Shure SM57 for guitar recording

[Logicnoob]

I'm a total noob at recording, but here goes. I have wanted to be able to record guitar (el- and acoustic) for a long time, and now i have gotten recommendations on the Shure SM57 for recording guitar. My first question is: if i buy this, how do i hook it up to my computer (13"macbook in my case). And 2: Will the sound be decent when recording into a MacBook? I think the soundcard in the MacBook is quite good actually. 3: What is the best way to record? letting the mic almost touch the amp, or having it some distance away from it?.

EDIT: Oh, and im using Logic Pro 8 to do the mixing, if that can be helpful information in some way.

 

[Yonce N Mild]

Sm57 is great for recording electric guitar. Not so much for acoustic, although it is usable. It's also not a bad investment because they are built like a tank and you'll find plenty of different uses for one over the years.

I think you'll need and audio interface. At the very least you need a preamp since you can get a decent preamp in an audio interface that's going to be your best bet.

What's your budget?

 

[buryher17]

i agree with the poster above me. I ahve 4 sm57s and LOVE them. I use them for toms, snare, electric guitar and a bunch of other applications.

I highly suggets to buy it. If you plan on recording both elc. and acoustic equally I highly suggest you pick up these 3 mics...

$150 AT 2041 package- includes an at2020 and at2021. The at2021 is amazing on acoustic and the 2020 is amazing for vocals,

$100 Sm57- Great on electric guitar and many other uses.

You could easily find all of these mics used on ebay for about $175 (together)

The macbook ahs a lot of potential. If your not doing anything major, and just trying to make yourself have some basic recordings, youll be fine with what you have. Mixing and mic placement is key.

There are many posts around here about placement. But for short, Acoustic- place about 1' from 12th fret, elec. place 2" away on the left/ right of the center of the cone. It gets the most tone in my opinion from the amp and sounds awesome. I set up 4 sm57's on half stacks and set them all up at 2" and about 2" to the left of the center cone. I always get a great tone.


Hope I helped

 

[buryher17]

also if you decide to get an intereface that would always be great! look at m-audios interfaces. They have many for $100-$250 that all sound great and have awesome pre amps built in

 

[Logicnoob]

thanks both of you. But as i said, i'm a noob at this... I don't even understand the full function of a preamp. Is the only job it has to work as an adapter so it can connect the mic with USB to the computer? Can you suggest a cheap preamp? Not to cheap though, though i don't know the normal price for them. And is it nesseccary to buy an audio interface? I'm not really sure what you mean by audio interface... Im not from USA so sometimes i have a hard time understanding some of the english terms.

EDIT: As for the budget, i don't really wanna spend to much extra after purchasing the SM57 wich costs around 150-60 $ here (in Norway), as long as i get it connected to my computer and can record with at least decent quality.

 

[jrhoden]

i use a 57 to record electric guitar and it does work very well

i have used it to record a friend's acoustic and it wasnt that bad ..but im sure theres better mics for that

 

[Weasel9992]

thanks both of you. But as i said, i'm a noob at this... I don't even understand the full function of a preamp. Is the only job it has to work as an adapter so it can connect the mic with USB to the computer? Can you suggest a cheap preamp? Not to cheap though, though i don't know the normal price for them. And is it nesseccary to buy an audio interface? I'm not really sure what you mean by audio interface... Im not from USA so sometimes i have a hard time understanding some of the english terms.

A preamp takes a mic level signal and brings it up to line level...in most cases way past line level. A basic preamp will get you something like 40-50dB in gain...that's not much. Other preamps will get you from 65 to even 75dB of gain. Typically, the more expensive the preamp the better the quality will be in terms of clarity, focus and signal to noise ratio. Preamps come in lots of flavors...darker, more transparent...lots of variety.

An interface takes analog information and converts it to digital information via Firewire, USB, ADAT AES/EBU, S/PDIF or MADI. There's a bunch of variety here too...the more expensive the converter, the better it's clarity, depth and sense of focus. Cheaper converters tend to sound cloudy, and lack definition in the low end and in the high end.

Often you'll find both things in one box...like the Presonus Firepod, for example. It comes with preamps and converters that go via S/PDIF or Firewire to your PC. You can also buy stand alone converters (like my SSL Xlogic MADI converters) that take a signal from an outboard preamp or a console, convert it to digital and send it to the PC in a variety of ways.

Frank

 

[folkrock75]

ART Tube MP PreAmps

I am currently playing the "what audio interface should i get" game. However I have been recording for fun for years and am just now looking into audio interfaces.The Audio Interface basically plugs in via USB or Firewire to convert the analog signal over to digital, which is normally handled by your computers sound card (the thought is that most computers stock sound cards are made from rather cheap materials). Whether a $100 M-audio audio interface's conversion is actually better than your Macbook's sound card is debatable.

However, an Audio Interface becomes crucial if you want to record multiple tracks to your computer at once. Also, pretty much every audio interface has a built in pre-amp to boost your mic's signal. If you want to start on the cheap, for around $30 you can buy an ART Tube MP Preamp ($25 bucks at musicians friend) and a $5 1/4" to 1/8" cable, to plug the preamp into your computer's sound in jack. I had an Art Tube Pre I used with a 4 track, and then eventually, for computer recording. They do a fine job at boosting the mic's signal, and you can begin recording for a low cost. It totally skirts the subject of audio conversion however, and if you eventually get more serious you can craig's list the ART pre and save up for something more like a M-Box or something.