Is SM57 a good (enough) mic for live electric guitar recording in small room?

Dicus

Enthusiastic Member
The title says most of it. I'm investing in my studio, just bought a the TASCAM US-1800 will soon buy acoustic treatment and the end of my budget is closing in on me. I'd like to be able to record two electric guitars and my drumkit (with recorderman technique) while we are all playing in the same room. I'm not expecting tremendous quality since they will bleed into eachothers recordings but is is mainly so we can make quick impression videos/vines of my band playing/recording while having a acceptably nice mix.

Shure SM57 are affordable mics and I know that they're used frequently for live performances. Are they worth the investment in my case? (If you need more information, ask away!)
All help is very much appreciated!
 
Haha, thanks! How do you mean yes? Are they the perfect mic for electric guitar in general? Are they the perfect mic for what I want them to do? Or are they the perfect mic for what I want them to do with the money I have to spend on it?
 
It's a very popular guitar amp mic - maybe the most popular. Cheap, durable, good sound. I've had one for recording my amp for many years and it's still working great. There's lots of opinions on other equally good mics but I'm happy with my SM57.
Mic position is important. There's lots of ways to position it in front of the speaker, but the consensus is try different angles/positions/speakers (in a multi speaker cab) and see what sounds best to you when recorded.
Some people draw a circle on their grill cloth so they can remember where to put the mic, but I'm not keen on drawing on mine lol.
 
Like everyone above said.

You might end up finding a mic that suits your tastes more than a 57 one day. But if you can't get a good recording with a 57, there's something else wrong, not the mic's fault.
 
A 57 is the first mic anyone would suggest to record a guitar amp. It's also the gold standard for snare drum as well.
 
Haha, thanks! How do you mean yes? Are they the perfect mic for electric guitar in general? Are they the perfect mic for what I want them to do? Or are they the perfect mic for what I want them to do with the money I have to spend on it?

Yes.
 
Thanks dudes. I'll start looking for new and used SM57. Good to know for sure that it's gonna be worth the money!
 
Thanks dudes. I'll start looking for new and used SM57. Good to know for sure that it's gonna be worth the money!

Given what else is available in the microphone market, it says a lot that most mic manufacturers haven't significantly improved on the 57 at anywhere like the same price.
 
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Here's a recording I did in my converted garage/junk room/workshop/closet/studio. All the electric guitars are recorded with a 57 about 10" in front of a vox ac4tv 10" tube amp. It goes into the preamp on a Saffire Pro14. The only room treatment is a bunch of books, storage, tools, some useless foam behind the monitor speakers and a few bags of old blue jeans behind the 57. I'd say well over 75% of the recordings I've worked on at studios over the last 40 years that used amps were mic'd up with 57s.
https://soundcloud.com/mike-dunbar/juliet
 
Is a 57 a perfect mic? Hell no! Is it good for guitars? Yes. The thing to remember is that it's a dynamic. It's tough, and for live use, this makes it a good choice,mans why my mic box has lots of them. In the studio, with better control and no spill, then I don't use them, I use condensers, because they have other attributes. I can use eq to lop off the top, and perhaps put little eq bumps in to mimic what a 57 does, but often the eq in the studio is nothing like the live sound. Circumstances are different. Live, you have the guitar sound from the cab and then the amplified sound through the PA, which combine. If I record live from the stage, via the desk, I might swap out the 57 for an AKG or maybe audio technica because I like that sound better. If you are buying just one mic for recording, the 57 does a pretty good job on most sources, so is a good compromise mic. Certainly not perfect, but perfect usually fits one use only!
 
Here's a recording I did in my converted garage/junk room/workshop/closet/studio. All the electric guitars are recorded with a 57 about 10" in front of a vox ac4tv 10" tube amp. It goes into the preamp on a Saffire Pro14. The only room treatment is a bunch of books, storage, tools, some useless foam behind the monitor speakers and a few bags of old blue jeans behind the 57. I'd say well over 75% of the recordings I've worked on at studios over the last 40 years that used amps were mic'd up with 57s.
https://soundcloud.com/mike-dunbar/juliet

Dude! The vocalist (I don't know if it's you) has got a serious Steve Miller vibe going on. The first two lines of the song are like dead ringers! :)
 
I would say that I wouldn't use anything BUT an SM57 for that kind of recording. But that's just me, and I'm still relatively new to home recording.

Here is a song currently in the works. The electric guitar was played through a Peavy modeling amp and recorded with an SM57. I love it.

 
Be careful looking for a used 'bargain'. There are a ton of counterfeit 57s out there.

If you get one of Pyle's knock offs for ten bucks, they are actually pretty great mics. Not quite the same warm tone as a 57. Definitely a different mic, but still, very good. I use them just as I would a 57, and don't notice any major difference. And for ten bucks, it's kinda really cheap. ;)
 
Here's a recording I did in my converted garage/junk room/workshop/closet/studio. All the electric guitars are recorded with a 57 about 10" in front of a vox ac4tv 10" tube amp. It goes into the preamp on a Saffire Pro14. The only room treatment is a bunch of books, storage, tools, some useless foam behind the monitor speakers and a few bags of old blue jeans behind the 57. I'd say well over 75% of the recordings I've worked on at studios over the last 40 years that used amps were mic'd up with 57s.
https://soundcloud.com/mike-dunbar/juliet

Bass sounds fantastic!
 
Get a pair of 57s. They cost $100 new and haven't gone up in price in forever. Still using the ones I bought in the late 1990s.
 
Thanks dudes. I'll start looking for new and used SM57. Good to know for sure that it's gonna be worth the money!

I have 5. 2 of them I've had for over 20 years. I use them on snare, toms, and guitar cabs. They've been hit by drums sticks, fallen off stands, probably a lot of other bad things. They are durable as hell and like has been said, you can get a good recording out of them.

Mic position is super important. Angled at the speaker or head on, distance from the speaker, pointed at the center of the speaker or farther out, - these things make a huge difference. After you get your SM57 you are going to make some crappy recordings and it won't be your gear's fault.
 
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