Micing up

[danwoodward100]

Pretty much decided that my fender blues junior gives me as good a sound as i have found using various amps, probably gonna get rid of one of my bigger amps and go downt the route of the blues junior for gigging, with micing up at larger rooms.  What do you all recomment in terms of mic set up? standard SM57 on a boom stand?

[jpfamps]

SM57 is the most commonly used mic for guitar and works very well (and is indeed what I use).

A boom stand is fine.

As a starting point I would position the mic about halfway between the centre and the edge of the cone. Moving the mic towards the centre of the speaker will result in a brighter sound (and vice versa).

Also if your mixing desk has a highpass filter (usually around 60-100 Hz) I would engage it to reduce the amount of unwanted bass frequencies.

[PhilKing]

you should also look at the Senheiser E609.  It is a nice souind and sits flat to the grill.

[MDV]

There are a million and one mics good for guitars, and lots of different opinions, and the mics vary as much as guitars or amps in character.

While my favourites are the Audix i5 and sennheiser MD421, if you cant get the job done with an SM57, you cant get the job done, imo. Should be a go-to to throw in front of a cab live as well, by the same logic; gets the job done, lets you not think about the mic if there are problems with the sound (location of the mic, cab, settings, etc).

[MDV]

Also, get an Audix Cabgrabber.

Now.

They rule.

[Denim n Leather]

Depends on your application.

For recording, the common setup is a ribbon mic (Royer R121) and an SM57 or a Sennheiser 421.

For live sound, common mics are the SM57, Rode M3, Audix i5, Heil PR30 and Sennheiser e609 Silver.

[38thBeatle]

I's also suggest Shure SM57-will do the job and is as tough as old boots-always a consideration for live work.

[Lew]

Like D@L said - depends what you're doing.

Lately I've been using an SE-Gemini room mic and a 57 and AKG-414 on the cone and getting pretty good results.

[_tom_]

I'd just use an SM57 and be done with it!

[BigB]

While my favourites are the Audix i5 and sennheiser MD421, if you cant get the job done with an SM57, you cant get the job done, imo. 

Lol. Reminds me of a studio session some 20 years ago - was a tape-op by that time, and we had this session with a hard-rock/metal guitar player, and the sound-op - who obviously lacked experience with rock guitar tones - insisted on trying to mike the guy's marshall with a Neuman U87 and a pair of senheisers, and the guy was unhappy, and the sound-op started trying every tube preamp, tube EQ, tube comp, tube whatever in the studio and the guy got mad mad at the sound-op asking why the f... he couldn't just pick this f... marshall's sound "as is". I finally pity the poor sound op - who was starting making hairs by that time - and asked him permission to try "something else" and just put a goddam sm57 close up to the one of the speakers (halfway between the cone and outside as usual - daily PA stuff, really), no EQ, no anything. And then our guitar player guy had this silly grin, shouted "THAT'S IT !!! EXACTLY !!! DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING" - and started recording.

Morality: want THAT rock tone ? Piece of cake : crank up your tube amp, stick a freaking SM-57 close up, and PLAY :mrgreen:

Ok, to be true, the sound-op also kept the two senheisers to get the room's ambiance - on two other tracks -, and it was indeed a nice and welcomed addition when we started mixing.

[Alex]

Good choices I know

Shure SM57 - a bit more upper mid, rocks; I used to use this one; needs to be placed well in order to sound good
Sennheiser E906 - similar, without the mid hump, I use this one now. It's extremely easy to set up and get a good tone from it, unlike the SM57, which I always found annoying in that respect.
Shure MD421 - a bit rounded, great mic, one of my favs. More Blues, less Rock. Really expensive though, and I heard buying one used is not advisable
Thomann t.bone MB-75 - a Shure SM57 clone... for 33€. You need very good ears to hear a difference.

[Alex]

Good choices I know

Shure SM57 - a bit more upper mid, rocks; I used to use this one; needs to be placed well in order to sound good; somehow, when I was still playing live, I always ended up with clumsy people on stage who knocked the micstands around.  :(

Sennheiser E906 - similar, without the mid hump, I use this one now. It's extremely easy to set up and get a good tone from it, unlike the SM57, which I always found annoying in that respect.

Sennheiser MD421 - a bit rounded, great mic, one of my favs. More Blues, less Rock. Really expensive though, and I heard buying one used is not advisable

Thomann t.bone MB-75 - a Shure SM57 clone... for 33€. You need very good ears to hear a difference.

[tomjackson]

I like 57's but they do colour the sound.  I usually use some kind of condenser set back to get a little air and more natural sound into the mix.

I actually find the quality of the the Mic pre's more important, almost any dynamic mic sounds okay through my TLA audio mic pre / compressor, whereas any decent mic direct into my fostex 8-track sounds like cheap plastic. 

[MDV]

While my favourites are the Audix i5 and sennheiser MD421, if you cant get the job done with an SM57, you cant get the job done, imo. 

Lol. Reminds me of a studio session some 20 years ago - was a tape-op by that time, and we had this session with a hard-rock/metal guitar player, and the sound-op - who obviously lacked experience with rock guitar tones - insisted on trying to mike the guy's marshall with a Neuman U87 and a pair of senheisers, and the guy was unhappy, and the sound-op started trying every tube preamp, tube EQ, tube comp, tube whatever in the studio and the guy got mad mad at the sound-op asking why the f... he couldn't just pick this f... marshall's sound "as is". I finally pity the poor sound op - who was starting making hairs by that time - and asked him permission to try "something else" and just put a goddam sm57 close up to the one of the speakers (halfway between the cone and outside as usual - daily PA stuff, really), no EQ, no anything. And then our guitar player guy had this silly grin, shouted "THAT'S IT !!! EXACTLY !!! DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING" - and started recording.

Morality: want THAT rock tone ? Piece of cake : crank up your tube amp, stick a freaking SM-57 close up, and PLAY :mrgreen:

Ok, to be true, the sound-op also kept the two senheisers to get the room's ambiance - on two other tracks -, and it was indeed a nice and welcomed addition when we started mixing.

Its a good story.

people love to overcomplicate things like micing. Yes, there are some really obscure mics and really complex micing methods that can be GREAT, but I think you should always start with an SM57, up to the grill, on axis, a couple of inches out from the dust cap and work from there. Chances are you wont have to go very far. If you do you have a sensible, simple, familiar reference point if you have to tear your meticulously positioned and pahse alligned stereo pair + room tripple mic setup you somehow found yourself with down and start again.

The 57 does colour the sound, but listen out for it - that colour is all over thousands of albums from the last 30-40 years.

[BigB]

(snip)
The 57 does colour the sound, but listen out for it - that colour is all over thousands of albums from the last 30-40 years.

Yeps, and that's in fact the point : it's the color most rock guitar players expect, at least (as you do mention) as a reference or as a starting point for something a bit more involved.