc4b]

The problem I would anticipate is if that mic has a frequency bump anywhere, that freq is going to be muddy as shit in the final mix, and eqing it out may not help. If you're going to do this, you might need to eq on the way into the box or really experiment with placement. Or, only record sources that are very different in their frequencies to begin with (say, a tuba and a glockenspiel).

 

[cavedog101]

Is it good to record ALL my tracks with the same mic? Or should I use a combination of mics as well as use a DI box? What about ONLY using a DI box for all tracks and not miking anything? I read that the Beatles ONLY miked everything.......even Paul McCartney's bass. But then again they just happened to live in a time where they had the best recording equipment ever made(all tube consoles, tube compressors, and tube tracking machines) and the best mikes ever made(Neumann U47, and U67)

Thnx

This mostly right.....All the Beatles recordings until Abbey Road were done on the REDD consoles whish were 'tube' but then EMI installed the TG12345 Mk1 in 69 and Abbey Road, and several of the solo albums were recorded on that. As far as using DI's they did some but not a lot. What a lot of people dont realize is the large amount of outboard goodies that were developed by the staff in the EMI Technical Engineering Department....most because of the Beatles and their experimentation into sounds. Theres no amount of kudos that can cover their groundbreaking in this case.

If you have a great mic to record with, use it for everything. If you have a number of okay mics, use em all. Variety helps in this case.

 

[RAMI]

What a lot of people dont realize is the large amount of outboard goodies that were developed by the staff in the EMI Technical Engineering Department....most because of the Beatles and their experimentation into sounds. Theres no amount of kudos that can cover their groundbreaking in this case.

Didn't they have this "Magic Alex" or "Crazy Alex" dude that invented a bunch of weird gadgets or something????

 

[PhilGood]

All trax with the same mic?

I notice you didn't say which mic that would be.....

If it's a SM57, then no, please dont.

If it's a Royer or Coles ribbon then it's worth a try.....

Someone posted a recording here a couple years ago that was recorded entirely with SM-57s. It sounded really damn good if I recall, so don't say it can't or shouldn't be done.

 

[PhilGood]

I did a search and came up with this one:

http://www.surecords.com/index.php?section=artists_detail.php?id=4

All done with a 57.

 

[RAMI]

I know the drums for "Sarah Smile" by Hall and Oates are all 57's.

 

[tc4b]

I know the drums for "Sarah Smile" by Hall and Oates are all 57's.

I'm confused... is this an argument for or against?

 

[RAMI]

I'm confused... is this an argument for or against?

For or against what?????

What the hell are you talking about???? I'm stating a fact. It was done with 57's on the drums. How you see an argument in there, I can't understand.

At least you did admit you're confused.

 

[solaris1982]

I'm pretty sure he's saying that he doesn't enjoy the example PhilGood posted.

I didn't think it was so bad, myself. Definitely shows that using the same mic for all things on an album is do-able.

 

[Weasel9992]

Someone who knows what he/she is doing could definitely do an entire recording with a bunch of SM57's and some great preamps. No doubt about it. The skill would come in as you're trying to work around the areas where the 57 isn't at its best (drum OH's for example). On the other hand, a Royer R121 will do just about anything and sound amazing...drums, bass, vocals, guitars, everything. Fewer shortcomings, less work in mixing.

The bottom line is, sure you could do it all with one mic. Which mic it is will determine how hard the job is.

Frank

 

[tc4b]

For or against what?????

What the hell are you talking about???? I'm stating a fact. It was done with 57's on the drums. How you see an argument in there, I can't understand.

At least you did admit you're confused.

For or against recording everything with a 57. Like, Is "Hall and Oates did it" a reason to DO that thing, or a reason to AVOID doing it? It's a joke.

 

[yetipur]

WOW!! Thanks for all the great feedback. By the the way, my mikes are:

Lawson L47
M-Audio Luna
MXL 990
SM-57
SM-58

and my pres..... Avalon VT737sp
Presonus Eureka


Thanks to all!!!

 

[dualflip]

But then again they just happened to live in a time where they had the best recording equipment ever made(all tube consoles, tube compressors, and tube tracking machines) and the best mikes ever made(Neumann U47, and U67)

Thnx

Who said tubes are better than solid-state?... im not saying solid-state sounds better, it depends on which tube gear, or solid state gear, the quality of the components, the design, and what are you using it for (example: recording a heavy electric guitar vs recording an acoustic one....). Im just tired of all of this "tube automatically sounds better, because its warm crap", WTF???, WARM???, i hate that word, i mean the use that is given for these days..., Neve = transistors + transformers all solid state, cold??? i dont think so....

 

[darrin_h2000]

Im pretty sure the beatles used Ribbon mikes and the Ampex Preamps mostly.