If you HAD to use one dynamic mic for everything...

K so I've heard of the "SM57 challenge" where you mic all parts of a song with a 57, but we should all try to do it with the mics we've said we would stick with. That would be epic.
 
guitaristic said:
K so I've heard of the "SM57 challenge" where you mic all parts of a song with a 57, but we should all try to do it with the mics we've said we would stick with. That would be epic.
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Start up a new thread perhaps? A "songs recorded entirely with a single microphone" thread... Or you know "One Mic Challenge" if you're not into stupidly long thread titles. XD Could be interesting to see, hear, and perhaps join in with. =]
 
You can mic ANYTHING with one dynamic mic. The more appropriate question is "what would it sound like?".
 
Bobbsy said:
You can mic ANYTHING with one dynamic mic. The more appropriate question is "what would it sound like?".
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Gabriel Roth, from the dap-kings and daptone records (recorded and played on amy winehouse's 'rehab') records his drums with a single Shure 55 - the "Elvis" mic.
 
elbandito said:
Gabriel Roth, from the dap-kings and daptone records (recorded and played on amy winehouse's 'rehab') records his drums with a single Shure 55 - the "Elvis" mic.
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Now that's cool, though I do suspect some kind of drum layering to get more low end. That or more emphasis on the bass.
 
michaelst57 said:
I would definitely have to say the SM57. And I actually did record a song with a few 57's once and it turned out pretty good.
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I won't disagree that the SM57 is a good mic. Everybody MUST have one of these in their collection. It is pretty good for a lot of things, but not great on any of them (except for close mic'ing snare). It's good for a voice mic for a public speaker and is okay for instruments (but it totally sucks on kick drum, no matter who will disagree, it sucks). If you had nothing else then you could certainly get by with it, but it wouldn't be my first choice.
 
kidkage said:
Can I mic a drum kit with one dynamic mic?
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Personally, I'd use the single mic to sample each drum and cymbal, and MIDI trigger the beat in. But even a single room mic for the whole kit could work. Especially if that single mic happened to be the perfect mic for that setting.
 
I think the room and how the kit sounded in said room would be more important than the mic used to record it all with.
 
To my ears, the drums sound wonderful in the room.
One SM81 picks it up well. I wonder if I could just put the dynamic in that position?

I think this is how I'm going to do it:
Room mic the kit, and start playing something.
Once I've got a drum track built, I'll mic up my Peavey Vypr with it and put some guitar on. Probably run bass through the peavey as well.
Then vocals.
So I'll try to write something just for this. Maybe it can get me out of the rut im stuck in.

I also might sample my drums like mentioned (kick and snare at least) and trigger those for some layering.

I'm excited!

I think I might film it all.
 
elban said:
Gabriel Roth, from the dap-kings and daptone records (recorded and played on amy winehouse's 'rehab') records his drums with a single Shure 55 - the "Elvis" mic.
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IK Obi said:
Now that's cool, though I do suspect some kind of drum layering to get more low end. That or more emphasis on the bass.
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It's all about placement. Here's a pic of how Gabriel Roth miked his kit for the Amy Winehouse sessions:

Daptone_03.jpg
 
Of course that will work. Back in the day, big bands were recorded with only a few mics and very often only one. I've gotten some really great live recordings (worthy of publishing) with a stereo hand held digital recorder. It's just much easier to master and mix when you have more mics and tracks and you can isolate and augment. I try to keep that to a minimum because I really like the feeling of a live session, but that means all of the musicians have to really be in the zone to get a good recording.
There are some that will argue that the ability to isolate tracks and multitrack recordings have made musicians sloppier and they no longer play as well together live. I'm not sure about that allegation, but I can see it happening.
I will say this: I would rather have an exceptional performance captured simply than an over-processed one.

Now you all have me thinking that I need to go out and get myself another sm55. I haven't used one in almost 30 years. They were good mics as I remember.
 
It's also about how you want your drums to sound. The common "big rock" drum sound is actually pretty artificial compared to what you hear when listening to an unmiked kit--but it's what many people want in their recordings.

So, yeah, a single mic on a drum kit can sound very much like what you hear in the room--but it won't sound the same as the heavily miked and processed sound that is so common today.
 
Bobbsy said:
It's also about how you want your drums to sound. The common "big rock" drum sound is actually pretty artificial compared to what you hear when listening to an unmiked kit--but it's what many people want in their recordings.
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Yeah. It's funny how processed "un-processed sounding" drums are.
Drums don't sound like that.
 
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