What microphones you recommend to record electric guitar

[brian123]

Presently I am using a 30 year old Shure 56 to record my 50 watt Hot rod Deluxe and American Fender Strat it has a 1 "10" speaker and sometimes my room mic is Studio Project large condenser C-1. Not real satisfied with recordings. I set my room mic the C1 usually 5 feet or more from amp. I record in a L shaped room 20 feet by 29 feet. I know it starts at the source it can be hard to make the distortion channel on the HRD sound good. But my $250 Takamine guitar recorded thru a pair of matched octavia mc12 sound quite a bit better than the Strat. I am recording to a 24 bit Korg D3200 multitrack.

I am thinking maybe its my mic collection that is holding me back. I have maybe a budget of $400 . I am interested in for two mics a room mic and a close up mic. Should I try a cheap ribbon. What room mic is best for capturing cabinets? Is there something better than Shure 57 for my budget? What mics do you you use to capture electric guitar sounds?

[MrJoshua]

Well, the 57 can be a solid choice. I like ribbon mics on guitar cabs. Right now I normally use either a 57, or a Shinybox 46MXC ribbon, or a Cascade Fathead II ribbon with the Lundahl transformer option.

 

I don't know if I'd worry that much about a room mic unless your room sounds really good. I'd rather have a solid close-mic sound as opposed to a good recording of a mediocre room.

 

I've always pretty much been of the opinion, though, that if you can't get a decent recording of a guitar cab with an SM-57, the problem isn't the mic. Move it around. Try different positions, different angles, different amp settings ... but it's a solid mic for electric guitar.

[brian123]

I like the sound of Crowley and Tripp Naked Eye's compare it to AEA R84 much brighter and less money. It's less money than a Royer but beyond my budget its probably $800 .Mr. Joshua does the Shinyhead ribbon or Cascade ribbon sound bright like the Tripp Naked Eye's? Anybody use the Naked Eye to record electric guitar. Click on the link to hear the sound test. http://emusician.com/mics/emusic_crowley_trippnaked_eye/

[Lee Knight]

I use a Cascade Fathead all the time. Not bright but I like it that way. The combo of 57 and Fathead is a good one. Usually though, I prefer the Fathead alone.

 

I also like an RE-20 on cab. Flat, and 57 like in some respects but with out that 4k bump. Senn 609 too.

 

So for me, going from dark to bright in my arsenal of guitar cab keepers:

 

Fathead

RE-20

Senn 609

57

 

Of course for a Exile Keith kind of thing I'll go with the Fatheads out in the room in Blumlein at a 6-10 foot distance and put someting on the cab 6" out.

[MrJoshua]

Yeah, I wouldn't consider the Fathead or the Shinybox to be "bright." I use an SM-7b on guitar cabs sometimes, too, or a Sennheiser 421. It just depends on what kind of sound I'm going for, what mics are tied up in other places, etc. The Shinybox 46MXC ribbon are probably my most commonly-used guitar cab mics, though. Keep in mind that I'm purely a home studio guy, so take my opinions for what they're worth.

 

I don't really like "bright" mics on my guitar cabs, while we're on the topic. If I want a little more brightness in the sound, I'll adjust the tone controls on the amp or guitar. I like my guitar sounds fat. Give me a 57 or a decent ribbon mic and a good preamp (my favorite guitar preamps lately have been a Groove Tubes "The Brick" and SuPre, the Great River MP-500NV, and the FMR RNP), and chances are that I'll be pretty happy.

[UstadKhanAli]

I don't really like "bright" mics on my guitar cabs, while we're on the topic.

 

I'm not trying to be funny...but does anyone? I've never once heard of someone saying, "Yeah, I wanna get some mic with a really sharp high-frequency peak on that Fender amp!!"

 

That said, I do use a Lawson L251 on guitar cabs. I don't know that this mic is "bright", but it does have an openness to it on vocals and such even though it's extremely full-sounding. But as a room mic, it's a beautiful thing.

[UstadKhanAli]

Of course, I neglected to actually answer the thread!

 

57, 421, L251...and for the last year or whatever, Heil PR30, my new favorite guitar cab mic.

