Condesor Mic on guitar amp?

[nate_dennis]

I know most people use SM57s or some other dynamic or ribbon mic, but I don't have one right now. I've got two Naiant XQ condensors and a CAD LDC. Is there any reason I can't/shouldn't record a solid state amp at normal recording (i.e. low) volume with one of these mics? The other option is to use a CUBE 30 and use the direct out. Not sure which is better. Thanks for your help.


Nate

 

[philbagg]

There's no reason you shouldn't record a guitar amp with a condenser.
I've seen a few 414's popped in front of amps a few times. Just try and see
how it sounds.

I guess the main reasons people use dynamic microphones to record amps are a) a higher SPL tolerance b) warmer sound

However if you're not recording at too loud a volume, the mic should be
perfectly capable of recording your guitar. And if the sound is too bright, either
move the mic away from the center of the cone (which I'd recommend), or dial
down the high frequenciess on your EQ.

There are no exact rules to recording, if it sounds good, it is good

Best of luck,
Phil

 

[witzendoz]

I nearly always use a condenser in the studio on guitar cabs, sometimes I use a condenser and a 57 or 421.

I have also use a large condenser and a small omni pattern condenser together.

If using 2 mics you have to check phase between mics.

Oh and it has to be extremely loud before the condensers complain.

Cheers

Alan.

 

[nate_dennis]

Thanks guys! I'm just doing some personal stuff tomorrow and don't want to hassle with problems. I do appreciate the help!!!

 

[darrin_h2000]

Id make sure the LDC is arround 2 feet from cabinet...trying to mount it like a dynamic will give you a muddy sound.

 

[Seafroggys]

I'd rather use a condensor and a dynamic together than just a dynamic. If I had to pick between a dynamic and a condensor, well, it depends on the tone I'm going for.

However, the ultimate combo is dynamic and ribbon.

 

[darrin_h2000]

A decent Ribbon costs alot...Id have to wonder who is making an affordable one and what that price point is.

 

[witzendoz]

Id make sure the LDC is arround 2 feet from cabinet...trying to mount it like a dynamic will give you a muddy sound.

I don't know the CAD mics very well, but why would you get a muddy sound with it less than 2 feet from the cab? Why have you experienced this? I put my condensers up against the speaker cloth, a few inches away, or a feet away depending on the sound I want, none of the positions are muddy. What changes the tone a lot is the position of the mic in relation to the centre of the speaker, out on the edge of the speaker gives you more bass, closer to the centre gives you less bass, I always try this rather than touching the eq.

The other thing I have to work with is that I record a lot of bands that want to play live in the room together, so you have to mic the cab reasonably close to stop too much room spill, even using screens, gobos, etc.

Ribbon would be nice, but not everyone has ribbons. A condenser and dynamic is a really good combination, I have even paned that condenser to one side of the stereo image and the dynamic to the other, give an interesting double tracked guitar sound sometimes.

Cheers

Alan.

 

[darrin_h2000]

Depending on the mic...if you have a bass roll off switch it wont be as big of a problem there...but in my experience the vibration from the speaker causes rumbling in such a close proximity...and LDCs do better out in the room a bit.

 

[darrin_h2000]

The other thing I have to work with is that I record a lot of bands that want to play live in the room together, so you have to mic the cab reasonably close to stop too much room spill, even using screens, gobos, etc.
.

What I do is use an isolation cabinet to house the speakers I mic up...the band plays together with headphones on so its still live...you still have that groove...they still have eye contact...there are plenty of designs online you can try building if you are handy with the tools.

 

[witzendoz]

What I do is use an isolation cabinet to house the speakers I mic up...the band plays together with headphones on so its still live...you still have that groove...they still have eye contact...there are plenty of designs online you can try building if you are handy with the tools.

I don't get a lot of problems with spill, only you don't get the chance to set up a 2' away or a room mic on the guitar cabs. The small gobos I use around the guitar cabs work pretty well. If I get a guitar player that insists on playing at the volume of a jet airplane, we set the amp up in the workshop out back of the studio and mic it up there.

