If you could only use 6 mics.....

[tylerbcrawford]

So just for fun lets see what everyone has to say about this. You're recording a 5 piece rock band (gtr, bass, drums, keys/piano, vocs) and you're only allowed to bring 6 mics.

What would you choose? You get to use whatever other gear you want but only 6 mics. Ok we'll say that the SM57 is so classic you get it and 6 others to be fair (and one of those 6 is allowed to be a stereo pair of something ie: 5 mics and a stereo pair)

I want to see what mics everyone thinks are really versatile and maybe hear about some non conventional applications for certain mics.

[rob@SigmaDelta]

live tracking or not? that makes a huge difference.

[tylerbcrawford]

Hmmmm I guess non live tracking. I dunno if 6 would be enough for live trackin of a 5 piece.

[rob@SigmaDelta]

of course it is. assuming 2 guitars, bass, singer, drums.

2 57's on guitars
DI bass
Singer a sm58 + whatever you can get with good off axis rejection then make him sing towards the band. Re-record vocals later if needed
toss whatever is left on drums, gives ya 3 mics or so. 2 oh and a kick mic.

easy enough.

[EletrikGutar182]

DI Bass
DI Keys

1. 57 or 421 on Guitar (depends on style...)
2. (2) Neumann KMi 84 (vintage) Drum OH Stereo Pair
3. Beta 52 Kick
4. 57 Snare
5. Neumann 105 Vocals

I could get it all done with that...

Alex

[Mark]

Vocal: Beyerdynamic Soundstar MKII (M400)
Guitar: Electro-Voice 635A
Keyboard: Behringer ECM8000
Bass: Audio-Technica ATM25
Drums: Behringer ECM8000 (OH) and Beyerdynamic M99 (Kick).

[Chris_Meck]

so a '57 (guitar) plus 6 mics.

A pair of km 84's. (piano or organ)

A pair of U87's (OH's)


Bass direct

A Beta '52 (kick)

A U47 for the vocal.


Chris

[nacho459]

Drums, Kick = D12, OverHead = C12
Bass = 47FET
Guitar = C535
Piano = 2x Coles 4038
Vocals = SM57

[cgarges]

I'll bet I could be happy doing the whole thing with 6 AT4050s if I had to.

One vocalist?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Professor]

Chris, I was thinking the same thing when I saw this earlier this morning.
Seems the best idea would be to just get a half dozen of the most sonically neutral mics you can and then do any fine tuning with EQ. Yeah, I know that's kind of a dull response, but it is the most practical and flexible solution as it would cover the widest variety of instruments and styles.

Then again, wouldn't 6 U47s, or 6 C-12s be an even better solution to some folks?

I figured I would probably aim for some thing like the following, assuming that 5 plus a stereo pair idea.

A pair of AKG XL-II mics. They're new and I've not tried them, but I like the TLII, and these have a large, edge-terminated capsule with no transformer, 5 patterns, three pads, and three roll offs. That makes them about as flexible as you can get.

Next would probably be a pair of AT 4051s for me, because they are a neutral SDC that have a delightful sweetness while remaining quite neutral.

And then round out the package with an RE-20, an MD-421, and maybe an RCA 74b. (Could substitute in an LDC multi-pattern tube instead of the RCA depending on your tastes.)

I figure that gives you a pair of LDCs, a pair of SDCs, a large dynamic, smaller dynamic, and a small ribbon. That combination could be rearranged a hundred different ways depending on the instruments and style and would cover almost anything that might come in the door without sacrificing colors and textures from different microphones.

-Jeremy

[cgarges]

Then again, wouldn't 6 U47s, or 6 C-12s be an even better solution to some folks?

Not me. I'd rather do all that stuff with 4050s. Rock guitar? Piano? Rock kick drum (which is what I'd probably do if it were one vocalist)? Yep, I'd rather have the 4050s for that. If you're looking for versatility in a mic, the 4050 is hard to beat.

Maybe a bunch of FET 47s and a 4050 or two.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Professor]

I agree completely - that's why I own a pair of 4050s personally and have 4 more in the school studio. A total of 6, should I ever be faced with such a need.

-J

[Ronan]

I just did an album on a half inch 8 track using only for mics. The mics were:

Neuman U47, Shure KSM32, Shure Beta52 and Shure SM57.

We recorded bass, acoustic and electric guitar, drums, vox, percusssion, flute, digeridoo, gospel choir, percussion, fish market barkers, boat engines, 10 gallon wine vats...

[marqueemoon]

My mic experience is rather limited, but here are my choices for what it's worth:

Royer stereo ribbon (drum oh, piano, etc)
RE20 (kick, clean electric guitar, bass amp, vocal?)
635A (electric guitar, shakers, general stuff where ya want cool midrange and no proximity effect)
Earthworks SR77 (acoustic guitar, general acoustic instrument use)
U87 (vocal, general use)
Copperphone (gotta have a "weird" mic in there somewhere and these things are cool!)

[drumsound]

I'll bet I could be happy doing the whole thing with 6 AT4050s if I had to.

One vocalist?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Ive never done a record with only 4050s, but I'm pretty shure(pun intended) I've done records with only AT mics.