How I record guitar.

[honeyiscool]

I get asked quite often how I do my gear demos without a visible mic and that's because my preferred technique involves using a small condenser mic. Here I am using an Audio-Technica Pro 37, a small cardiod condenser mic that is magical at capturing electric guitar cabinets and gets a nice natural sound while having a lot of bite. I use a windscreen because sometimes I'll use the same mic on vocals. I don't have a big space to work with, so I use a 17" gooseneck attached to a On-Stage Stands TM03 C-Clamp clamped to my desk.



My interface is an RME Fireface UFX, which is pretty high end, but this would just just fine through any setup with phantom power. When I want to record electric guitar, I just move my amp (I always have amps on stands) to my desk like this and then point the mic like this:



Because I'm using a condenser instead of dynamic, I give the mic plenty of air, 8" to 12" away. If you want lots of treble, have it pointed from straight out, right at the cone, like in the picture. If you want to cut some presence, start pointing it away from the center. Although close mic'd dynamics are a live staple, I find that small condensers at this distance need almost zero EQ or compression to sound good. Plus, it actually captures the difference between your different equipment and gets just a bit of your room to give it some natural air.

Anyway, that's how I do it.

[joshmac]

Cool, simple setup man. What amp is that, a pathfinder of some sort?

[honeyiscool]

That's actually my AC15VR.

[joshmac]

Thats the solid state version they released with the blue top panel? I have an AC4TV, made this video awhile back (when this thing first came out)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnHgw1jKI7k

[nuke_diver]

Interesting, thanks HIC

I use a SM57 but it's terrible for acoustic and vocals (should I ever bother to try) and I've thought about getting a condenser mic but thought it might only be a 1 trick pony and I don't do a lot of acoustic recording. I never thought to use one in the manner you are. Now I'm off to browse CL for cheap Condenser mics

[honeyiscool]

Originally Posted by joshmac

Thats the solid state version they released with the blue top panel? I have an AC4TV, made this video awhile back (when this thing first came out)

Yep, that's the one! It's got one 12AX7, but it's mostly solid state. I really like it.

I had an AC4TV a couple years ago. I ended up selling it but recently got an AC4C1 and love it. I think the Top Boost circuit helps.

Originally Posted by nuke_diver

Interesting, thanks HIC

I use a SM57 but it's terrible for acoustic and vocals (should I ever bother to try) and I've thought about getting a condenser mic but thought it might only be a 1 trick pony and I don't do a lot of acoustic recording. I never thought to use one in the manner you are. Now I'm off to browse CL for cheap Condenser mics

People always talk about dynamic mics as workhorses, but I think small condensers are actually the most versatile of them all. They're amazing for pretty much all acoustic instruments, but you have to be careful with how much air you push into them, whereas an SM57 will take anything. So you need to check the specs before you stick them on a steel snare or a Marshall stack at 11, but anything you might record at home, they should be able to handle. But yeah, I think people think of them as acoustic mics because that's the use where you really don't need to think about levels and such. They're great for ensemble micing, where I think they're the most visible (people just stick two of them overhead and record auditoriums that way). Then people have tiny electret condensers in portable recorders and such.

In addition to their usual thing, I think they shine on male solo vocals and guitar cabinets. Dynamic mics, to me, have a very midrangey sound and it tends to make a lot of things sound the same to me, the same level of good and acceptable, but you lose a lot of what makes each equipment so unique. I'm just saying, on a 57-style mic (I don't have a 57, but I have an Audix i5 and Audio Technica ATM650, which are similar), a Vintage 30 sounds pretty much exactly like a Celestion Blue. The neodymium versions like i5 and ATM650 are probably a bit flatter, but it's the same basic idea. The beauty of the sound you do get is that it tends to work in rock songs, but as a guitarist, I just am never happy with the raw output of a dynamic mic, I feel like they need a bit more top-end to sound like the real thing. I think the main issue is that I never listen to guitars by putting my ear against a speaker cone. When I use a condenser mic, it's a lot closer to how I'm sitting when I'm listening to guitar. Having the mic further away makes it closer to how I actually listen to guitar, but by using a little condenser and aiming it at the center of the cone, you still get that presence. So not only do I get extended top end due to the added sensitivity of the mic, I actually get to let the sound develop and hear the difference between various equipment. If there's a bit of nastiness, you'll hear it, whereas a 57 will tend to make most things sound about the same (but good).

You can also use a large condenser in the same manner, but the sound is completely different. It just doesn't have the same kind of forward presence to me. However, it's much warmer, so if sounding natural at all costs is the goal, then use a large condenser. If you still want it in your face, small condensers are a better choice. There are a lot of cheap small condensers out there, mostly Chinese ones. Most of the cheap ones are pretty much all decent but nothing special, I have an MXL 603S somewhere. The AT Pro 37 (made in Japan) is pretty much the first of the cheap condensers that actually do something special, and at $129, it's quite affordable. Steve Albini actually mentioned that mic as the best mic of any kind for under $200, and I can't say that I disagree.