mic for rock guitar

[Shields]

My friend and I were recording a hard-rock type band a week ago. We put an sm57 and an e609 on the guitar cab and it came out real well.

[billiamwalker]

My friend and I were recording a hard-rock type band a week ago. We put an sm57 and an e609 on the guitar cab and it came out real well.

can i listen to what you recorded? i want to make sure the mic will give me what i want (or close to what i want)

[lancebug]

EV dynamics? I have been enjoying them a lot lately. Not as "pointy" as the 57. I have 3 different ones and they all do something good. I also think they all sound more inviting than the 57 on a guitar cabinet.

[vvv]

And still no one has mentioned the infamous C-1000S...

I like it for a change from the 58 that I usually use.

[trodden]

EV dynamics? I have been enjoying them a lot lately. Not as "pointy" as the 57. I have 3 different ones and they all do something good. I also think they all sound more inviting than the 57 on a guitar cabinet.

"pointy" totally, the main thing i've always felt about the 57 and not liked. I've come into habit of using 421 and 57 for the past year or so.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I like omni dynamics on rock guitar - EV 635a's and the Shure VP64 - they're a bit less boxy sounding than a 57.
I also like Oktava MK-219's (it's like a more detailed 57) and sometimes even an MXL 2001 if I need that extra bit of gross high end.
For meatier guitars I use a 421 or a Bayer m88.

[joel hamilton]

i'm kind of stuck on research. i can't find a mic a to decide on for getting the best guitar sound reproduction. I have a 57 and i'm wanting to combine it with another mic to increase the realism and warmth of rock and roll amps.
i know a guy who uses an sm81 and 57 on axis. i've considered this but i'm looking at some more options to best fit sound reproduction. any other suggestions?
also, what pattern mic will i be better set on? theoretically i'd think it'd be a

p.s. lets keep it around or under $500 if you can. (that means no royer 121's haha)

SM7.
Oktava/ Electro Harmonix ML52.
AT 4033.
CAD E100 (the original one)
EV RE20
Neumann Dynamic thingy... the BCM thingy with the green badge. I have one that I have been LOVING on semi driven vox AC15 and fender twin or princeton or deluxe type sounds. I dont love it for full blown heavy stuff, but whatever. For everything else I have been loving that neumann dynamic. I like it on Bass too.

Grundig GBM125.
EV RE11.

[knobtwirler]

Every amp/guitar/player combination tends to have a different sound. This calls for different mics and techniques to capture the most killer version of that sound. I like the idea of an up-close dynamic and a not-so up-close condenser used together, either on different speakers or on one speaker. Sometimes if the amp is open backed, put a mic back there and fip the phase to correlate with a mic up front. I'll use any mic and find the right placement without eq, and if that doesn't work, I'll probably move to another mic. Since I play a LEs Paul through a Marshall, I use a 58 and a MXL2001 or a 57 and a 414 and those sound great on me. Maybe not on someone else...

[seaneldon]

rock and roll guitars? my favorites...

dynamic:
shure sm7
sennheiser md421

ribbon:
aea r84
royer r121
beyerdynamic m160
coles 4038

condenser:
soundelux u195
sony c48
akg c414 tlii

[knobtwirler]

All these cool mics listed just reminded me of a story. I was watching a fellow engineer record/produce guitars for a band I had also recorded, and the sound he decided to be best among three different amps was not what the guitarist thought sounded good. The engineer said to the guitar player that the sound was what was best for the song, and although the guitar player didn't like how small and trashy it sounded, that was gonna be the guitar sound. About a week later, I had the same guitar player play on a different song through two amps with my choice of mics and pres, and I used both stereo tracks for playback while the guitar player was there doing the parts. He commented later about how the tones and size of the guitar sound I got with him was always so flattering and it put him at ease to play the best takes he could. Later the mixer used just one track and made it small and trashy. The drums sounded good though.

[mjau]

Anyone mentioned a Beyer m69 yet? I like that mic for similar things that Joel likes his BCM on - not full blown heavy guitar, but great on warm, overdriven amps.

[kayagum]

EV dynamics? I have been enjoying them a lot lately. Not as "pointy" as the 57. I have 3 different ones and they all do something good. I also think they all sound more inviting than the 57 on a guitar cabinet.

"pointy" totally, the main thing i've always felt about the 57 and not liked. I've come into habit of using 421 and 57 for the past year or so.

Have people experimented with off-axis positions for the 57? I remember a good friend of mine who was obsessed with this. I would think that would take some of the harsh edge off of the mic.

[jkretz]

i will add to the suggestion of the e609. it's a great mic, and cheap to boot. also for as much shit as people give the c1000s i've got some of my favorite sounds out of that thing...

if you're looking to maximize the uses of the mic you pick up (and who isn't) you might want to look at the c1000. i guess it depends on the type of production your going for on a piece, but i think that mic sounds great on some male vocalists. kind of an intentionally trashy feel to it...

[billiamwalker]

i'm mainly looking for a mic that i can change the position or roll off to best reproduce the guitar sound.

so far out of all of the suggestions.. i'm leaning towards the e906. it seems like a solid sounding mic and it also seems like the best fit to pair up with the 57.

[Rick Hunter]

i usually just grab a mic out of my mic bucket and point it at an amp. Ive really been into my radio shack electrits lately though. I have two of them, so the odds of me pulling one out of the bucket is pretty high.