[Jimbroni]

 

I use a Cascade Fathead all the time. Not bright but I like it that way. The combo of 57 and Fathead is a good one. Usually though, I prefer the Fathead alone. I also like an RE-20 on cab. Flat, and 57 like in some respects but with out that 4k bump. Senn 609 too. So for me, going from dark to bright in my arsenal of guitar cab keepers: Fathead RE-20 Senn 609 57 Of course for a Exile Keith kind of thing I'll go with the Fatheads out in the room in Blumlein at a 6-10 foot distance and put someting on the cab 6" out.

 

 

 

Ooohh. I love using a blumlein room pair when recording guitar. Specifically lead guitar, if going for a santana, zappa or other anthemic type rock solo.

 

Re20 up on the cab, the position varies depending on how fat of a tone I want. Blumlein out in the room 6-10 sounds about right. Sometimes out in the center of the room sometimes about a foot and half away from the wood wall if I want alot of natural verb.

[Lee Knight]

 

Re20 up on the cab, the position varies depending on how fat of a tone I want. Blumlein out in the room 6-10 sounds about right. Sometimes out in the center of the room sometimes about a foot and half away from the wood wall if I want alot of natural verb.

 

 

 

That's funny, that is my exact setup this past Saturday and this upcoming Saturday as well, for lead stuff. Mic'ing a Les Paul into some old tweed Fender 4x10. Sounds pretty good. Spread the Blumlien, pan the RE20 down the middle and... yeah. Squash the room a bit and call it a day.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Mikes I've been using a lot lately on guitar cabinets:

 

Beyer M160 ribbon

AKG C-414EB LDC

Audix D2, i5 dynamics

Groove Tubes Velo-8 ribbon

 

Occasionally I will use a Shure SM57 or Sennheiser e609 dynamic, but less frequently than the others.

[sethlover]

Should I try a cheap ribbon. What room mic is best for capturing cabinets? Is there something better than Shure 57 for my budget? What mics do you you use to capture electric guitar sounds?

 

A 56 should provide you with decent guitar tracks provided you have a good preamp. I've not worked with the Korg D3200 but I suspect the preamps are not all that great. Usually they skimp pretty bad on preamps with these all-in-one units. It's hard to tell someone go out and drop $1000 or more on a decent preamp but switching to better mics is really not going to solve your problem. A 56 and 57 have a similar response. Plug in a top of the line Ldc and all you're going to have a flat/dull sounding track that sounds maybe a little bigger.

 

A great preamp into a 24/96 DAW will make a 56/57 sound fantastic on a guitar cab, even vocals (usually male). Sinatra recorded (towards the end of his Capital days and on) all his vocals with a Shure 546, not a whole lot different than a 57, better made but a similar response. I'm not using Ldc's that much these days.

Get a really good preamp and pick up an EV 635a (or better a couple). You can record anything with a great preamp and a EV 635a.

[Cirrus]

Last week I recorded guitar with an sm57 and md421 on one cone, then an AT4050 about 5 meters back to pick up some "room tone". The 421 was close to the edge of the cone, a bit off axis, and the 57 was closer to the middle, also off axis.

 

I'm going to buy an MD421, they're brilliant.

[Primal Yell]

Ustad,

Can you clarify how you like to apply your 251 with the guitars and cabs? My intuition suggests that with classical or acoustic guitars the openess is particularly valuable.....but I may be missing something , i mean using it with guitar cabinets.

 

please clarify. 251 on cabinets, .....fascinated and curious.....

 

--best in your studios BTW

[Phil O'Keefe]

Sinatra recorded (towards the end of his Capital days and on) all his vocals with a Shure 546, not a whole lot different than a 57, better made but a similar response. I'm not using Ldc's that much these days.

 

I did not know that. I always thought Sinatra used 44's back in the old days, and then moved on to his "Tele" (U47) for the later stuff. I never knew he used a 546. Apparently Brian Wilson used a 545 for a lot of his Pet Sounds lead vocals too. I've got a 545, but I have not used it on anything for a while - I'm going to have to rectify that...

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

Ustad, Can you clarify how you like to apply your 251 with the guitars and cabs? My intuition suggests that with classical or acoustic guitars the openess is particularly valuable.....but I may be missing something , i mean using it with guitar cabinets. please clarify. 251 on cabinets, .....fascinated and curious..... --best in your studios BTW

 

 

I've used mine on cabs too, but usually not close in; more as a distant or room mic, in conjunction with a close mic or two - usually about 6-8' back, at chest height, aimed at the amp.

