Single-Mic Recording

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Using a single microphone, or one stereo mic, to record a musical performance all at once without any overdubbing can result in a recording that is very compelling to the listener. When everyone is performing in the same space at the same time, usually without headphones, there is a musical interaction that occurs that we often lose in the typical session using lots of mics, extreme isolation, and many overdubs.

It’s not for every song or composition. Some music benefits from the usual recording approach. But with a group of players who can play in perfect balance, the result can be amazing, both musically and sonically.

It’s an approach that pushes your engineering talents to their limit. You are doing all the tracking and mixing at the same time, with no ability to change things later.

It is also very demanding of the performers, because if anyone makes a mistake, the take is ruined. But I think the results are worth it, for those situations where it makes sense.

In this episode, I describe several approaches to single-point pickup recording, including a hybrid method that combine single-point with traditional techniques. Some examples can be heard in the releases on the Outer Marker Records label. Here is the link where you can listen to examples:

https://www.nativedsd.com/label/outer-marker-records/

And here is the link to a video that compares both a single-point pickup plus the traditional multi-mic, multi-track method, recorded simultaneously:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eLP1G4LnM0

 

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