Trouble getting a good recording sound...

[metallicarocks]

I'm having trouble getting a good sound when recording my guitar. The best I've gotten so far was actually going out from my headphone output on my Spider II directly to the mixer. I recently bought an SM57 mic, and the sound seems really thin. I had the microphone directly up against the speaker where it seemed to get a decent sound. I would sometimes add more bass to get more balls out of the amp, but it only muffles up. I'm guessing it's because the mic is too close. If I back it away then it doesn't seem to be picking up the signal very much. The gain on the mixer is cranked up too, which boggles me.

I guess my real question is how should I position the mic? Do I have to have the amp cranked up to get to a decent recording level?

[PoisonGodmachine]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

I think alot of Guys like to put it really close...to the speaker..but angle the Mic about 45* i dunno if it works good for recording but ive seen alot of Sound techs do it at shows

[zeegler]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

What type of cord are you using, and what type of inputs are on your mixer?

I had the same problem with mine. My 4 track has 1/4" phono jack inputs, but modern mikes use low impedance XLR (3 prong) jacks. I was using a XLR to 1/4" cable, and shoving a low impedance mike into a recorder that was designed for use with high impedance stuff. The signal was very low, and tinny. A line level transformer fixed the problem. $15 at any music store.

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

I'll tell ya, yeah, I know SM57s are wordwide industry standard. But, I have never gotten the sound that I hear from my amp in the monitors using an SM57. I can dial a good sound in the monitors using the SM57, but at that point, the amp itself sound crappy.

The only mic I've really liked that actually sounds JUST LIKE my amp in the monitors is the CAD E-100. that mic absolutely is impressive and has almost flat response curve till toward the high en with a slight roll off. Friggin cool mic.

You can try stuff like close micing it and then using another a bit farther away to fill up the sound, and if you mixer supports it, try inverting the second mic's signal.

[horns666]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

The Spyder II also has a lot of "sizzle" when the treble is cranked up pretty high...which I could see sounding crappy and thin..roll that back a bit..roll off the gain a tad too..see if that fattens it up..

When I was recording with John's CAE I thought it didn't have enough gain until I heard it recorded..it sounded fine!

I play with my Kids' Spyder everyday..great little amp..but sometimes the suddle things can make a world of difference when recording..

I was very impressed with those CAD mics that John used as well..very rich , warm sound,..I used the SM57 sure knockoff on my Demo and I thought it came out pretty "shrilly" sounding..

[Endrik]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

you need a good mic preamp (and A/D converter if you are recording to a computer).
mixer's (specially a cheap one's) pres are crap, you don't even need one if you are only recording the guitar.
don't have enough balls? remember that in pro studios guitar amps are turned so loud that it is insufferable to be near them.
If you mic very closely it makes the tone more "direct" and in your face, if you place the mic a little bit further then you have more warmer sound a an extra room ambience.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

i sould just use the headphone direct out with any line 6 product.

here is a good recording link.
http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

[jgcable]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

You need a mic preamp if you are plugging directly into the computer. Regarding SM57's... we have alot of very expensive mic's in our studio and we always wind up using SM57's slightly off axis.

[catzodellamarina]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

Within the last year I bought a nice Sennheiser mic designed for micing guitar speakers. It's idiot proof: place flat against the grill cloth, in the center of the speaker. Best sound I've ever gotten. I don't know what model my mic is. I can check if you'd like.

[PoisonGodmachine]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

Audix I-5 is my favorite guitar mic ...They sound excellent especially if your going metal

[jimbilly]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

If you can find one to try, some of those tech21 pedals sound great for recording.

[fr0sty]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

What pic pre's are do you recommend? I have the same problem. I normally record via my podxt. I have a new amp and want to record some clips. I tried my sm57 at vaious locations around the speaker. My recored tone sounds very harsh, kind of like it's clipping or like running the pod with no cab sims on.

I have the sm57 with a 1/4 inch adapter going into my podxt. The xt is set to mic pre.

[Endrik]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

Neve

[Infernal Death]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

Well just to point out that original neve are like $3000 and above. But there are some clones and gear which is inspired by Neve circuits which are much more affordable. But you need to at least spend $1000 per channel to get something really good.
Other popular high end choices seem to be Api, Chandler, Great River, Phoenix Audio and some others.

Flo

[markD]

Re: Trouble getting a good recording sound...

i use a tube avalon mic preamp with a sennheiser MD421 to record my guitar amps. the sound is VERY clear. the avalon preamp was like $1500 though.

i have gotten VERY passable results with an ART tube MP and an SM57. not my preference but i have used that little setup before and have gotten decent results.

another thing i have done in the past is to put the mic in front of the cabinet and re-EQ the amp until i hear what i want coming out of the monitors. luckily the cab was in a different room than the monitors or head, so it was easy to do. we'd walk into the "cab room" and the sound would be crap-tacular, but the sound going to tape was killer.

but i don't do that very often. anymore it is either POD 2.0, johnson j-station, or the avalon/sennheiser setup. depends on the project and/or session deadlines.