Micing Guitar

[joeplaysbass]

Hey all,

I'm new to the site and joined because I know there's a wealth of knowledge to be had here and I always have questions.

The issue I'm having with recording my band right now is micing the guitarists cab. I have an SM57, a cheapo MXL large diaphragm condenser, and a small diaphragm condenser a friend gave to me and I don't even know who makes it that I've been using for guitar. Any way, I've been experimenting with mic placement when recording and i can't seem to produce a clear tone for the guitar. The tone of the guitar sounds good to the ear, but put thru the mics and my Firestudio something happens to it and it picks up some sort of high end distortion that isn't there coming out of the cab. I know the mics are both working as I use them on vocals and drums just fine. I'm pretty sure it's mic placement, and I was wondering what I could do differently/where the best places are for the mic.

Thanks!
--Joe

[WhiteStrat]

Try it again without the condensers. They're not going to help you much with a guitar cab, except maybe off in the distance as a room mic for natural ambience/reverb. But they'll have a hyped high end which will mess with the guitar tone.

So you need to start by experimenting with just the 57. With the condensers out of the picture, you'll be able to get much closer by finding the right spot for just the 57.

Then if you feel like you need something, you can try a condenser--but again--probably not up close. That's just gonna create a lot of high end hiss.

[Sonixx]

Joe, Post a Clip of just the gtr...

[rayc]

Have you searched in the guitar and recording sections. That's the spot for this kind of detail as this spot is about mixing & mastering (hence the title).
You might find the condensors can't handle the sound pressure levels you're producing with the cab.
I don't like 57s but they are almost tailor made for the job you want to do.
You might, also, be overloading the firepod input with high SPL. A clip would help diagnose the prob.

[Nightfire]

Stick with using only the SM57 up front.
Some people have had luck putting a large diaphragm condensor at the back of the amp.


Mike

[joeplaysbass]

hey everyone,

thanks for the advice... I was able to figure it out today. It was definitely a problem with the high SPL into the firestudio. I also cut back to just a direct box and the 57, so I'm able to use plugins as well as the tone from the guitarist's cab. All I did was cut down on the volume of the guitar amp and the recordings sounded must clearer. I'm going to go out soon and pickup a mic pad so I don't have to be so conscious of the volume.

Thanks Again,
Joe