e609 diaphram distortion

[cake1122]

when im miking a guitar cab im right on the grill. i think i might be getting a little bit of diaphram distortion. how do i fix this douring tracking. is it common to get diaphram distortion in my situation?

thanks guys

 

[punkin]

I have and like the e609. I usually place it in front of the speaker about half way between the cone center and the outer edge about 1/2" back from the grill. I've never had the problem you're describing. My experience is that they can handle a lot of volume as well. Any chance the thing is being vibrated, I've seen people hang them by the cord laying up against the speaker grill. I wonder if there's some vibration being passed on to the mic.

 

[Micter]

I would venture to say that the diaphragm isn't distoring. The e609 can handle a guitar amp with no issues. Look at something else like the preamp overloading or the mic is bouncing on the grill.

 

[jakiejunk]

If you have the silver e609 I am betting that you are just not liking the sound of the mic. It's very upper-mid dense if that makes any sense. I have thought the same thing about mine when I tried to use it on a friends a crate amp.

Friends don't let friends play Crates.

 

[soundchaser59]

The least likely explanation is that you are distorting the mic diaphragm. That is much more difficult to do than you think. Most dynamic mics can handle a guitar amp without flinching.

Most likely is either a distortion in one of your gain stages, usually a preamp......or it is coming out of the amp that way.

But I've also noticed that the mic "hears" the guitar speaker a lot differently than my ears hear it.

If you listen closely, I bet you can hear that same distortion coming from the guitar speaker, you just dont notice it until the mic emphasizes it and you start wondering what that noise is.

I had to isolate my guitar cab, then I played my guitar thru the mic and the monitors so I could hear exactly what the recorder would "hear." Then use the monitors to tweak the amp settings until that fizzy wax paper type distortion disappeared.

After I spent several hours doing that, I finally accepted the grim truth that the amp settings that sound best in a jam session are not the amp settings that sound best thru a microphone. Of course, this is probably most applicable to home recordings where space is limited and a guy is restricted to close mic'ing the cab.

The easiest way to find out if this is your issue is to switch mics and see if the distortion changes. Or use an attenuator to turn the speaker volume down and see if the distortion disappears. I thought at first that I was distorting the mic also, until I turned the attenuator down to 1 or 2 and that wax paper fizz was still there. I put the guitar speaker right in front of me and played again, and sure enough it was coming out of the amp that way, I just hadn't noticed it before because I was not listening like a mic. A mic does not filter out any unwanted noise like a human mind does.

 

[Micter]

Friends don't let friends play Crates.

My Crate V32 and V16 both sound and record Great! I would recommend them to anyone playing hard rock / blues. Now solid state crate amps are a different story.

 

[cusebassman]

I have used the e609 for blues and jazz recording out of my Fender Blues DeVille, at all varying volumes (for both live and studio), and I like the sound just fine for those applications. I mix in a condenser with it to make up for the little bit of bottom end loss, but that's about it. I've never had an issue with the mic itself distorting, so either there is something wrong with the mic, or something else is distorting in the chain (as others said, perhaps a pre or other piece of gear is overloading, or the amp itself produces this noise and you just never noticed it before).

 

[markitzero]

The e609 is great but is extremely sensitive to placement. A centimeter makes all the difference in the world with this mic. I like mine, but I would rather use a 421.

 

[kid klash]

I'm guessing a gain stage problem (mic pre input or output, or soundcard input overload); it's pretty difficult to make that mic distort with a guitar amp.

 

[kid klash]

I found this article and thought you might find it interesting :
=============================================

By George Petersen
May 14, 2004 12:00 PM

INSTRUMENT AMPLIFIER MIC

Years ago, I had the pleasure of recording guitar genius Ronnie Montrose. In anticipation of his arrival—and to save time—I set up about six different mics: condensers, tubes and dynamics. When Montrose showed up, he said that he had a favorite mic and asked if we could try that, as well. He pulled out a Sennheiser MD 409 dynamic with a flat-bar mount that slid into a slot cut into his amp, putting the mic about an inch in front of the grille and toward the edge of the speaker cone.

We tried them all, and sure enough, his mic won out over everything else! I became an instant convert to the mystic 409 cult and was greatly saddened when Sennheiser (what were they thinking?) discontinued the 409 a few years later. Later, Sennheiser came out with the Evolution 609, which resembled the original but wasn't the same.

Fortunately, with the debut of the new E609 Silver, the magic is back. Like the original, it's a side-address design so it can be simply hung over an amp, suspended by the cable (with three inches of duct tape to secure it) and be exactly in the sweet spot. With its high-SPL handling and supercardioid pattern to eliminate any bleed, this one's ready for anything.

On a variety of amps—Marshall, Fender, Ampeg, Yamaha and even funky Danelectro—the E609 Silver was spot-on, particularly when combined with a distant tube mic. The Sennheiser provided the punch, fury, growl and edge, with the room mic adding a smooth hugeness. Yeah!

But it's not just for amps: The E609 Silver was also great on bass amps, toms, trumpets and trombones. At an affordable list of $199.95, this one's a great addition to anyone's mic cabinet.