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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Recording Corner »

Permalink Recommend a mic for surf guitar recording

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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.

If you want all mids, try a ribbon mic. There are lots of cheap Chinese models out now to play with.

SSIV

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.

I have the Sennheiser e906 and it is excellent - highly recommended! An SM57 (the go-to amp mic for decades now) will always do a great job too. A common technique that I use all the time is to mic the amp with two microphones of different types (e.g. dynamic + ribbon, or dynamic + large diaphragm condenser, etc) then blend the two sounds to your liking during mixdown.

BTW, if you want excellent ribbon mic for the money check out the Avatone CR-14: http://www.avantoneaudio.com/cr14.htm

Last edited: Jun 08, 2011 12:02:41

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
The Chickenshack - www.wmse.org
www.thedoghouseflowers.com
www.uptownsavages.com

Yeah using a ribbon is appealing for a clean-ish signal like mine - i.e. something that can pickup the subtlety of a clean/reverby signal.

Thou my ceiling is only 8ft high, I'm a bit concerned it'd all just end up bleeding into itself.

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

Do you find they work together? They tend to get compared as similar vs complimentary.

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.

There is NOTHING like using a Royer 121 or 122 on a guitar amp. OK ... so they are $1000. Go back and read the first line!

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

Excellent article on the topic - moving the mic around even an inch can be a big change in tone:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/recording/how-to-mic-an-amppart-1-the-basics/

I too prefer the sound of the Sennheiser e906 over the 57. Bonus is you can drape them over your piggyback Fenders right on the grillcloth and avoid an extra mic stand on stage...


'65 Fender Tremolux, '74 Princeton; 77 Vibrolux Reverb; '81 Princeton Reverb
'65-66 Hilgen Basso Grande
Dr. Z MAZ 18 Jr. + 1x12 Cab
Various Telecasters and noise-making pedals
Farfisa Compact Duo

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.

andrew00 wrote:

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.

I have and regularly use all the mics you've mentioned here. But I don't use the 421 for guitar, I like it on toms primarily. I do use the 906 on my lapsteel amp, but the SM57 is my go-to guitar cab mic. I've used more than 1 and tried to blend, but I find that the best results come from just the a single 57 in the right position.

Wake the Kraken!

https://www.facebook.com/wakethekraken

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

The best results I've ever gotten on guitar are with either a Neumann U87 or an AKG RE 15, or a Telefunken U47, but those are fairly expensive vintage type mics so forget about those unless you're very wealthy. I've only used those in proper studios that had them obviously since I can't afford them....
With cheaper mics, the sm57 of course, but I've also gotten good results with a Shure 55sh, or an Oktava 319 (an excellent all around mic). Like CrazyAces, I also have one of those cheap chinese ribbon mics (mine is branded Apex). It sounds really good, and can be drasticly improved by changing out the transformer, and removing all the foam padding in the capsule. This makes them much more sensitive and responsive: http://www.hometracked.com/2007/08/17/ribbon-mic-mod-part-1-apex-205/

https://www.facebook.com/coffindagger
http://coffindaggers.com/
http://thecoffindaggers.bandcamp.com

Last edited: Oct 01, 2012 10:07:10

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

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.

Get your amp sound right then try & get a great room . Then pull a condensor mic way back 4/6/8 feet even & you get a real early 60's sound. My preference is Blumlein technique http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumlein_Pair . It is the most detailed natural & spacious sound imaginable, you actually record the whole room. However you do need 2 good mics with a figure of 8 option.

Anyhow my tip is back off, let the amp & room breathe.

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

I like to close mic the amp. Just tried two mics on my SF SR. An SM57 straight about at 6 inches from the grill cloth and an MXL 990 condenser at about 12". I like the results. I UL'd a sample in the Download section under gear samples.

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