guitar mic
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Posted on Nov 23, 2006 09:05 pm
Clansonkid
MegaMan
Member Since: Mar 05, 2003
I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference of sound between a SM57 compared to a Sennheiser E609 Silver mic. looking for a good mic to record guitar.
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Nov 23, 2006 09:17 pm Both are good mics. A lot of people try to overthink guitar recording. In fact, most decent modern microphones record guitar frequencies just fine, acoustic or electric. The only consideration is the maximum SPL rating of the mic if you're micing a loud amp. The SM57 will probably handle anything you're likely to put out.
Nov 23, 2006 11:25 pm i already have the sm57 so ill just stick with that then. im really having trouble getting the best tone possible. how much does the room affect things?
Nov 24, 2006 03:42 pm If you're mic'ing the cab close, the room has a much more minimal affect than if you're mic'ing at a distance. The thing I've noticed most with recording my guitar is that the sound coming out of the speaker cone is not the same sound I hear when Im standing a coupla feet away. The sound is much more harsh (with distortion) or bright (when clean) right at the speaker cone. I will either change my settings on my amp or place my mic in a different position, further away. You'll notice more room when micing further away though, so that is something to consider.
Nov 25, 2006 04:05 am The 609 doesn't have that mid rage growl of a 57. When I record guitars I use a 57 for rythm guitar on one side. Then a combination of mics including a 609 on the other. Normally a Senn 421 with the lows rolled off, a 609, and a U87 in the room to give it a more open sound. You won't get hurt buying a 609, it's a nice mic.
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Nov 25, 2006 11:54 am The Sennheiser has a frequency response of 40Hz - 18kHz, and the SM57 is rated at 40Hz - 15kHz, not sure that it's worth getting a "one trick pony" for the extra 3Khz of top end (unless you do that Jeff Beck super-harmonic thing all the time! hehehehe..). The SM57 is an all round, tried and tested workhorse that you'll go back to anyway....
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 27, 2006 09:57 pm Personally it is a little heavy on the high mid and high end. That can partly be blamed on the myspace player though as well. But they kind of clash a bit with the brass from the drum kit. I would work on the cymbal tones or the guitar tones. They could use a bit more bottom end to fill them out.
But they are very clear so it sounds like you got a pretty good picture of the sound, it just needs a bit of tidying up is all.
Nov 27, 2006 11:40 pm from owning both, the 609 kills today's 57 all around. my vote goes to the 609 unless you have a 40 year old original 57, before they were made in mexico.
Nov 30, 2006 12:16 pm yeh, they can take high spl's too right?
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Nov 30, 2006 02:12 pm A SM57 will take incredibly high SPLs for sure. I can't imagine that a 609 wouldn't either.
Honestly, I'm very satisfied with my SM57 on an electric guitar cabinet. I've recorded clean, subtle breakup, gritty, sustained, heavy distortion, and lots of in-between sounds and the SM57 has yet to fail me.
I've never used any other dynamic to mic my amp so I can't offer any comparisons. But when I started pairing it with a condensor, I became much more satisfied with my guitar sound. The SM57 picks up the punch and attack, plus the mid-lows. Then the condensor picks up the mids and highs. When blended together, it sounds much better than the sum of its parts.
tazmanMember
Since: Nov 30, 2006
Dec 01, 2006 12:03 am I've gotta say, I agree with most of the ideas here. The SM57 definitely has the mid-range gank, and that's appropriate for some types of guitar tones. The 609, 421, and of course the U87 are all great microphones and all have their place for recording great guitar.
My personal favorite, though, if it's available at the studio in question, is the Beyer M88. It's another dynamic (and not a ribbon like many of the Beyers) and it has a really sweet tone when micing loud guitar amps. I like to listen to the speaker cones of the guitar through the mic, through headphones (as much as possible with the high SPL) to find which one sounds best to me, then I play with the placement of the mic.
A common sweet spot is pointing at the middle of the side of the speaker cone (not the dust cap) at an angle roughly perpendicular to the angle of the cone at that point--so that the microphone is perpendicular to the cone, not perpendicular to the guitar amp. This position doesn't work for all cases, but it's often a very nice sounding position.
Sometimes a condensor such as U87 or C12, stuck in the back of an open-cab guitar amp, with the phase often reversed from the front dynamic, can be a good addition. Of course, that doesn't work as well with sealed guitar cabinets. :-)
Taz
