Shure 545

[Good Friend]

I am going to record some songs on an 8 track reel to reel using only one microphone (545) and one preamp (60s tube) and one compressor (vintage optical) and mix it all to one mono sound with a vintage spring tank. I had other newer mics, but when ever i used them they "ruined" the sound to me. They were like 300 to 600 dollars mics but i didnt dig them. They made things sound too clear to me and too modern. Now please realize i am semi new and also please realize I want my recordings to sound like they are good 60s garage band demos. Not abbey road 60s stuff. Homegrown for sure. I didnt like hearing stereo mics on drums or acoustic guitars. But when i put one old mic up and drive the tape hard it was nowhere near modern pro sounding, but to me it was closer to what i want than everything else i tried. Now i know that using one mic and one preamp is "stupid" and "lame" and no real artist could ever make a great sound without having 12 mint u47s, but i have a few realistic questions. What type of sounds and problems in mixing can i expect with this setup? I am not against using other mics but i just dont like condensers for my songs. What are the characteristics i should be listening for in a one mic one preamp setup? Will it be uselessly flat and boring? Because so far my test recordings sound great to me. Authenticly old. I dont dig modern production or sound. I want it homegrown because it IS homegrown. Any advice or help is useful to me. But i can already tell people are going to shit on me and tell me how bad i suck and how dumb i am. But know this... I LIKE mono, i LIKE one mic drums. So insulting me is useless because ive heard modern digital music made with tons of expensive stuff and i dont ever dig the production.

 

[mshilarious]

I think many here might be envious of the vintage gear.

I would suggest looking for one more mic, the EV635a, which is a classic dynamic omni. Use that to capture the entire band, use your 545 on the singer.

If you are the whole band, and therefore you need to multitrack, I think you'll still be happy having the two mics to choose between. The omni will be a better mic on the drums, for example, while still retaining the low-fi vibe.

 

[notCardio]

If you've tried it and you like it, don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Just let us hear some of it. And if you become dissatisfied with it, you can always send that nasty old 545 to me.

 

[tourettes5139]

Now i know that using one mic and one preamp is "stupid" and "lame" and no real artist could ever make a great sound without having 12 mint u47s

Says who??? I would LOVE to try recording some stuff with that method, all vintage gear and stuff. That would be really cool. Let us know how it goes! I really want to hear it.

 

[Good Friend]

hear is the thing

I would WANT to do it with a bunch of old u47s and la2as and some crazy old rca tube compressors, but that stuff costs money. Which i WOULD spend if i had it. But i feel like music has lost its sense of realism. You know, rock in the 60s was like a beautiful girl with a wart on her face. You learn to love the wart because the rest is so pretty. People these days (i think) try to cause too much mystique and image for their own good. I say be what you are the best you can because it will be great to people who really dig real music. Any anyone who doesnt dig it will probably move on to the next fad anyway in a month or year. For anyone who might be interested later when im done im going to post some stuff i recorded IF its good enough. I am not into writing bad songs and putting them out just to say i "did something". Ill be using a tascam 8 track reel, an old consumer grade set of tube preamps pulled from a reel to reel deck, a spinet piano, a compact duo, a tapco reverb tank, a drumkit, a 12 string phantom guitar, a bass, a generic student sitar, a 1970 gibson acoustic 12 string, and an old fender super reverb amp. Im not going to use any effects except the ones i can home make or generate using the reverb tank, and a second multispeed reel to reel deck. No guitar pedals, no fake flangers or delays. Not that i hate those things, i just have had all that stuff and its a distraction for me. I found that instead of phasing a guitar part, youre better off just arranging the guitar voicings to sound like somethings moving more. Things like that, minimalism, will bring out the tune everytime if it is there to begin with. This is getting off mic topic, but i just thought id say this for the people who said they want to hear the end result of my one mic recordings. I was thinking if i add another mic possibly an old reslo or some other ribbon. Those tube preamps have a PISSLOAD of gain in them. I am 25 years old.

 

[mshilarious]

I was thinking if i add another mic possibly an old reslo or some other ribbon. Those tube preamps have a PISSLOAD of gain in them. I am 25 years old.

You could certainly do that. However that might not be the cheapest option; vintage ribbons that are functional and sound good aren't cheap. Much of what you find for cheap might need new ribbons. However, there are finds out there, so good luck hunting I have a couple old Shures that I reribboned myself.