MXL 990's on electric guitar amps?

tl32

New member
Here's my story. I had been micing my 5 piece band using AKG C-1000s on drums, akg bass drum mic, sm57 on lead guitar amp, sm57 on rhythm guitar amp. Bass and vocals are direct.

Then one day I decided to try a band members mxl 990s for drum overheads. They ended up sounded much better then the C-1000's, except with more bleed through. They mad the toms sound louder and fuller, making up for a 3 mic only drum setup. They added more rightness and crispness to the cymbal sound and were all together less harsh and warmer than the C-1000's.

And then a sale at guitar center happens, and the band member bought 6 of them. Now we have been recording with the drum overheads, and the guitar amps close miced with mxl 990 condenser mics.

Again we see an apparent improvement in our recordings. The guitars and drums sound better dry than the 57's, but they pick up the whole band and make mixing harder.

Now I'm better at mixing, and think I might be able to get a better sound overall with the 57's.

Next recording session, is going to be the first time we played in 3 weeks, and wont be three more until the next one. So I'm trying to do some research and put some thought into it.

Really, I think some songs might be better for the 57's and some for the condensers.

Is it crazy to mic everything in a live recording with large diaphragm condenser mics?

It's tough, because I already have the drums miced with large diaphragm condensers, unless I want to use the C1000's, which I don't really like so much comparatively. But I'm considering using C1000s again, for drum overheads, and 57's for guitar amps.

Another idea I had in mind would be to, close mic the cymbals and drums with multiple 57's and run them into a mixer, and out stereo into my interface.

Any thoughts? I know it depends on the music and sound your going for. If it's a bad habit to go this way I want to switch.
 
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Is it crazy to mic everything in a live recording with large diaphragm condenser mics?

It's tough, because I already have the drums miced with large diaphragm condensers, unless I want to use the C1000's, which I don't really like so much comparatively. But I'm considering using C1000s again, for drum overheads, and 57's for guitar amps.

Another idea I had in mind would be to, close mic the cymbals and drums with multiple 57's and run them into a mixer, and out stereo into my interface.

Any thoughts? I know it depends on the music and sound your going for. If it's a bad habit to go this way I want to switch.

It's not crazy, if you don't mind some bleed. I assume you mean just for amps and drums though, right? You don't want an ldc on a vocalist!
 
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