 

As for acoustic guitars, they can work very well for that.

[UstadKhanAli]

Ustad, Can you clarify how you like to apply your 251 with the guitars and cabs? My intuition suggests that with classical or acoustic guitars the openess is particularly valuable.....but I may be missing something , i mean using it with guitar cabinets. please clarify. 251 on cabinets, .....fascinated and curious..... --best in your studios BTW

 

I think a lot of the reason it works is because I am recording a lot of clean guitars. If I record distorted guitars, I have a tendency to pull out something that's not quite as open, such as the AT4060, which is a nice mic as well.

 

The L251 is not bright, but it does sound open. And it's also flexible. For instance, instead of discretely fixed polar patterns, it's infinitely variable, so I feel like I can dial in the sound with those variables as well.

 

While the L251 does sound good up on a cabinet with clean sounds (and sometimes distorted sounds - I've gotten awesome sounds from Marshall stacks before out of this mic about a foot away from the cabinet), if someone shows up with a really bright sound with a lot of fizz on top and that's the sound that they really want, I'll almost never use that mic.

 

I usually although not always use it as a room mic, and often either in omni or something relatively close to omni along with a Heil PR30 up on the cabinet.

 

And as you might suspect, the L251 is a nice mic to use for acoustic guitars...and with this, I frequently record with the L251 in omni but with a couple of RealTraps around it so I get the openness from being in omni but don't pick up the entire room. I also use the two RealTraps when recording guitar cabinets.

 

I hope this makes sense. I'm in a noisy room eating lunch and am distracted and didn't edit this at all....

[CME]

........I've always pretty much been of the opinion, though, that if you can't get a decent recording of a guitar cab with an SM-57, the problem isn't the mic. Move it around. Try different positions, different angles, different amp settings ... but it's a solid mic for electric guitar.

 

I'll tend to agree. You can get a good workable sound out of a 57. I learned a lot about my guitar tone by recording it. I was never really happy with any amp I had until I started recording myself. Then I realized how sloppy a player I was and how bad my tone was. Now I'm not that much better of a player but I do sound a lot better. I can also dial in a workable tone on most amps in no time.

 

I'll also say I like ribbons for electric guitars. I bought a cheap Nady ribbon at Fry's a couple of Christmas's ago. It was like $100. Makes me wanna step up to a nicer one. Man does it sound huge. It's not the most detailed, but it was cheap so I give it a break. Also been itching to try the Heil PR30 but right now funds don't allow. Just for reference I run the ribbon through a Grace 101 preamp (with the extra gain for ribbons).

[UstadKhanAli]

 

I've always pretty much been of the opinion, though, that if you can't get a decent recording of a guitar cab with an SM-57, the problem isn't the mic. Move it around. Try different positions, different angles, different amp settings ... but it's a solid mic for electric guitar.

 

 

Yup. Perfectly serviceable, sometimes great, mic for guitar cabinets.

 

I have a lot of mics to choose from, and I still sometimes choose a 57 for cabs. It's simply a good mic.

[MrJoshua]

Just for reference I run the ribbon through a Grace 101 preamp (with the extra gain for ribbons).

 

That's actually one of my least-favorite preamps for guitar cabs. I like it sometimes with clean sounds, but in general I want a little more color from my preamp on guitar sounds. I like some iron in the signal path. I tend to go with either the Groove Tubes "The Brick" or SuPre, or the Great River MP-500NV. Sometimes I'll go with the API 512c. I have to say that it's really impressive how well the Brick holds up next to the others, when you consider the price. It's one of my favorite guitar preamps.

[sethlover]

Sinatra recorded (towards the end of his Capital days and on) all his vocals with a Shure 546, not a whole lot different than a 57, better made but a similar response. I'm not using Ldc's that much these days. I did not know that. I always thought Sinatra used 44's back in the old days, and then moved on to his "Tele" (U47) for the later stuff. I never knew he used a 546. Apparently Brian Wilson used a 545 for a lot of his Pet Sounds lead vocals too. I've got a 545, but I have not used it on anything for a while - I'm going to have to rectify that...

