Best Mic

[kh15]

whats the best mic to use to mic an amp for recording? condenser or dynamic?

[thegarehanman]

Condenser on a Fender Twin Reverb. That's the most common studio set up. Even guys who play metal on Mesas will record through a Twin Reverb. It's a very versatile amp. Also, if you're using only one mic, try not to put it right in front of the cone. Instead, put it almost in between the two speakers or just off center on one of the speakers. This will give you a more dynamic sound. If you use a line out and a mic, you will need to add a few milliseconds of delay to the line out signal to get it to be in sync with the mic feed. Also, if you use a mic in the back of the cab and another in the front, reverse the phase of one of the two channels so they don't phase each other out. I'm no recording pro, but I've learned a thing or two recording with a Berkeley grad. I know.

Edited August 2, 2005 by thegarehanman

[lovekraft]

A really potent combo is an old Shure SM57 or 58 close (6" or less - try putting it right against the grill cloth, just off-center of the speaker) and a condensor further away - you'll have to play with placement a bit to minmize phase cancellation, but even in a small room, you can get a really huge open sound using both. Page was probably one of the masters of multiple mics for recording, and some of the Zeppelin tracks reportedly have 3 or more well placed mics mixed together cleverly to get the sound you hear.

[Jester700]

There are all kinds of common studio rigs - Fender, Marshall, Roland... If the Twin is most used, it's just because so many studios have one on hand. I wouldn't get a special amp for recording.

A 57 at the speaker and a condensor in the room is a great starting place. With close miking, play with position and angle a LOT. An inch can make a big difference in sound, especially when a cabinet or combo has more than one speaker - phase relationships will cause a comb filter effect that changes as you move the mic in the area between the speakers. If you mic the back, do try inverting phase, and also try it without. Unless your mics are equidistant from the cone you won't have a perfect phase relationship anyway, so rule #1 is experiment.

[frank falbo]

Your question is posed as an either/or equation. If you have to choose only one, either for budget reasons or input limitations, then use the condenser. It is most like the human ear, and most forgiving regarding placement.

Otherwise listen to the previous comments.

[kh15]

the sure 57 sounds great i did some research and alot of people use it to record and mic up amps and cabs etc. i will be useing my marshall dsl401 to mess around with recording, i have been playing for 6 years now but this is my first time playing around with recording and i really dident want to spend over like 50 on a mic... so i'll keep looking i guess

[malebolgia]

A really potent combo is an old Shure SM57 or 58 close (6" or less - try putting it right against the grill cloth, just off-center of the speaker) and a condensor further away - you'll have to play with placement a bit to minmize phase cancellation, but even in a small room, you can get a really huge open sound using both. Page was probably one of the masters of multiple mics for recording, and some of the Zeppelin tracks reportedly have 3 or more well placed mics mixed together cleverly to get the sound you hear.

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i agree i think you'll get the best sound out of a sure sm57 or 58 with an condesor further away!