sm57 recording guitars.

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cellardweller

cellardweller

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I have been trying to get a decent recording of my guitars using an sm57, so far I haven't had much luck.

Could someone throw me some pointers? Distance from speaker, volume levels appropriate, etc.....

I have an amp with 1-12' celestion, a crate 2X12, and a peavey 4X12, and haven't had a decent recording out of any!
 
cellardweller said:
I have an amp with 1-12' celestion, a crate 2X12, and a peavey 4X12, and haven't had a decent recording out of any!
Click to expand...

Uh . . . you might want to try a different amp! :D
 
The amp that has the celestion used to be a good amp, it's an ampeg.

So what kind of amp would you recommend?
 
mesa/boogie amps rock :D

but it not only depends on the amp dude, what pre amp are you using? have you tried a different mic placement?

maybe you can post a sample of your actual guitar recording so we can come up with a few ideas;)


memo
 
The shame is too great!

It really sounds like shit!!

What is the "rule of thumb" for distance off of the speaker?

Is it true that the louder you are recording the better?
(I've heard this a few times)

As far as EQing, should it be taken care of in the mix?
Do extreme highs, mids and lows affect the quality and/or distortion in recording? Is it all a matter of preference?

What exactly is ground interference? It seems like a pretty easily defined term, but I was just curious if I was interpreting it correctly>...

thanx
 
cellardweller said:
As far as EQing, should it be taken care of in the mix?
Click to expand...
No... get the sound you want out of the guitar/amp, mic and preamp so you don't have to fuck with EQ in the mix much, if not at all. Oh, and remember if you point the mic more at the cone you get more high's and if you point the mic more at the cardboard paper you get more bass. Try starting with your mic about 3" away from the grill and near the outside edge of the speaker but pointed at an angle slightly towards the cone... also try miking differene speakers in your cab.
 
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how much gain you put in the mic also affects the sound tou get right?
so if you use the preamp in your mixer you leave the eq knobs at zero or in the middle?
 
Try to get the sound you want with no board EQ... in other words, flat.
 
I have never gotten a sound I like out of a solid state amp.
If you have the funds available buy a tube amp.
One of the things I always do when micing an amp is to get the amp up off of the floor.seems like the more air surrounding the mic the better.I also like to place my amp in the biggest area of
whatever recording environment I am in.Isolation booths and
closets are great for when you need to crank it,but if untreated
they sound like shit.
As far as mic placement,I like mine dead center and slightly off axis,touching the grill clothe.Why not let a friend play the guitar
while you move the mic around to find the "sweet spot?
sheppard
 
I'll second everything SHEPPARDB said... except most of the time I stay off the cloth some and I still like large rooms even when cranked... oh, and more form the edge rather than dead center... but, sometimes dead center.
 
This may seem a dumb question, but are you happy with the sound of your guitar/amp/speaker, as it sounds in the room?

If not, the 57, the pre, the EQ or whatever won't help to get it better.
 
Does it sound bad in the mix or by itself? It's been my experience that tracks all by themselves can sound not so great but in a mix they are perfect.

If it's all bassy then it's probably too loud.
Recording a loud guitar amp is probably going to suck unless you have a nice room. A small amp cranked up is a little easier. I record my deluxe at all volume levels and it generally sounds great.

My super is a little more difficult because it's more powerful. I have had great results with a 421 about 5" off the grill cloth pointed straight at the speaker, slightly off center. Level between 3.5 and 4.5. I keep my bass mid and treb more or less in the middle with the bass slightly lower when I record. I usually adjust the middle control on the amp when it's not sounding right (usually kind of muddy)

What kind of sound are you recording? What kind of guitar. All of it plays a BIG part. You certainly want the right tool for the job. If you don't have it then change the job to match the tool you have.

Gound interferance is what you get when you fall off a ladder :D.


Cheers, RD
 
My default starting point is almost always halfway betweem the centre and the edge of the cone, about an inch off the grill cloth, mic pointing straight in.
 
cellardweller said:
What is the "rule of thumb" for distance off of the speaker?
Click to expand...

You can actually get away with mic'ing it up a lot closer than you normally would with other instruments or voices. Not sure why that is, but it just seems to be the case.

Is it true that the louder you are recording the better?
(I've heard this a few times)
Click to expand...


Absolutely not. Put it at a comfortable volume and worry about getting your tone.

As far as EQing, should it be taken care of in the mix?
Click to expand...


Nooo ! ! ! Get it right coming out of the amp.

Is it all a matter of preference?
Click to expand...


Bingo.
 
Harveys big thread describes in detail how to mic an amp and get the sound you want. I would strongly recomend reading it to anyone and everyone.
 
I started reading Harveys post, but kinda ran out of time as it has to be the most extensive post I have yet to see.

The amp I am recording with is a solid state crate (yeah I know, it's a piece), because my tube ampeg is getting ready to go in the shop for tubes. As far as recording purposes though, it's kinda interesting to have one track recorded on the ampeg and another on the crate. That "dry and cold" sound actually somehow compliments it. Of course this is also largely due, in all probability, to the fact that I have no phucking idea what the hell I am doing 99% of the time.

Thanks all for the info.
 
Do you have any direct outs in your guitar chain? Some effects like the Line 6 POD are built with direct outs in mind.

Many amps also have line outs that can sometimes be used with very good results. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not, but represents another option to consider.

I use Line 6 gear both live and in recording. For live it goes directly to an amp, then miked via SM57. For recording it goes directly from the POD output.

Ed
 
This is how I use to do it. First try (record tracks) the dynamic mics you have available with the mics at the same and normally good position, about 2"s outside the baffle and about 2"s away from the center of the speaker (if it's 12"). Choose the one that works best whatever it is by listening together with the guitar player (or not) in the control room. You will find they sound very different.

Then, Go to the speaker with record on and try different positions by telling the guitarist to play some riffs with you talking into the same mic describing the position first. Do it again and again, then you can listen to it in the control room.

SM57 has its sound and sometimes it works, most often it sounds great.


The preamp you run the mic through matters very much of course.

Hans,
www.hagen.nu
 
The 57 has a mid boost so it will never record flat but try offsetting your mic at different angles.
 
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