If you could only use one mic to record an album

High end: U67

Less high end: I think the Soyuz 023 sounds above average to great on a ton of sources

I think I would go with something pretty linear so I would probably pick a Schoeps CMC6, and then the capsule I would pick depending on the quality of the room I'm recording in.

I feel like I could make a great sounding record just with that mic and wouldn't paint myself in too much of a corner.

+1 for the OC818.
Or the 441.

Curious which one would stack better.

It would be nice to be tricky and have a stereo mic at least. I honestly wouldn’t have any complaints using my Vanguard V44. I’ve done plenty of projects using mostly Vanguard stuff, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. I’ve done enough mic review videos at this point where I’ve done a whole song using just one mic. It’s limiting in some ways, but it’s also made me realize it’s not as limiting as some people assume when we have these hypothetical discussion.

I’m currently working on a new mic with Derek at Vanguard that’s probably going to end up being my “one” mic. I got to review his crazy stereo C24 clone, and we started talking about a mono version. Although it’s definitely going to be in the C12 ballpark and “inspired”, we spent last weekend doing a lot of modifications and trying some new stuff. Keep an eye out for that one in the next few weeks, there going to be a lot of video content coming out on the development. It’s crazy all the things that mic is going to be able to do… Everything from C12, to taming the top end from 251 all the way to ribbon territory, as well as controlling THD at the tube. It’s going to be a fun one!

(best Redd Foxx/Fred Sanford Impersonation/Holds right hand against chest )
"I'm coming Elizabeth!"
Chris

So glad this is coming together!

Damn! I forgot about Elf Power. Great stuff. Thank you for reminding me to give this band another listen

Also…was it just a fun limitation to put on the project, or was there something in the songs that just made you say SM57 is “the sound”?

Like the other Elf Power records I’ve worked on, a great deal of the home demo recordings are incorporated into the final mixes, and all of those were made using 57s exclusively (into Fostex DMT-8VL digital multitrack recorders!)

When it came time to redo some of the vocals in the studio, none of my “big boy” mics (Flea 47/Soyuz 017/Tonelux JC37/etc.) suited Andrew’s voice as well as a 57 does (even my “big boy” dynamics failed me) so I just decided to use 57s, and I loved his acoustic sound on the demos so I used one there too, and eventually I just stuck to using that mic on everything. It gave the album the texture I was looking for, ultimately (and yes I know a lot of the tracks are blown out and over-compressed, but that was all intentional—my way of bringing a lo-fi band into the upper-mid-fi neighborhood!

KM184 or M930

I will say a mic I haven't tried yet  "Stager SR-1A". Have heard so many good things about it and can imagine that it could be the "one mic show" that would do the job perfectly. Have placed an order for the "SR-1A" from Stager which will arrive shortly. I have high expectations of that microphone!

To be fair, I was having some fun with choosing the U87ai - I probably wouldn't actually choose it, but I might be fine with it. I was really just wanting to see if the standard "elsewhere" flame wars would start :-)

Glad I'm not stuck with just one mic too!
-Chris