RCA 77-DX

Producer Vance Powell - “On Blunderbuss I also used the Neve 33609 and RCA BA6A and an Ampex MX35 four–channel tube mixer to record the drums, but these sessions happened so quickly that I did not have a lot of time to set things up. There was not a lot of upright bass this time, but when there was one, I’d use an RCA 44 and something higher up like the RCA BK5A [cardioid ribbon mic]. There was an African drum on ‘Would You Fight For My Love?’, which had an AEA R92, electric bass would have been DI and a Neumann U67 on the amp, with maybe some compression from the [Fairchild] 670. I recorded Jack’s acoustic guitar with an RCA 77DX, and his electric almost always goes through his 1963 Fender Vibroverb in front of which I placed a U67, which went into the Neve 1073 desk and then straight to tape. I did not record any of Jack’s vocals, other than on the song ‘Just One Drink’ because that was done entirely live. I used a Shure SM57 or 58 on his vocals for that, and Josh recorded the backing vocals.”

This ribbon mic was picked by Howe (music producer) that worked with Tom Waits from his first album Closing time even Blue Valentine, Heartattack and Vine and Bounced Checks. He picked this mic for the reason that Tom spat a lot while singing and popped many mics. The 77 doesn't require a pop filter. Also Tom liked being up close with the mic, so while he sat at his piano, the mic was hung above him.

this item can be seen at 1:13

Mentioned in this Facebook post by SugarHill Recording Studios. > RCA released the 77 DX in 1954. This gem of a mic has a very dynamic frequency response depending on the angle in which it is positioned. It has recorded countless legends including Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and more!! It is still widely used today especially for recording Brass instruments. Come try it for yourself.

Mentioned in this Facebook post by SugarHill Recording Studios. > RCA released the 77 DX in 1954. This gem of a mic has a very dynamic frequency response depending on the angle in which it is positioned. It has recorded countless legends including Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and more!! It is still widely used today especially for recording Brass instruments. Come try it for yourself.

“My mic pres are… let me walk to my rack and shine a light so I can have a look… I have API 500-series mic pres, and two Neve 1073LBs and my two overhead and two kick mics go through my four Helios Type 69s. The overheads then go through a Manley Vari Mu limiter/compressor, and I have another Altec 1567a mixer which I send my two snare mics through before they go through a Urei 1176. I also use a distant Beyerdynamic ribbon mic on the drums, which goes through a Standard Audio Level-Or, and an important part of the drum sound on Sia’s record came from an **RCA 77 ribbon**, placed just in front of the kick."

I also have an old RCA ribbon mic that I like to throw out of phase intentionally with the Sennheiser.

This mic was used to record the whole of "Gon' Boogaloo", according to the album's liner notes.

Mentioned in this Facebook post by SugarHill Recording Studios. > RCA released the 77 DX in 1954. This gem of a mic has a very dynamic frequency response depending on the angle in which it is positioned. It has recorded countless legends including Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and more!! It is still widely used today especially for recording Brass instruments. Come try it for yourself.

Visible in this photo of Carmichael.

Mentioned in this Facebook post by SugarHill Recording Studios. > RCA released the 77 DX in 1954. This gem of a mic has a very dynamic frequency response depending on the angle in which it is positioned. It has recorded countless legends including Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and more!! It is still widely used today especially for recording Brass instruments. Come try it for yourself.

Visible in this [ca. 1955](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/american-rock-and-roll-singer-bill-haley-at-a-microphone-news-photo/155464562) this photo of Haley. > American rock and roll singer Bill Haley (1925 - 1981), at a microphone, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Visible in this photo of Bradley. It is most likely the one at Daptone Records' recording studios, which was mentioned by producer Gabriel Roth in this June 2008 *Sound on Sound* article. > "There's an old–school feel to the studio, but it's by no means some kind of vintage museum," Roth states. In fact, the gear list is as much serendipitous as it is calculated: there's a newish Rode NT1A large–diaphragm condenser mic, a classic RCA DX77, and an assortment of cheap Radio Shack microphones cohabitating in the mic closet, while an Ampeg Gemini guitar amp made its way to the studio when it literally bumped into Roth as it was being tossed out into a dumpster near a building renovation.

> Mentioned in this October 11, 2016 *Electronic Musician* article. These days he uses three mics on the drums, which, most people would still think of as a pretty minimalist setup. “We usually have an RCA 77DX or an Altec 639 pretty far overhead,” he says. “About three feet or so above the kit, kind of going for a Motown type of sound. And then a kick and a snare mic. We have a small ribbon mic that we put on the kick. It’s an Altec, like the little brother to the 639B, the 671B. We call it the “Mini Bird Cage.” We don’t put it right in front of the kick, but we’ll put it in that spot off to the side of the kick where you might get a little from the bottom of the snare drum and an indirect kick drum sound. Then also an overhead, and a mic pretty much on the snare drum—on top, to blend in, kind of facing away from the hi-hat, just facing the snare, and trying to only get the crack from the snare. And the cymbals and tom toms are kind of in focus because of the overhead, and we have control over the kick and snare.”