I have thought of making a isolation cab, but then you have to contend with the guitar players that want to use their own mega dollar quad cabs that famous guitar player (enter name here) uses. What they don't realise is that in the studio they don't use all that gear. I also have a small Marshall combo all valve with 2 10" speakers (forgot the model) that I sometimes get then to use as it's only 30 watt and sounds great cranked up. They usually like it (and so do the drummer and bass player haha) better then their own 140 dB rig.

Cheers

Alan.

 

[darrin_h2000]

Its when you get those guys in the studio...you have to be a good talker...keep some litereature arround saying how Led Zeppelin got thier sound and that guitarist will be begging you to let him use a low watt combo...and I have a 5 watt tube amp handy...but solos get tracked at a different time anyhow so if he wants to use a half stack for them...cool.

 

[Seafroggys]

A decent Ribbon costs alot...Id have to wonder who is making an affordable one and what that price point is.

Cascade Fat Head II is a little over $200. I got mine modded for a total of $340, it sounds so good. I can capture some really asskicking guitar tones with it.

 

[Dogbreath]

Ribbons sound good on a kazoo too.

My usual arsenal is just a 57 on the grill and let er rip.
Sometimes an AT4050 or an MXL 960 with tube swap out about 3 feet in the room.
Depends on the sound I'm goin for.

And as someone mentioned...if it sounds good, it is good.
Peace mang....
Kel

 

[darrin_h2000]

Cascade Fat Head II is a little over $200. I got mine modded for a total of $340, it sounds so good. I can capture some really asskicking guitar tones with it.

Ill look into that...thanks...any link to who is doing the Mod package?

 

[DrewPeterson7]

A decent Ribbon costs alot...Id have to wonder who is making an affordable one and what that price point is.

There's actually a fair number of cheap ribbons on the market right now - my current favorite lead guitar microphone is a Nady RSM-4 ribbon, which Musician's Friend sells for something like $70. It's not a very "transparent" mic, by any means, but the smooth highs and round bass, coupled with a huge sweet spot, makes it absolutely sing on my Rectifier. I've used in in conjunction with a SM57 for rhythm tones too with great effect. I want to grab something nicer some day, but for the time being I'm very satisfied with the results I'm getting.

And say what you will about low wattage amps - while I generally like them myself too, they're simply not appropriate for all styles of music if nothing else because most of the ones on the market are designed for power amp distortion. I love the lead sounds I get out of my Recto Roadster's 3rd channel, and no Fender Champ Jr or single-ended Class A with a single volume knob is going to get me there. And that's for leads - so much of modern hard rock and metal is really about the sound of a high-gain pre with a poweramp with enough headroom for a tight low end that a 5 watt amp is not going to be appropriate in every situation.

Though, hell - if a metal guitarist thinks it's a good idea because "that's what Jimmy Page did!" then he deserves what he gets if he gets talked into tracking that way.

 

[gcapel]

If your guitar tone is hi gain a condenser is not a great choice. Just about any other tone is usable IMO.

 

[Seafroggys]

Ill look into that...thanks...any link to who is doing the Mod package?

They do...its a Lundhaul transformer, really brings out the high end and makes the mic more clear. Stock its kinda muddy sounding, at least from what the samples showed me.

 

[dintymoore]

I know most people use SM57s or some other dynamic or ribbon mic...

I'm not sure that's true.

I would have guessed that the majority of major recordings have been done with Neumanns.

All kinds of things can work but I pretty much use them for everything.

 

[Bob Ross]

A decent Ribbon costs alot...Id have to wonder who is making an affordable one and what that price point is.

You don't read industry rags much, do ya?

Seems like a bazillion affordable ribbon mics popped out of the woodwork in the past 2 or 3 years, all at the sub-$500 price point, and a surprising number of them at the sub-$250 price point. Sampson, Nady, Thomann, DoodlySquat, etc. They're probably all the same Chinese guts rebadged by whatever company imports them.

Whether any of them are decent is a whole 'nother question.