guitar cab mic???

[eeldip]

i find that the EV 408/308/468(?) is pretty amazing on cabs as well.

i bet they would be great for live sound, cause they are tuff and small and are equally good on snare/toms/bass cabs.

the 57 though... well you can get an armful of them for cheap. $50 and less used, and often sold in lots. i think people are less likely to steal them (cause everyone has a few of them anyway). but that plastic basket thing. in many clubs have been replaced by duct tape (often turning the mic into some strange omni).

[dwelle]

here it comes....

i know this may not be politically correct in these parts, but i DIG my akg c1000 on guitar cabs. don't know if i'd want to use it all the time for live sound (i've use mine live on a few occassions), but definitely workable. they can easily be had for $150-200, sometimes less. check it out....

[kayagum]

Andy Hong would agree with Dwelle on the C1000.

[Meriphew]

I've been using a BLUE Baby Bottle with a high success rate lately.

[joninc]

i am a big fan of using my rode nt2 a few feet back or even across the room depending on what we are going for. often used in conjunction with a 57 close up but i did read andy hong's review and it prompted me to pick up a used c1000 which i haven't had a chance to try out yet but his guitar sounds are really great, very hifi and clear with lots of presence (but not piercing).

[ciminosound]

The Rode nt2 might be the mic I was talking about. I'm going to have to look for more side address dynamics and try them out. See if it makes a difference. Need to get my D12 wired up properly to check it out......

[Al]

I'll also second that, A.K.G. c1000. Think it depends on the amp and guitar and player,style. Sounds nice enough, think they are a good all round mic, good value for money!!

[Max]

It really depends on what you're looking for - soundwise. The market offers great alterternatives to the SM57.
I'm in Germany, that's why I've got a quite nice collection of Beyerdynamic mics that I've bought very cheap from German ebay, long before you folks in the states or England heard about it, back then when prices were really low!!!
My favorite mic on clean/crunchy amps is the old Beyer M 260 (the one with the grey body, not the M 260.80). I often prefered it over the M 160.
The M 500 sounds great if you've got a very (too) muddy amp or if you want your guitar to really cut through the mix without being harsh. It's a bright mic with a bass roll off.
I like the M 500 in combination with a coincidenced M 380, just blend them to taste. This way you can control the amount of bass and mids pretty good.
Shure's SM 81 is a good mic for extra brightness.
A friend of mine often uses AKG D 3700s.
I like Audio Technica's 4033 very much on distorted guitar cabs, more than the much more expensive AKG C 414 b-uls for example. I've heard the AT 4040 and I was surprised how good it sounds. It's less boosted in the 3-4 kHz region, maybe more top end and even cheaper than the AT 4033.

If you're budget isn't as limited as mine is, listen to Royer's R 121 before you buy a mic.
AEA makes nice reissues of RCA mics, they look great and Wes Dooley is a serious person, so I'm sure they sound good as well. The Coles 4038 is many people's favorite...$$$... Neumann U 67....
If you're recorded guitar doesn't sound good, it's most of the time the amp, the guitar, the cabinet, the room, bad cables, empty batteries in effect pedals or the player, don't forget: a microphone is just a microphone is just a microphone.
Good luck, Max.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I swear by omni dynamics for guitar cabs. To my ear they sound more true to the sound coming out of the speaker.
I use 57's for my live sound gig because thats what the club has but I'm never crazy about how they sound. They do an OK job but who wants Ok when you can have great.
I love my EV 635a (you can get them for $50 or less used) and my Shure VP64 (probably the same price as the EV used). They sound more open and real than 57's.

[dwelle]

yes, the 635a does rule on guitar amps also.

[twitchmonitor]

yes, the 635a does rule on guitar amps also.

Do you stick it right up on the grille or back it off a bit?

[joel hamilton]

Al is talking about the 409, not the 609. The old ones with the gold and black grille. I have an "echolette" version of one of those and I use it all the time for rock guitars.

For sdistorted guitars I seem to use the following (depending on the style, and the other instrumentation):

Sennheiser "echolette" 409
SM57
RCA BK5
Tannoy large ribbon
Oktava ML52
Grundig GBM125
Beyer 500
AT 4033

All shoved right up on the grill cloth every time. Really.

For cleaner stuff I would use the above, and maybe:

SM7
EV RE20
BLUE mouse
AKG C12A
Placid audio copperphone with a FET 47

Have fun!