Will I damage my mic?

[vomortis]

Hi - I'm intending to record electric guitar, using the following chain -

Guitar - jcm900 amp - MXL 990 condenser mic - audio buddy - Audigy 2 platinum soundcard

The point is, am I using the right mic for the job? Will I damage the condenser mic if I use it to mic up the amp (which will be played very loud in order to get the right tone)?

The MXL 990 is the only mic I have at the mo, but it is possible for me to borrow a sm58 from the church I go to, but it would be impractical to borrow it every time I want to record, so I'm wondering if the condenser mic will be better/worse.

Thanks

 

[moskus]

The MXL 990 is the only mic I have at the mo, but it is possible for me to borrow a sm58 from the church I go to, but it would be impractical to borrow it every time I want to record, so I'm wondering if the condenser mic will be better/worse.

Get a '58, they're not that expensive!

 

[AlChuck]

The Shure SM-57 is the one that's the guitar amp miking holy grail, not the SM-58... which is not to suggest that the 58 isn't a good choice...

 

[TexRoadkill]

You won't damage the condensor unless the cab is just amazingly loud. The thing to watch out for is a lot of air pressure on the mic and usually the only time to worry about that is when you are micing a kick drum, high hat or screaming vocals right up on the mic.

 

[Jeff_D]

I read around here that the 57 and 58 are elctronicaly identical- the only difference is the windscreen- for some technical reason beyond my grasp right now- the windscreen makes a relatively big diff in sound- 58 has more low end among other things- mic forum would probably be a good place to check out if you havent yet

 

[invisiblemute]

Actually the MXL 990 ($70 with shockmount and carrying case) is significantly cheaper than the Shure 57/58 ($80/$100). I've read on this board that the 990 has the same capsule as the highly talked about MXL 603s but you have to take the grill off or something like that.

I'm pretty new to using mics in general (mostly do electronic music) but I've always hated the way 57 and 58s sound. My thinking is at least with cheap condenser mics you get a shrill sound that captures the mids and highs. You can always fix that in post production with EQ tweaking. But if a mic isn't capturing frequencies then you really can't pull that out of thin air. I think the reason why people like the Shure 57/58 mics is that they change the sound of drums and guitar cabinets in a way that people have grown accustomed to and fond of.

Shure SM-57
http://shure.com/microphones/models/sm57.asp
Shure SM-58
http://shure.com/microphones/models/sm58.asp

Slightly different specs. I seem to remember reading that the 57 was designed to have less proximity effect than the 58 which is the phenomenom of bass frequencies getting boosted when you get within a few inches of the mic.

If you've got your heart set on these popular mics seem like the 57 is the way to go. You can get the mic in close. With the 58 you might have to invest in a compressor to tame the bass and signal overall.