Microphone thread!

[Ace]

YAY! I know that some/many/all/none/one of us do a bit of recording. Personally I've worked around everything from giant Neve and SSL boards to Tascam tape recorders. I was hoping that maybe we could share which microphones we prefer to use. I recently switched my preference for recording guitars from the standard Shure SM57 to the Sennheiser e609. I really like the e609's live sound, and it has a nice pronounced upper midrange that adds a bit of depth to the sound over the SM57's I've been using. Any thoughts?

[Homeless]

I've been using an SM57 right up against the grill of a cab and then a somewhat cheap M-Audio large diaphragm condenser on a pile of books a couple feet back. Makes a bigger, richer tone than just the 57 does on my rather harsh sounding Fender M-80 head (sounds great in person, but really harsh with just the SM57). Just needs a little eq cut in the low end and it sounds pretty ok.

[z1n]

Hmm the e609 is 40hz - 18khz (SM57 is 40hz - 15khz), shaped for cabs, and is about $9 dollars more so they are both about =

I was looking for a mic to record with and was ready to try the SM57 until now. May have to give the e609 a try instead depending on how this thread turns out

[AdRock]

I use the e609 and the 57 on a regular basis. I compared a brand new 609 to a brand new 57(a real one, not an ebay fake) on the same cabinet with the channel EQ taken out of the signal path. The 609 was a bit warmer and the highs were a little more crisp without being harsh. If possible I'll always pick a 609 over a 57 for guitar.

[jackson1]

For guitars I use an old matched pair of Sennheiser MD421's. Sometimes I add a 57 on another speaker cone to have a different sounding track in the mix for diversity. Often, one mic on one cab will get you the most big / full guitar sound.

Here's how Death Angel did it way back (and all others for that matter). 1x421 + 1x57 per cab. :

[Ace]

I like the 421 as well, I didn't have one for my comparison though...

[wilkinsi]

I've got a condensor mic but can't remember what it's called. I haven't used it in ages. Still in it's flight case.

[jackson1]

Ace, are you sometimes re-amping? If so, do you use the same mic for re-amping as you did for the first recording?

I really should investigate this scenario more, but haven't got the time yet. Record with a 421 and then re-amp using a large diaphragm condenser for instance...

[Ace]

My friends Cephalic Carnage re-amped their entire new album, and it sounds killer. Zac and I were talking about it for hours on the phone when they got out of the studio. Personally I tend to use feedback to color my sound sometimes and I am not entirely comfortable "trusting" that all the feedback and squeals are going to sound right when re-amped. I like to hear my guitar in real time, effects, harmonics and all. However, having said that, I am not opposed to the idea and I may try a bit more re-amping soon just to see what kind of results I get.

[ozzuk1]

I've just got my small pc setup tapco link usb with mackie traktion 2 to record on.

Currently I just have the 57 which is good for most amped instruments, for acoustic instruments I prefer using condenser's...

AKG CK93 small diapraghm mic's are good for acoustic instruments, and tom's
AKG C1000S is a good overhead microphone

I also love the Audio technica 4033a for vocals drums guitars pretty much anything
I will be getting one of these for my own recording setup...

I'm not aware of any other mic's other than that sienhieser and 57 used for micing cab's, I will test the 4033a extensively with micing up cabs, and using it with the 57 for ambience...

[drockilles]

My friends Cephalic Carnage re-amped their entire new album, and it sounds killer. Zac and I were talking about it for hours on the phone when they got out of the studio. Personally I tend to use feedback to color my sound sometimes and I am not entirely comfortable "trusting" that all the feedback and squeals are going to sound right when re-amped. I like to hear my guitar in real time, effects, harmonics and all. However, having said that, I am not opposed to the idea and I may try a bit more re-amping soon just to see what kind of results I get.

Are you talking about Xenosapien or are they working on a new one now? Xenosapien's got some pretty fucking crushing guitar tone on it.

[Ace]

They re-amped Xenosapien.