Recording Challenge #5 (One Condensor Mic!)

[JD01]

James,
That's pretty cool 1 mic jobbie. I kept think that I'd like to hear it in mono - don't know why. The percussion is OK but I think I'd like to heari t without it.

Nah, the hand percussion is shite. This is the no percussion version although this version also has a DI'd bass.
I've asked a mate of mine to put a Cajon on it. She's hoping to get around to it at some point over the next few days and I know she also sometimes records using a C1000S. I'm not gonna tell her what mic to use though, she's doing me a favour and I just want her to give me what she thinks sounds best as opposed to make her best effort with a C1000S.

There's a bit more reverb on the acoustics in this mix too which I really like.

D Mixo - No Percussion Mix.mp3

[liv_rong]

[mention]heatmiser[/mention] sounds great! Awesome sounds al laround and really dig your use of percussion!

[mention]JD01[/mention] I like this dude, and I actually was going to comment on how I liked the percussion elements and was sad to see a version without. I thought it fit the vibe nicely actually.

[Tadpui]

[mention]JD01[/mention] well now I'm curious to hear the version with hand percussion

I think this sounds very good. That mic did a great job on the acoustic guitars, they're record-worthy. Cool chord progression and rhythm as well. Nice job!

[vomitHatSteve]

Nah, the hand percussion is shite. This is the no percussion version although this version also has a DI'd bass.

Is a DI cheating?

I say this 'cause I was considering trying to mic my bass strings directly to see how that panned out.

[liv_rong]

Yes it is cheating. But you're only cheating yourselves!

[JD01]

Nah, the hand percussion is shite. This is the no percussion version although this version also has a DI'd bass.

Is a DI cheating?

I say this 'cause I was considering trying to mic my bass strings directly to see how that panned out.

Yeah, the condenser mic bass is on the hand percussion version. I suppose I could just swap them

[musicturtle]

[mention]JD01[/mention] Good job man.

This is a different feel from what I have heard of your music.

Really like the chord progression. The electric tone and style reminds me of Joe Satriani.

[JD01]

The electric tone and style reminds me of Joe Satriani.

Oh, fuck a duck. I'm just going to jump into a quarry.

Cheers though, mate. I like recording acoustic guitars.

[Lt. Bob]

lol ..... yeah, wouldn't want to be compared to an excellent guitarist

[JD01]

lol ..... yeah, wouldn't want to be compared to an excellent guitarist

Yeah, he is an excellent player! But I find his music unbearable!

[Greg_L]

OK, here's my attempt at the one mic recording challenge.

My mic is an AKG C1000S, so its a half decent condenser.

Reason for this mic choice is that I like the sound of it on my acoustic guitar so that meant I had to make it work on my electric guitar and bass too.
I'm guessing the mic was about 30 - 50cm off the front of my cab - I didn't really spend any time considering placement.
I just left the mic where it was an plugged my bass straight into my guitar amp to record the bass - I didn't bother fiddling with any settings.

Hand percussion is a shaky egg and tambourine from a child's percussion set.
Haven't written any lyrics, maybe I will at some point.

C1000S Only Mix.mp3

Ha you should record your bass like that all the time. Sounds good. I'm sorry, I really am, but I agree with the Satriani comment. It does sound like that. It's like Joe Satriani jumped in on a Janes Addiction acoustic session.

[JD01]

OK, here's my attempt at the one mic recording challenge.

My mic is an AKG C1000S, so its a half decent condenser.

Reason for this mic choice is that I like the sound of it on my acoustic guitar so that meant I had to make it work on my electric guitar and bass too.
I'm guessing the mic was about 30 - 50cm off the front of my cab - I didn't really spend any time considering placement.
I just left the mic where it was an plugged my bass straight into my guitar amp to record the bass - I didn't bother fiddling with any settings.

Hand percussion is a shaky egg and tambourine from a child's percussion set.
Haven't written any lyrics, maybe I will at some point.

C1000S Only Mix.mp3

Ha you should record your bass like that all the time. Sounds good. I'm sorry, I really am, but I agree with the Satriani comment. It does sound like that. It's like Joe Satriani jumped in on a Janes Addiction acoustic session.

Haha, Satriani on a Jane's Addiction session. I can hear that in it actually. Just listening again now after reading these comments. The phaser distortion sound I've gone for is a bit satch! I was going for a kind of hippy space-rock sound.

The bass sound is better than I was expecting. One of the reasons I DI my bass though is cos my noisy recording time is quite limited. I can get drums and bass done in relative quiet.

[heatmiser]

[mention]JD01[/mention] - Thanks for the kind words! It seems like bass through the guitar amp is working pretty good. I'm glad I was able to get it all to come together reasonably well.

[mention]rayc[/mention] - Haha! Yeah, I don't know that tame impala has ever come up in our conversations before, but I think I would have guessed you wouldn't like them. They are probably my favorite band of this young century (and both of my kids' too!). Thanks for listening though.

[mention]liv_rong[/mention] - Thank you for checking it out and for the encouraging words!

