Which mic is best for micking a guitar amp with distortion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter frank_1
  • Start date Start date

Which mic is best for miking a guitar amp with distortion?

  • Shure sm-57

    Votes: 70 66.0%
  • Sennheiser MD-421 U4

    Votes: 10 9.4%
  • Some condensor mic (specifiy Please)

    Votes: 1 0.9%
  • Shure BETA-57

    Votes: 6 5.7%
  • Beyer (some Ribbon mic)

    Votes: 3 2.8%
  • other (specifiy please)

    Votes: 16 15.1%

  • Total voters
    106
Track Rat said:
I've used D-112's on amps I thought where overly bright. It was like a natural EQand evened out nicely.

Thanks!

aXel
 
I'm with Stefan- SM7- got mine yesterday, and it is already the dedicated cab mic.-Richie
 
I have actually gotten some pretty intense sounds with a beyerdynamic m420 right up to the grill cloth on the amp. A little different,but worth a try if you have one around.

I have been having some fun today with a set of cheap headphones plugged into the headphone jack of my Marshall VS102 and an sm 58 with the ball shoved into the earcup and fastened with some duct tape. I like trying unusual stuff.

Peace!!!!
 
Is it worth getting an SM-57 for amp micing? They are about $180 AUD

Do you think my Rode NT1000 (LDC) would sound alright?

Thanks
Tukkis
 
Personally, i love the seinheiser 421 II, although sm 57's are always fine too. I love to use either the 421 II or a 57 close up and then use a condenser (sm-81) about a foot or sometimes further away. I like that wall of sound........J
 
Tukkis said:
Is it worth getting an SM-57 for amp micing? They are about $180 AUD

Do you think my Rode NT1000 (LDC) would sound alright?

Thanks
Tukkis

Buy a SM57!

The Rodent will be too bright for distorted tones....

Amund
 
Ok looks like i'll be getting one very soon.

If I put the 57 up close and the Rode a few feet back and mix them would this sound better than just the 57 by itself?

Tukkis
 
Tukkis said:
Ok looks like i'll be getting one very soon.

If I put the 57 up close and the Rode a few feet back and mix them would this sound better than just the 57 by itself?

Tukkis

IF you have a GREAT sounding room, and it`s song that calls
for that kind of tone, yes.

Amund
 
wow this is an old thread. 2 mics i really like on guitar now are the sennheiser md421 and the e609. they both are great.

also.....i think i was still REALLY new to recording wheni made my last post in this thread.....i think id been doing it for like a year or 2.

anyway my opinion of the 57 has changed. I still tend avoid it unless i have nothing else, but i have come to respect it.

also.........the atm25 is lame on guitar. i don't know what i was thinking.

Edit: actually i do remember why i liked it. the guitar players i was recording had THE wimpiest guitar tone and they were a metal band. it added a little bit of the chunk they were missing.
 
frank_1 said:
LongWaveStudio : This is how I record my guitar...


I either use a 57 or a Sennheiser MD421 U-5.

I use a Blue Tube mic preamp.

I do double the guitar when I record on ProTools FREE, but I don't double when I use my 4-track Tascam.

Even with ProTools FREE, the sound is not like I would like it. It still does not sound like any rock band who has a great guitar sound.

I will upload an MP3 soon, so you guys can hear for your self.


*Cheers*


I Know this guy posted this back in 2001 but to answer the question for anyone, if you aren't getting a good tone when you record your guitar, it isn't because for the mics or pre amps or whatever. If you record with a Squire Strat and a Crate solidstate crap amp, that's how its going to sound. I found that out the hard way but I've eventually upgraded to a tube amp and some sweet guitars.

As far as mic, I've always been a fan of the SM57 smack dab in the middle of the speaker and then turn it so it points to the edge of the cone. I'm a big fan of that in your face kind of modern/classic guitar tone (Black Crowes) When I'm going for the best possible sound I can get with my gear I add a Marshall MCA SP1 right of front too on the same speaker but angle it 45* and point it the the center of the speaker. Watch for phase problems though. Since phase is a bit of a bitch at times, I only use the SM57 if I'm recording some quick demo in a few days.

Another thing that can also help you a lot with a sweet guitar tone is to record your tracks and pan then 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock BUT for the overdub, try to use a different amp and guitar if you can. Fool around with your pickups and tone settings. You'd be suprised at how much that can do for your tone than just overdubing and panning with the same guitar set up.

As far as EQ goes, it shouldn't be necessary if you have a great tone coming out of your rig to begin with. The one bit of EQing you'll need to do it give it a HPF around 80Hz or so. Other than that you should be all set. I always enjoy talking about recording guitar. It's my personal favorite, well because I am a guitarist and I want my ax cooking on tape. As long as you have a nice amp and guitar, the rest should be easy from there.

CHEERS!!
 
Also forgot to mention that you need to turn down the gain on your amp, depending on what kind you use. That helps a lot with note clarity and definition. Your guitar parts won't sound all smooshy and thin. You'd be suprised at how well that helps to get a "heavier" sounding guitar.
 
Beyer Dynamic M201.

But a SM57 is 90% as good, and 50% of the cost (if not less).



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Stack two 57's together. Like this: http://i38.tinypic.com/2rgozrl.jpg

If you look at the Frequency response chart you see there is a 6db boost at around 5Khz.

And if you check out the frequency range for an electric guitar, you see that the highest fundamental note is at 1.5khz (24th fret on high e string). You're probably not even going to reach that high until the solo section anyway. Especially not for rhythm guitar.

So if you put a 57 on a guitar cab, you are naturally accentuating the high end hiss that doesn't need to be there. Granted you are capturing overtones, but 5k is a bit high for guitar.

Before you start EQing things out, consider this: if you stack them together and shift the second one about an inch farther from the first, it will cause phasing cancellation right around 5khz where that natural boost is. This smooths it out and makes it sound much better.

Just find the sweet spot and put the first mic where you normally would.
Then place the second mic to the side, and exactly the length of the capsule away from the front (about 1").
This works out nicely because not only does it smooth out the 5k bump, but the inner 57 captures higher freqs being closer to the center of the cone, and the outer captures lower freqs. Now you can balance the tone between the two mics in the mix before you even EQ anything!

To add an even fuller sound, put a condenser farther away.
 
Last edited:
I'm sure the OP won't be reading this, as it's six years old...

...but it's worth mentioning that Petrucci (Dream Theater)'s go to setup these days is a SM57 and an e609 close-mic'd, with the amp in a large room, a bit off-center, closer to the back wall, if I recall right.

That said, the SM57 is so widely regarded as a great cab mic for a reason - I won't deny that there are other different/possibly better sounding options out there, but if you can't slap a SM57 in front of the cab, dial around the position a bit, and get something that when (at least) double-tracked doesn't sound totally acceptable, there's probably something wrong somewhere else in your signal chain, and I'd start by looking at how you've dialed in your amp, particularly the gain and midrange knobs.
 
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