SM57 sounding too harsh.

  • Thread starter Thread starter CMolena
  • Start date Start date
Robus said:
The ribbon mic needs a brighter tone out of the amp, but it's got its benefits. Set well back from the amp, it catches a silky guitar tone that has a lot of uses in my music.
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I place my ribbon mics anywhere from 8" to 18" (roughly) away from the speaker grill.

Tadpui said:
I can't imagine a situation where I'd want to put a dynamic mic farther away than maybe an inch from the grille cloth. Seems like you'd get to a point of diminishing returns really quickly there.
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Actually I do the same with the dynamic mics for some stuff...back 8" to 18" off the speaker grill....though sometimes it's also right up against the grill.

Pulling them back does a great job of smoothing out harshness...and also changing the response, so yeah, you don't have just left/right to move the mic relative to the cone center...you also have back/forward to alter the tone you are capturing.

Honestly...I've done more guitar tracking with the mic (whatever mic I use) back off the grill than right up against it.
There is a certain Rock tone that only comes from right up against the grill...and that's how that tone was gotten to begin with, so if that's what you want, then that's what you do.

That said...well off the grill opens up a much bigger tonal palette to choose from...it can smooth out the tone and alleviate low-end woof, and it also adds some depth to the tone, because you start to pull in some of the room...especially with a figure-8 ribbon.
You might have to crank the amp or the mic premp up a bit with the mic pulled back...but the variety of tone choices make it worthwhile with lots of options to experiment with.
Of course, if you have a signature tone that you always use/like...then no need to try anything different...just use the same thing that worked for you last time.

Recording guitars...always lots of fun! :)
 
It is fun. Recording electric guitars one of the easiest parts of the process for me. I don't obsess over guitar tone anyway. If it works in the mix, it's good. Bass tone is a different matter.
 
miroslav said:
Recording guitars...always lots of fun! :)
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Yup.


I particularly like a 57 on the grill with the drum overheads picking up the room.
Drummer or not. If without a drummer make sure to damp the snare. Or take it out of the room.
Just one method I've used.
 
I just recorded 5 quick clips of the basic 57 on gill mic positions with a blaring Marshall halfstack. The differences are obvious and expected. Should I post that stupid shit?
 
Yes, post it, with a numbered diagram of the grill showing where everything is.
 
Okay. The specs...and I'm not drawing any diagrams.

Gibson SG - bridge pickup - mini humbuckers
1979 Marshall JMP 2204 - 50w master vol amp EL34s
Presence - 0
Bass - 8
Mid - 5
Treb - 4
Preamp vol (gain) - 5
Master vol - 10
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Celestion Vintage 30 - single Shure SM57 used for all clips
No pedals
No EQ, effects, or processing in DAW. Raw tracks.
All settings the same for each clip. Only the mic was moved.

Each clip includes some guitar vol rolling and poor playing. I start clean and roll the vol up with big chords.

SM57 on grill, on axis, dead center of speaker

SM57 on grill, center of speaker, 45 deg off axis

SM57 on grill, on axis, dustcap/cone seam

SM57 on grill, on axis, halfway across cone

SM57 on grill, on axis, edge of speaker
 
Nice comparison samples.
See...that's what a lot of folks don't take the time to do...try out a few mic positions and then compare...and then pick the one that works for their needs.

Anyway...I can see almost every one of those positions working for a given situation.
That said...I was never into the off-axis positions. I've used them a couple of times, but I never found them to be some "OH WOW" moment that was any better/worse than any of the on-axis positions.

Most of my mic positions end up from the edge of the dust cap out to about 2" off-center....depending on the speaker, mic..etc...etc.
I rarely place a mic dead-center on the dust cap.
 
miroslav said:
Most of my mic positions end up from the edge of the dust cap out to about 2" off-center....depending on the speaker, mic..etc...etc.
I rarely place a mic dead-center on the dust cap.
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Ditto. Dusctap/cone seam, to just outside of that, are my usual starting points. When blending mics, I usually mic the seam and the edge. Blend to taste. Cleaner tones usually get the warmer halfway across cone placement.

The Vintage 30 has a tiny dustcap, so that seam position is a little close to center with that speaker. Greenbacks are the same way.

And that whole "test" took 20 minutes tops. I just flipped the amp on, cranked it, and started placing mics. The tone is not what's important here....although I do like it myself. The effect of mic position is what I was after. I always talk about learning one's gear and trying things for yourself. This is how you do it.
 
Greg_L said:
I just recorded 5 quick clips of the basic 57 on gill mic positions with a blaring Marshall halfstack. The differences are obvious and expected. Should I post that stupid shit?
Click to expand...

See? Some people say that Greg is a dick (and he can be at times), but here he goes out of his way to record some examples to help people.

He's doing something that people with guitar micing questions should be doing.
And that is, trying out different things to see what they sound like.
:D
Edit: Gee. I'm being complimentary today. Well, what can i say. Got the day off and I'm in a good mood.
:D
 
Nice range of samples Greg.
On this round I rather like the on axis edge of speaker.
Strange but then again context etc make a difference.
Was that stuff brutally loud in the room?
 
I preferred the further out ones for the cleaner stuff at the start and the closer in ones, except for the first one when you turned the vol. up on the guitar.

Good comparison though.
 
Great comparisons, Greg. Too few people take the time to do stuff like that.

As others have said, distance also makes a huge difference in tone. Here are some examples to show that.

The close position here was always about two inches from the grill and slightly outside the cone.
 

Attachments

Yeah, there ya go you lazy, slack-jawed, knuckle-dragging, mouthbreather n00bs. This is stuff you should be doing yourselves.
 
As a matter of interest, Greg and others - how can you be so precise about your mic placements? Do your cabs have no grille cloth on them?
 
Get a flashlight to shine through the grill cloth to see the speaker.

Once you find the perfect placement, take some strips of tape and use them to mark the place on the grill cloth to point the mic.
 
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