Hey y'all,

I'm trying to decide on a mic setup to properly record my Vox AC15C1 (1x12") that will properly capture my surfy sound - clean/breaking, reverb, delay, a bit jangley, bass eq'd out etc.

I have a Shure SM57 mic at the mo, but was recommended picking up a Sennheiser MD-421, apparently it's a classic blend that could be cool when teamed together.

I've also been recommended the Sennheiser e906 mic and a ribbon mic like the Cascade Fathead series.

Anyone have any suggestion for what the best mic setup is to record this type of cleanish guitar sound?

Everything I've seen so far is heavy gain metal stuff that tends to be super mid-scoope which is literally the opposite heh.

A SM57 will work fine. Just learn different ways to mic it until you get near to the sound you want. If you are unhappy with the sound you are getting out of a SM57, then the fault lies with the mic'ing technique. Those mics are really easy to use. They aren't the best, but they will always do the job.

JakeDobner wrote:

A SM57 will work fine. Just learn different ways to mic
it until you get near to the sound you want. If you are
unhappy with the sound you are getting out of a SM57,
then the fault lies with the mic'ing technique. Those
mics are really easy to use. They aren't the best, but
they will always do the job.

agreed. sm57 or Audix i5.

The Exotics 1994-Current
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www.uptownsavages.com

I too use the Shure SM57 and the Sennheiser e906 for mic'ing guitar cabs...

I have found that a blend of the 57 and the Fathead work well. 57 up close and the Fathead at about 16" to 18" away.

Always fun to experiment with mic'ing.

I used a cheap, $100.00, chinese Ribbon mic, looks like an RCA 77, with the Nady brand on it to record our new CD. I think these are marketed under many brand names but most likely made by one manufacturer. Mine is about 6 years old. It's very easy to use and reproduces my sounds as I hear them, in the room with the amp. You have to bump a little high end on it sometimes or add a 57 but man, what an easy to use, natural sounding mic.
Take a listen to some of our reverbnation posted tracks. This mic was used on ALL electric guitar tracks, by itself to record some quite varied sounds and amps.
Up the scale it's hard to beat a Royer 122 if you can afford one.

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

This will probably get shouted down, but I use my Shure PE585 Unisphere. It sounds really gritty, plus, it's a single pin amphenol cable mic, and I love me a good single pin mic. I can put pedal effects on after the mic if I want.

CrazyAces wrote:

I used a cheap, $100.00, chinese Ribbon mic, looks like an RCA 77, with the Nady brand on it to record our new CD. I think these are marketed under many brand names but most likely made by one manufacturer. Mine is about 6 years old. It's very easy to use and reproduces my sounds as I hear them, in the room with the amp. You have to bump a little high end on it sometimes or add a 57 but man, what an easy to use, natural sounding mic.
Take a listen to some of our reverbnation posted tracks. This mic was used on ALL electric guitar tracks, by itself to record some quite varied sounds and amps.
Up the scale it's hard to beat a Royer 122 if you can afford one.

I have the original Oktava version of this mic. I used it for home recording because it did not have a lot hum like a 57, etc. The problem with 57's on on combo amps at low volume is that the coil of the mi picks up transformer radiation.

Here's a great mic that is a large diaphragm dynamic. The Heil PL-30 http://www.heilsound.com/pro/microphones/pr-30

It's a highly rated mic for guitars and a lot of other stuff, too. Pete Curry just got a couple, and I've also had very good luck with mine.

On the expensive end, I used Coles 4038 for the "Into the Blue Sparkle" session, but, that's a different price commitment.

~dave

psychonaut, I've heard about these mods. I'd have to get another mic to try it. I like this one too much to risk doing something that could be potentially destructive in the wrong hands (read: mine, LOL)
The studio we recorded in had U87's, U47's, RCA 77's but we used those for acoustic guitar and upright bass. They have Royers there too but we used them for drum overheads. The engineer who is a friend of ours asked what I used at home and suggested I bring that as we were were going to be working fast, not too much time to experiment. Even with all of their great, vintage mics, he was still intrigued by the cheap little Nady.

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

WinstonTexas wrote:

I really have to pitch in here. You're all talking about rock recording techniques when this music was pre-rock (post R&R yes I know.) The techniques used at the time came out of jazz when recording the room was the thing.

Thanks for this. I used to tell people that I liked records where I could hear the room, but I never really thought of them as being deliberately recorded that way. It has given me a new outlook.

RK