 

Do you know who I learned that from Phil? None other than the man himself, Mr. Bob Olhsson. A good friend of his (I forget the name) worked the sessions at Capitol confirmed that Sinatra almost always used a 44 throughout his Capitol years but some time before he left he started using his stage mic a 546. The reason for the switch was Sinatra walked into a session Elvis was doing over at Western and saw that Elvis was using a stage mic. When asked, Elvis told him that he always recorded with his stage mic. From then on out Sinatra did the same. This was also confirmed by another friend of Bob's who worked Sinatra's later sessions.

These accounts have lead me to believe Sinatra rarely recorded with the U47 during the Capitol years.

Supposedly Elvis used a EV 635a for those early RCA sessions, later a RE-15 pretty much from there on out. My guess is it might have been this mic [635a] that Sinatra saw him use that day which by the way is an incredible all around performer, but who knows? I forget but I believe Elvis was doing a Christmas album, movie soundtrack or something rare at Western that day. I read some session notes a long time ago but I remember it was an oddball thing him being there. Btw, Bob says they used the 635a all over the place at Motown, vocals, instruments, room, talk back. Great mic to have in the cab.

[UstadKhanAli]

That's actually one of my least-favorite preamps for guitar cabs. I like it sometimes with clean sounds, but in general I want a little more color from my preamp on guitar sounds.

 

I'v used RNPs for clean guitar (cabinet) sounds and it works really great. However, I also tend to prefer more color from my preamp for guitar sounds, and often use either a Neve Portico with Silk Mode or a Peavey VMP-2.

[CME]

That's actually one of my least-favorite preamps for guitar cabs. I like it sometimes with clean sounds, but in general I want a little more color from my preamp on guitar sounds. I like some iron in the signal path. I tend to go with either the Groove Tubes "The Brick" or SuPre, or the Great River MP-500NV. Sometimes I'll go with the API 512c. I have to say that it's really impressive how well the Brick holds up next to the others, when you consider the price. It's one of my favorite guitar preamps.

 

Yeah I use the Grace only with the Ribbon mic for guitars. It seems to help with clarity. Although like I said I'm not using the best ribbon mic made. I've got a RNP, Brick, Neve Portico 5012, Presonus ADL 600 (maybe the channel strip 700 version), UA 610, Peavey VMP, and many others on my to buy list. I use the modded pre's in my 002 with the 57 and get some really nice results. And yeah the Grace Preamp is unforgiving. I don't think the Grace sounds bad or harsh even. You just get out of it what you put in kinda thing.

[MrJoshua]

I'v used RNPs for clean guitar (cabinet) sounds and it works really great. However, I also tend to prefer more color from my preamp for guitar sounds, and often use either a Neve Portico with Silk Mode or a Peavey VMP-2.

 

I've used the RNP on cleaner stuff before. It's a really ni ... good. It's a really GOOD preamp for all kinds of stuff.

 

When I was right in the middle of my ribbon mic kick, where I was insisting on a ribbon mic and a tube pre on all my guitar tracks (just because), on a whim I stuck a 57 about two feet in front of a 2x12 Marshall cab with a late-70's Bassman on top of it and plugged in a Tele, and ran the mic into the RNP. And it sounded freaking ridiculously great. Just goes to show you that it's easy to get caught up in "oh I need this mic" or "I have to have this preamp!" when in the end, if you have a great guitar sound and some decent gear, a little effort can turn out a great recording.

[UstadKhanAli]

So true!!!! Although the 57 and the RNP are abnormally ni-, er, GOOD cheap stuff!!!

[Zooey]

It's a little pricier than some of the other options, but the Senn e906 is great for clean and dirty guitars. It's like a 609 without the presence peak (you can also switch that in if you want it). Too bad Sennheiser didn't voice the 609 this way--if you're just going to have one option, the flat option is the most useful.

 

I'll also use the EV635a (I got a pair for $20 at an electronics swap meet). Those are very ribbon-like. They're weak in the low end, though, even when you consider there's no proximity effect.

 

Finally, I've got a shinybox 46 with the cinemag transformer. I generally use that with EQ on the way in to get it closer to what I like to hear in the mix.