SM57 or AUDIX i5

[grindpaul]

hi

im new to this whole recording thing

i have an m-audio interface and i mic my blue voodoo stack without any rack effects or anything in there, but i have a problem with the sound being very dry and muddy at times. my guess that the problem is the cab (not very good), mic placement (i hear its a bitch with 4x12), or the mic.

my friend suggested to get shure sm57, but the guy at guitar center somehow convinced me to get the i5.

could that be a problem?

thanks

 

[jonnyc]

No. That shouldn't be a problem at all. Both mics are perfectly acceptable and with how new you are to this you probably couldn't tell a difference sonically between the two. Most of your problem is probably your amp settings. I find cranking down the lows to about 3(subjective) tends to help a lot with low end mudiness. So trial and error until you get it right.

 

[james123]

So trial and error until you get it right.

I think that is the best way of finding the right sound you want.

 

[grindpaul]

thanks guys

 

[guitar junkie]

have you tried compression?



works for Green Day

 

[jonnyc]

have you tried compression?



works for Green Day

he doesn't need it. he just needs to work on his amp settings.

 

[grindpaul]

have you tried compression?



works for Green Day

i'm thinking about it

i'm planning on getting either a dbx 166XL or alesis3630 and a BBE sonic maximizer mainly for the live sound, but it might help the recording as well

 

[jonnyc]

i'm thinking about it

i'm planning on getting either a dbx 166XL or alesis3630 and a BBE sonic maximizer mainly for the live sound, but it might help the recording as well

If it's distorted guitars, hell if it's anything, please not for recording. A distorted guitar sound is pretty compressed to begin with. In fact I never compress a distorted guitar track.

 

[grindpaul]

what about a maximizer? would that help to shape the sound better with distortion?

and a little off topic question. what should i use to prevent feedback when i play live? because i have always had that problem

 

[Sloan]

what should i use to prevent feedback when i play live? because i have always had that problem

Get nice equalizer. There are some that have lights that light up the frequencies that are feeding back and you just kind of notch those out. Not too much though or your sound will suck more ass.

 

[grindpaul]

can you suggest something that's not over 200 bucks?

 

[jonnyc]

If it's for live sound I guess a maximizer would be OK but not much better than OK. I'd also just go with an eq if you need to boost certain frequencies. As far as feedback, well I really don't know anything about that, I never play so live situations are kind of foreign to me, but I do know that some companies make boxes that cancel out feedback. I'm sure it's not worth a shit but Behringer makes something called the Feedback Destroyer Pro, maybe that'll work.

 

[metalhead28]

and a little off topic question. what should i use to prevent feedback when i play live? because i have always had that problem

Are you talking about guitar amp feedback or PA feedback?
For guitar feedback, you could get a noise gate or something along those lines, or you could just mute the strings.
You could also have a suspect pickup, it happens.

If you're talking about your PA, then yeah you should try an EQ in the mix so you can ring out the feedback. You could also try a feedback destroyer like the Behringer that was mentioned (it does actually work ) or several other companies I'm sure make nice (probably much better) ones.

 

[bubbagump]

Mic placement, mic placement,and mic placement. Then, guitar tone, guitar tone, guitar tone. Many things that sound great cranked sound like poo recorded. If your tone sounds like you want it with the gain on 11, try backing it down to like 6 and see what you get while recording.

 

[faderbug]

just cut the lows on the amp as jonnyc suggested.

 

[metalj]

Are you talking about guitar amp feedback or PA feedback?
For guitar feedback, you could get a noise gate or something along those lines, or you could just mute the strings.
You could also have a suspect pickup, it happens.

If you're talking about your PA, then yeah you should try an EQ in the mix so you can ring out the feedback. You could also try a feedback destroyer like the Behringer that was mentioned (it does actually work ) or several other companies I'm sure make nice (probably much better) ones.

I might also add that Ive seen guitarist play small places with way too big of an amp cranked to 11 and standing 5 feet from it which will of course feedback everytime. So before adding any extra gear to your set up maybe consider what your needs are and back off the gain or volume a little either on the amp or your guitar. some guys also dont know how to turn their volume knobs off on que with the end of a song or a sectioin of a song.

just a few other things for you to consider.

 

[KingDiamond]

I have a Blue Voodoo and I just got into PC recording just a couple of months ago. I got the Audix i5. Make sure you have a mic stand, don't just hang the mic over in front of the half stack like some people do. Also mic placement is really important. I put on some headphones connected to a mixer and had a pretty long distance of cable. I sat in another room while my friend moved around the mic until it sounded the best through the headphones.

 

[grindpaul]

thanks for everyone's replies, i'm probably gonna end up getting a noise gate

I have a Blue Voodoo and I just got into PC recording just a couple of months ago. I got the Audix i5. Make sure you have a mic stand, don't just hang the mic over in front of the half stack like some people do. Also mic placement is really important. I put on some headphones connected to a mixer and had a pretty long distance of cable. I sat in another room while my friend moved around the mic until it sounded the best through the headphones.

what cab do u use your BV with?

 

[KingDiamond]

A Mesa Boogie oversize 4x12.

 

[grindpaul]

must sound pretty nice.. i still have the original, it doesnt sound that great. but a 1960A is on the way