Another mic Q???

[anotherfreak]

Ok,

https://youtu.be/taQPSMZYhJs

Can you really get a performance to sound that good with one mic?

What is THAT mic?

Bill

[anotherfreak]

I do realize there could be some "talent" involved here as well

[JohnnyB]

8 minutes ago, anotherfreak said:

I do realize there could be some "talent" involved here as well

... and room acoustics, and maybe another mic or two outside the camera frame.

[anotherfreak]

Also, it could be a really nice camera picking up the "room" as well. The sound is pretty consistent through the  different camera angles, 

It really is great production, and a great performer. 

[scottcald]

Sure it's possible.  Mic placement is the key.  Notice it's angled down so to better blend between him and the guitar.  

Back in the old days when that's all you could record with, they'd mix by moving players closer or further from the mic.  

[Teh]

Sure can.  Glen Phillips from Toad The Wet Sprocket was working with a friend who had built a recording space with killer acoustics.  They ended doing an entire album using a single, strategically placed Cascade X-15 stereo mic.  Here's an example...

 

 

 

[anotherfreak]

THAT IS AWESOME!!!

I've seen bluegrass acts do the same, and it takes an enormous amount of skill on your instrument. To really control your volume and dynamics like that takes a lot of practice. You can't go back and fix anything. I got a lot of respect for tracking like that, and I bet the "feel" is so much better because of it.

[specialk]

Some great stuff there!

 

[anotherfreak]

any ideas on the mic, the more I learn about mics, the more I really DON'T know

[mathman]

 I don't have any really nice Mics except for some older shure's that are pretty good for vocals. But I recorded our last reunion get together jam session with just a single large diaphragm Mic and an iPhone.    Overall I think it sounds pretty good. At least it is fairly accurate of our playing.

[TBP]

Single mic setups, especially with stereo mics, can be astoundingly good.

I once considered getting a live to two track recording setup based on using a well placed stereo mic in a good space, like a barn, as some of the best recordings I've heard were done that way.  It's more common in classical and some jazz, but Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Sessions is one of the better known recordings.  I've also heard "quick demo setups" with minimal micing that sounded great, such as a drumset recording with only a well placed overhead mic. (The engineer who did the drum demo lamented that "it was a stereo world" otherwise he'd use that setup in standard recordings.) 

The issue with recording that way is that it's demanding.  There's little to no room for overdubbing nor "fixing it in the mix," so placement, performance, everything has to be right.  When they are right, though, the sound can be terrific.  It doesn't really lend itself to rock recordings, however, or anything where instruments/vocals have very different loudness levels. 

 

[tomteriffic]

9 hours ago, anotherfreak said:

any ideas on the mic, the more I learn about mics, the more I really DON'T know

It's hard to say, really.  That form factor is from the legendary Neumann U-47, (which would have a different connector and output cable) but it's used by many a manufacturer, from $200 Chinese knockoffs, to tweaky-boutiquey $7,000 or more a pop companies.  My guess is that this is one of the latter.

[Bloozguy]

It's a Peluso 22 251...a modern adaptation of the old Telefunken ELA M251. I've heard great things about Peluso microphones and this one is only $1,764.00 MSRP.

An original Telefunken can fetch upwards of $30K and the reissues are $10K and a lot of folks think they suck.