Inside the Studio: Nothing but the Mic

Over the past few years, I have come across a few studio cats recording sessions with just one microphone, as in, one microphone recording an entire ensemble at the same time. In another twist, I recently saw my buddy Bobby Dellarocco doing a whole session using a Sennheiser MD 421 mic. As in, multiple 421 mics used repeatedly—on every source.

My typical modus operandi is tracking a bunch of musicians playing in a room together simultaneously. That’s my comfort zone. But change could be a good thing. To quote the great English philosopher Ted Lasso, “I think that’s what it’s all about. Embracing change.” That got me thinking: Could I record a whole song featuring real instruments using just one or two mics only, into my Universal Audio Apollo Twin interface? This idea generated several questions: What mic(s) would it be? What kind of song could I do? How would I record the drums? What’s in the briefcase in Pulp Fi-tion? I came up with a plan to record a pop/rock song using real drums, bass, guitars, vocals, and some programmed keys/synths. Here’s how I did it; head to recordingmag.com/inside-the-studio to download the session and follow along at home.