[heatmiser]

Nah, the hand percussion is shite. This is the no percussion version although this version also has a DI'd bass.
I've asked a mate of mine to put a Cajon on it. She's hoping to get around to it at some point over the next few days and I know she also sometimes records using a C1000S. I'm not gonna tell her what mic to use though, she's doing me a favour and I just want her to give me what she thinks sounds best as opposed to make her best effort with a C1000S.

There's a bit more reverb on the acoustics in this mix too which I really like.

D Mixo - No Percussion Mix.mp3

I dunno...I listened to the first version just now, and I thought the percussion sounded quite nice and added a little sparkle, but then I read how you felt about it and listened to the second version, and I'm torn.

I think the acoustic guitars and the bass sound awesome, and the interplay and rhythm between them probably doesn't require percussion - but I kind of liked it. You should splice the amped bass onto the 2nd version and see how that sounds...best of both worlds? I don't think the DI bass sounds bad, but in comparison, it has far less character to it imo.

Although I've never actually heard Satriani play guitar before, I am familiar with that sort of style and tone. I get what you were going for here, and I think it's close, but maybe just a little too hard rockish for the backing parts? Not sure, but I think a different, mellower or weirder lead sound might have worked better?

Anyway, sorry for rambling. It was a one mic challenge, and you have met that challenge! Well done.

[JD01]

No worries, mate. I did try it with a quite a strong chorus effect on it and less gain... But it just too out of tune.

Maybe it could do with a touch less gain though.

[Greg_L]

Well I just realized I inadvertently broke the rules on this one. I used a ribbon mic. Didn't even think of it. I got "use only one mic" on the brain and didn't remember that it's supposed to be a condenser mic. Sorry, but it's done, here it is anyway, and I aint redoing it.

So what I dun is record drums, bass, and guitar mono. Single track each. I did multi-tracks of vocals. Then mixed it totally mono, did a lot of shit with compression and tape saturation simulation, then added stereo reverbs to everything for space.

Blitzkrieg Bop.mp3

[Tadpui]

Well I just realized I inadvertently broke the rules on this one. I used a ribbon mic. Didn't even think of it. I got "use only one mic" on the brain and didn't remember that it's supposed to be a condenser mic. Sorry, but it's done, here it is anyway, and I aint redoing it.

So what I dun is record drums, bass, and guitar mono. Single track each. I did multi-tracks of vocals. Then mixed it totally mono, did a lot of shit with compression and tape saturation simulation, then added stereo reverbs to everything for space.

Blitzkrieg Bop.mp3

Awesome! That ribbon did a great job on everything. I hear on this mix what I heard on my own where I put the C414 into figure-8 for the electric guitars. It's got kind of a phasey thing happening just like I got on my guitars. I hear it most on the cymbals, like kind of a wash. But yet I can still hear the definition to the cymbals. But it's also got ambience, and the character of that mic does justice to all of the instruments. They just fit together, and it's terrific. I'm quickly becoming a fan of a ribbon for drum overhead or just general vintage sounding drums. That low tom! It's just old-school sounding and a little lo-fi. I eat that up.

Hats off to you on the vocals here. Those are some solid vocals!

[Greg_L]

Awesome! That ribbon did a great job on everything. I hear on this mix what I heard on my own where I put the C414 into figure-8 for the electric guitars. It's got kind of a phasey thing happening just like I got on my guitars. I hear it most on the cymbals, like kind of a wash. But yet I can still hear the definition to the cymbals. But it's also got ambience, and the character of that mic does justice to all of the instruments. They just fit together, and it's terrific. I'm quickly becoming a fan of a ribbon for drum overhead or just general vintage sounding drums. That low tom! It's just old-school sounding and a little lo-fi. I eat that up.

Hats off to you on the vocals here. Those are some solid vocals!

Thanks bud! I've been jammin this song for...at least 35 years...it was pretty easy.

I just wanted something that I knew I could play well for this challenge. I also knew I wanted to make it mono and old-school-ish. And I had the ribbon in mind for this for a while which is probably why I mentally blocked out the rule that it had to be a condenser.

The best part for me is the guitar. I'll pat myself on the back. I think that tone fucking rips. I'd take that tone on every single song I ever do again until I die.

[vomitHatSteve]

Yeah, the guitars sound good. The single mic was not kind to your cymbals. It's good, but - unsurprisingly - not as good as your normal ramones-esque recordings are when you have your full toolkit.

[Greg_L]

Yeah, the guitars sound good. The single mic was not kind to your cymbals. It's good, but - unsurprisingly - not as good as your normal ramones-esque recordings are when you have your full toolkit.

Yeah I should have swapped my cymbals around but I left the kit in "live" configuration and those cymbals are brutally loud. Particularly the one in the chorus bit. It's a Paiste RUDE, and it's every bit as rude as it's name says it is. There's no mic placement that can balance that thing. Trying to find kick/snare/hi-hat balance was more important. I should have just used a different cymbal for that part.

A new set of "recording" cymbals is on my want list anyway. Smaller, dryer, that would be better for just recording.