Amp Microphone

[RnFR]

for gigging, it's not just the fragile factor, but a ribbon is going to pick up a bunch of other shit on the stage besides just your guitar. the rejection is not what you would want for live use. i use e609's at work almost everyday at a 500 seat venue, and i think they sound great. before we got those i used 57's, but i think i dig the 609s more for guitars. they have more midrange- like around 1k. and that works well for bringing out the guitars without being too harsh.

[ElectricMudd]

Yea the e609s seemed more practical for what I was looking for. I would love to try a few ribbon mics though too.

Thanks for all the help guys!!

[Jim Goad]

I'd suggest using either an SM57 or SM58 for close micing a cab. The tonal differences of the two are a matter of personal taste really but an SM58 will capture a little more low end & will therefore be better then a 57 for use on a 15 inch speaker. I've heard of people using AKG D112's (a Kick Drum mic) on Bass cabs but haven't tried it myself.
I'd like to try a Neumann KMS104 on a Guitar cab. It's their answer to the SM58 & it's supposed to have a much better frequency response.

Ribbon / Condenser mics are great in a studio but you shouldn't use them for close micing unless you have the amp at low volume. Can't go wrong with a Neumann U87 if you can afford it but there are plenty of cheaper alternatives that will be good. Rode stuff is excellent for the price. Those T Bone mics are amazing for the price. I regularly use a pair of T Bone pencil mics for drum overheads that only cost me £30 for the pair & they sound pro.

[imlikeajungle]

Yeah, as stated: ribbon live is probably not a good idea.
Thé best ribbon mic I have tried on guitar is this one:



AEA R92, about 800$. Awesome. But without a nice pre, this is sort of overkill, I guess!
Some of the more 'known' ribbons are the Beyer M160, M260 and the M500. I took a plunge with those T.Bone ones after hearing some clips from a drumkit with just the two overheads & it sounded nice but I wouldn't buy any ribbon... I guess it's the same with the condensers these days: a lot of the cheap ones sound really harsh, you're better off with a decent dynamic than with a piece of shit condenser. Be careful, there's Chinese Tonebenders out there too for 40$ if you know what I mean...


I have multi-miced with the ribbons on guitar, together with the M201 and the i5. Nice & complementary but it's a bitch with phase-issues if you're not careful. I used the sweet-spotting-trick that was described above but I do it with the noise from the amp instead of guitar signal. Very useful to learn how positioning works (which is definitely the most important factor). I saw a really cool tutorial vid in 3 parts on a Scandinavian studio website once about this technique, I'll see if I can dig it up - but it has been a few years.

[1bottlerocket]

When I was playing regularly, we used Sure SM 57-58 into a board. They're real work horses.

[API]

Ahh, one of my favorite subjects!!

I own a recording studio here in Sweden and have quite alot of experience with this.
And I thought I would share one of my best kept secrets (I know I will regret this someday!).
But here we go!
Try to find a good looking Shure 545 mic on EBay or elsewhere.
These are the older version of the SM57 and sounds so much better, not sure if there is a huge difference in design but I think the 545 has a higher grade transformer.
There are both made in USA and made in Mexico versions of the mic an I have both and I can not remember any huge difference but go for the USA version if you can since I sure the parts are a little better in it.
It could also be a case of that they only assembled them in Mexico with US made parts.
Anyway, they are very cheap and sounds very good, it is a fantastic mic for male rock vocals as well, sits very good in a mix.

Another trick I often do is to put one mic close, straight into the cone a little off center and then another on besides it in a 45 degree angle pointing into the side of the cone.
You should get almost full phase cancellation between the two mics, flip the phase of one of them and viola, a great guitar sound!!
Try to experiment with different mics, I usually use a Blue ball (kind of HiFi sounding) for the straight and usually a Sennheiser 421 (another fantastic alround mic) or the Shure 545.
Separately the mics can sound a little bland but when you mix them together the sound should be very thick and rich.

Ribbons on a distance is usually also extremely good.
I recorded a small Fender Princeton last week with an old RCA BX44 at about 3 feet away, sounded great.

Have fun!

Dennis

[Electric Warrior]

you meant to say 545, didn't you? never had the chance to try one..
I end up using a 57 often, even when there are supposedly better mic choices available. It's got a certain edge that makes it work great for electric guitar. another favourite of mine is the Sennheiser MD441, but it's rather expensive for a dynamic.

if often like dynamics in combination with a large diaphragm condenser. the dynamic a little off-center, aimed right between cone and dust cap (angled a little to the edge of the speaker when I only use one mic), the large diaphragm close to the edge. check phase and mix to taste.

[redeyeflight]

I really like the blue microphones blue ball. It's a dynamic mic that is phantom powered...the best of both worlds. You get the ability to use it at high volume levels like a dynamic but it has a really nice warm low-end of a condenser. I've been really happy with the sound of the tracks I've used it to record on. Also, it's damn cheap!! Well under 100 USD. Also, in the higher-end/pricer range the good ol' akg c414 is really an awesome mic for capturing a more detailed sound and has a nice gain pad on it so that you can use it in front of a loud amp and not blow it up...sounds awesome on vocals and acoustic guitar as well (something that can NOT be said of the blue ball).

[gururyan]

I use a 57 and/or my large condenser.

[friendlybunny]

Yeah... ribbon mics usually have figure 8 patterns, so you will be picking up the front and the back of the mic almost equally. But they do sound cool... I usually put them 2-4 feet away depending on the room and loudness of the amp.

I like sm57 for live use. I like sennheiser md421 for guitar.

I also use that on/off axis micing with inverting the phase of 1 of the mics. But I usually put the 2nd mic on the back of the speaker (if it's an open back cab) and place it equidistant from the cone as the front mic. Filp the phase and it sounds huge.

For a deep tone with lots of bass, I like to use an EV RE20.