What are your favorite mics for guitar amplifiers?

J

Johnny Don't!

New member
Hello to all the knowledgeable fellow studio gear enthusiasts. I'd love some input on your preferred microphones for mic'ing guitar amplifiers. I'll split my inquiry into two parts. Feel free to answer either or both. Any & all levels of experience are welcomed, as long as you're not mark1971a. If you are, please do not contribute. :facepalm:

Let's start by eliminating the always trustworthy Shure SM57 where the first part is concerned. I do so not because I dislike it; it's an industry standard & quite possibly the most commonly used mic in front of a guitar amp because it does its job very well. I ask that we eliminate it from part 1 because it's the obvious answer. ;)

1. Please name your preferred mic when tracking a guitar amp. Any price range; any brand; and any kind. Then please explain why you like it. I'd really like to hear from folks who use mics like the Sennheiser 609; Sennheiser MD421; Beyerdynamic M88; and the AT AE3000, but that does NOT mean other microphones can't be included. Just no SM57s here; see part B below.​

B. I've often heard that a great technique to achieve stellar results when mic'ing a guitar amp is to use an SM57 in combination with a different mic. Do you agree with that? If not, why? If so, please name your preferred mic for use in tandem with an SM57 on the same amp and explain why you like them together.​

I haven't contributed many posts or replies to this forum; 95% of the time, someone else has already posted what I would've said. Point is, there are lots of people on this forum whose knowledge entirely surpasses & eclipses mine; not to sound egotistical or anything, but that's saying a lot. So please, all of you vastly knowledgeable contributors, help me out here. Give me some advice & your two cents. I truly appreciate your input and thank you in advance for taking the time to share your knowledge & experience.

-Johnny
 
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Well, my answer depends a bit on what style of music we're talking about. If it's thrash metal at high level with lots of distortion, despite what you want to hear, it'll almost certainly be the dreaded SM57. Sorry, but that's it.

However, if things quiet down a bit, I'll often drag an old ATM63HE out of the mic box. It's a mic that was billed by AT as "use anywhere you would put an SM57" but, to my ear, it has slightly less mid and more clarity in the upper ranges. As an example, I recorded a cover of Under the Bridge for my daughter and the ATM63HE worked really well on that style--but see below.

If the style gets any lighter, I often move to an SDC a bit farther from the cabinet--usually an AKG C451 or C391.

...and that brings me to your second question. Yeah, I'll often use two mics, generally a dynamic close up and a condenser farther away. Mixing in a bit of condenser can add a bit more clarity and more "air" to certain types of music.

As always, it's down to what things sound like on the day.
 
My beyer m160 is by far my favourite mic for electric guitar amps, I also have a shure 545-SD which to my ears sounds better than an sm57 but not by miles, the sm57 has lower a noise floor though and sounds a bit more modern. I recently got a cloudlifter cl-1 and have been impressed once again how good the sm57 can sound, it was the first mic I bought and it still works to this day, over 50 gigs later, it's been dropped, battered and stood on many times and still works over a decade later...need I say more really?
 
For live I always go with the Sennheiser E609.
Recording ... The list is endless. All dependent of the situation.
 
R121 (or FatHead if need be), 57.
I'm new to the e-906 and I've only used it twice so far on a couple live recording gigs so I haven't realy sussed it out that much.
 
Wow! Lots of great info here. Thanks very much to all who contributed. Some of you mentioned microphones I'm not even sure I've heard of before. Awesome.

Just for clarity, I love SM57s on guitar amps so it's definitely not a "dreaded" mic; I was just looking for some outside-the-box mics, and you guys certainly provided that. So thanks again. Gonna do some research on all the mics you mentioned. And I love the idea of using a Cloudlifter on a mic in front a guitar amp; I got the CL-1 about two months ago but I've only used it on my SM7B and my RE20 when tracking vocals. Definitely gonna try it on my SM57 next time I track geetars.

Thanks again! You guys are the best EVER. :thumbs up:
 
Bobbsy said:
I'll often use two mics, generally a dynamic close up and a condenser farther away. Mixing in a bit of condenser can add a bit more clarity and more "air" to certain types of music.
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Quick question regarding this: I assume that when you say the condenser is "farther away," you only mean 6-8 inches or so, right? In my experience, that can cause phase issues; what technique do you use to suss that out? Do you go all-out superdork and measure the temperature of the room to determine the speed of sound (as it is dependent on temperature) and calculate how many milliseconds you need to shift the condenser track based on the distance of the capsule in relation to the capsule of the SM57? Or do you just use the waveform in yer DAW to align the tracks?
 
For me, the condenser is usually more like 18+ inches away.

I go very high tech on the phase alignment. I get the guitarist to strum a bit while I sit on the floor wearing headphones with a mix of the two mics and slide the condenser in and out in very small increments. You can generally hear it "snap in" when you hit a sweet spot.
 
Bobbsy said:
For me, the condenser is usually more like 18+ inches away.

I go very high tech on the phase alignment. I get the guitarist to strum a bit while I sit on the floor wearing headphones with a mix of the two mics and slide the condenser in and out in very small increments. You can generally hear it "snap in" when you hit a sweet spot.
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:thumbs up: :guitar:
 
Hahahaha nice "high tech" method there. Never tried that before but I'm definitely gonna give it a shot...just have to find some cans that can isolate my ears well enough so I can actually hear the blended mics over the roar of the amp. ;)
 
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I tend to use Sony MDR7506 cans any place noisy and they're usually enough (and sound pretty good too). I've had a pair for years and, like the old Timex ads, they're "still ticking" despite being in and out of shipping crates on a regular basis.
 
I tend to use Sennheiser e609, e835, or AKG D770 for close mic'ing, depending on whether I want the sound brighter or darker (trying at all times to not use more EQ than absolutely necessary). This is virtually always combined with AKG C2000B at 8"-12". The C2000B is flat, slightly colored, and SPL resistant. More often than not, the dynamic track isn't even used. The C2000B simply rocks on cabs.
 
Johnny Don't! said:
What kind of room do you have the amp in when you track with the C2000B? Do you notice a difference when tracking amps with it in different rooms?
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I am lucky to have some options. With cleaner, quieter cabs, I use the main tracking room, which is moderately treated, although a pretty small room. Bottom line- it's a very good room, with just enough reflection to add some air. For louder cabs, I'll put it in a much more heavily treated vocal booth. For live studio recording, I use an extension speaker in an isolation box. The C2000B works well in all three of those situations. It's simply my #1 go-to cab mic. I use a dynamic also, in case I don't get what I want, and I want to start playing with EQ.
 
The difference the room makes is directly proportional to how far away you place the mic from the cabinet--so how much room atmos you get depends on the technique you use.

(Well, technically it's probably proportional in an inverse square law sort of way but you get my point.)
 
Currently, the one that has been getting used the most is an older AKG D1000E....it will eat a 57 for breakfast on guitar cabs. ;)

Besides that, I still love my Fat Head II ribbon mics on cabs when I want a little more darker/retro sound.

Often I'll try both, and it depends on the amp/cab/guitar combination I'm using...and the song.
 
Fat Head II is the best mic I've used on cabs. The e609 is good if you want to get away from that '57' sound and you're worried about an overzealous guitarist knocking over your mic stand.
 
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