Electric Guitar recorded w/ either E609, MXL condenser or GT44

G

gusfmm

New member
I'd like to get advice on what would be more recommended for micing a 2x12 Mesa guitar cab and record both heavily distorted and clean electric guitar.

At this point, I've come to the conclusion that one of these mics should be a good pick, I understand there are clear differences among them due to their different types and most appropriate recording techniques for each one, but what I'm trying to get a feeling of is exactly which one people having used them feel more satisfied about, with respect to the final sound.

I'd plug the mic directly to a mixing console to begin with, so I guess the pre-amp won't contribute much to the sound. Options are:
Sennheiser E609 - close micing at about 1"
MXL 992 &/or 993 - at about 5-7" away
MXL 2003 - at about 5-7" away
GT44 - at about 5-7" away

Small room about 14'x12' (home studio), acoustically treated with auralex 2" wedges covering aprox. 50% of walls, all corners have bass traps and 25% ceiling has ceiling tiles. So feel free to recommend better mic placement (distance) than those mentioned.
 
Correction

I f*cked it up. Instead of MXL 2003 I meant MXL 603. Sorry about it.

Thanks Danny for mentioning the SM57, it is always good having that included in the mix. That might be the fifth and last in my list.
 
I thought you would have one which is why i mentioned it. The SM57 always surprises me when used with nice guitar amps. It doesnt always work with crappy ones though.

I recorded at once a SM57, Senn MD421, Royer 122, and AKG C414s with a JCM 2000 1960 Celestion Whites 4x10 cab.

I thought the Royer was going to be my fave, but when it came time for mixing nothing beat the 57. It had the best mids and highs. The MD421 was a bit to bright. The Royer was too dark though it was thick. The C414 just didnt really work at all.

The high end representation was definately given to the MD421 though, but it just wasnt meaty enough.

e609 probably isnt a whole lot like the MD421, but i bet the highs will be closer to the MD421 then any of the other mics. So with the 57 and the e609 recorded at the same time you will have the option of the two at any time, or you could mix the two together. I dont expect the condensers to work much at all. Though you could try them with the cleans you probably wont need them. If i were to use one for cleans it would be the MXL 603 at about a foot and a half back.

Danny
 
Well, I wasn't including it since in learning from the masters here, some have mentioned that the SM57's sound greatly depends of the pre being used. Since I don't have a mic pre (nor was planning on buying one unless extrictly necessary), I thought in rather inquiring about the rest.

Now, the other thing mentioned frequently is that the E609 is a piece of cake to place whereas the SM57 might take a bit more time to place rightly. And that was the other reason I omitted it.

Last but not least, kind of a question, I thought that a condenser was going to be a possibility since the room is fairly small and considerably isolated, so surroundings wouldn't affect the mic's sound much. But you're saying they are not a good idea in recording distorted guitar, right? Some have said the GT44 is great for this specific application, anybody with experience with it?
 
The SM57 does sound alot better with a nice pre, but that doesnt mean it sucks without a good one. That would mean you e609 probably sucks without a good one too. Condensers are less pre amp dependent which is why they are easier to use without really nice pres.

I dont think the e609 will be easier to place then the SM57 though. Different but they will both be very dependent on placement.

The GT44 could work. Try it! Its just with loud hard distorted music i find them to fail quite quickly. You will know right away whether or not its working. Because when it doesnt work, it doesnt work at all.

Danny
 
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