ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear
Miscellaneous => Recording - Studio Talk => Topic started by: Kim on September 28, 2016, 07:07:19 AM
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For the peeps who are recording guitars with actual mics....what mic (or mics) do you like to use, and tell us how/why. :wave:
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For amp cabinets I use several: Shure SM57 (dynamic), Audix i5 (dynamic), or MXL R144 (ribbon). I use Cab Grabbers to position the dynamics close to the grille. The MXL is useful in any position, from up close to further away for room acoustics.
For vocals I use a Blue Bluebird Large Diaphragm condenser mic. I used to have a Rode NT-1A condenser mic as well - it did a fine job on vocals.
For acoustic guitar I've had good luck with the MXL R144 as well as the Bluebird.
On my wish list: AKG C414 XKII condenser, Cloud 44-A ribbon, Sennheiser E906 dynamic, Royer R-101 ribbon, Studio Projects B3 condenser, Rode NT-2A condenser, Sure SM81 dynamic, AKG P170 dynamic, Shure KSM 141 dynamic, and Rode NT-4 XY Stereo.
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I mic my cab every time I play. Systematic Chaos turned me on to the Superlux guitar mics, which are quite similar to a Sennheiser, without the price tag. I highly recommend them. I just hang mine in front of the speaker by running the mic cable under my rack.
I like singing into an SM57, but my sound man always takes it away to use on the snare drum and leaves me with a 58. When recording, I mix the SM57, the Superlux, and the direct signal.
The Superlux PRA-628 MKII is a clone of a Sennheiser e609, comes with a bag, a tiny mic clip and a bracket for attaching it to your amp/cab. Sounds very clear to my ears, and much more transparent than the SM57. I highly recommend them for anyone on a budget (like a musician)
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I have 3 shure SM57 ,2 audix i5,3 audix ADX51 ,4 Audix D2, 2 Audix D4 ,2 Audix D6 and a Rode NT2A.
I usually use the 57 and i5 for guitar,the audix (including the i5) for drums and the rode for vocals.
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For many years, I've used the SM-57 in front of my sealed cabs up until 1995 when I learned about using direct signals mixed with mic'ed signals.
I will still use the SM-57 in front of a sealed cab, (Split-Stack), and mix that with the Microcab II. The Microcab will be set for a generic direct signal, (all buttons OUT), and the mics aimed about midway in the cone. This gives me the full range with articulation to mix in to whatever degree I need. EQ very lightly if needed.
For open back cabs, or combo amps, (especially lower wattage combos), I'll use the cheapest omni-directional mic in the center of the cone, against the grill cloth, (articulation), the SM-57 in the back of the amp at a 45 degree angle, and approximately 4" from the center of the basket, (ambient), and an AKG D271 six feet in the air above the amp, either six feet behind, or six feet in front of the amp for the room mic. The amp will be placed in a narrow hallway, or stairwell, or even in a walk-in closet for this set up. By blending these three mics, and compensating for phase anomalies, I can make this amp sound as big as a locomotive.
There is a local company here in town making very good quality mics at a very affordable price range, who I have been trying out with surprisingly good results, they are CAD mics. Check them out.
Harley 8)
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Right now, I have the standard-issue Shure SM57 and then I also have this CAD mic that I have absolutely no idea what model it is...there isn't any marking or label on it to signify anything other than it's a CAD lol
For our upcoming album I used both on my Quad Tube; the SM57 up close and the CAD back away to capture some "air". I really want to experiment a bunch more for future recordings though, and maybe incorporate some of the cool VariCab features as well.
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Hey Kim,
That's odd, there should be something on the band just under the head of the mic that has a model number.
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Hey Kim,
That's odd, there should be something on the band just under the head of the mic that has a model number.
It just has the logo CAD on it. Maybe the other printing rubbed off? :dunno:
But doing a search, my mic looks just like the GXL2400.
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Hey Kim,
That's odd, there should be something on the band just under the head of the mic that has a model number.
It just has the logo CAD on it. Maybe the other printing rubbed off? :dunno:
But doing a search, my mic looks just like the GXL2400.
It's a condenser mic?
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Yep. :thumb-up:
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I use GLS ES-57 mics on my cabs.
Why? At the time I was looking for something like an SM57 but I could not afford one. I ended up finding these.
https://www.glsaudio.com/GLS-Audio-ES-57-ES57-Professional-Microphone-Mic_p_396.html (https://www.glsaudio.com/GLS-Audio-ES-57-ES57-Professional-Microphone-Mic_p_396.html)
Anyways I liked them so much I own about 4 of them. I use one on the snare also when micing our drummers kit.
I mic my cab every time I play. Systematic Chaos turned me on to the Superlux guitar mics, which are quite similar to a Sennheiser, without the price tag. I highly recommend them. I just hang mine in front of the speaker by running the mic cable under my rack.
I like singing into an SM57, but my sound man always takes it away to use on the snare drum and leaves me with a 58. When recording, I mix the SM57, the Superlux, and the direct signal.
The Superlux PRA-628 MKII is a clone of a Sennheiser e609, comes with a bag, a tiny mic clip and a bracket for attaching it to your amp/cab. Sounds very clear to my ears, and much more transparent than the SM57. I highly recommend them for anyone on a budget (like a musician)
I own superlux headphones and they are excellent, so go on tell me more about Superlux mics as I believe in their headphones
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I use GLS ES-57 mics on my cabs.
Why? At the time I was looking for something like an SM57 but I could not afford one. I ended up finding these.
https://www.glsaudio.com/GLS-Audio-ES-57-ES57-Professional-Microphone-Mic_p_396.html (https://www.glsaudio.com/GLS-Audio-ES-57-ES57-Professional-Microphone-Mic_p_396.html)
Anyways I liked them so much I own about 4 of them. I use one on the snare also when micing our drummers kit.
I mic my cab every time I play. Systematic Chaos turned me on to the Superlux guitar mics, which are quite similar to a Sennheiser, without the price tag. I highly recommend them. I just hang mine in front of the speaker by running the mic cable under my rack.
I like singing into an SM57, but my sound man always takes it away to use on the snare drum and leaves me with a 58. When recording, I mix the SM57, the Superlux, and the direct signal.
The Superlux PRA-628 MKII is a clone of a Sennheiser e609, comes with a bag, a tiny mic clip and a bracket for attaching it to your amp/cab. Sounds very clear to my ears, and much more transparent than the SM57. I highly recommend them for anyone on a budget (like a musician)
I own superlux headphones and they are excellent, so go on tell me more about Superlux mics as I believe in their headphones
Um, they're cheap and they sound good, and you get an arm with a clamp for your cab (essentially a mini mic stand). All that for about half the price of the Sennheiser
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So many choices these days I spose. If you can find cheaper mics that sound good, all power to you :thumb-up: and it seems there are some good options available, though hard to test without buying them....
I have a few mics to pick from:
SM57 - good all rounder, you can use it for pretty much anything with decent results
SM58 - these are still my fav live vocal mic and can be used to mic cabs, you can also take off the pop filter and pretty much turn it into a 57.
EV RE320 - great mic, not "quite" as good as the much more expensive and arguably the best dynamic mic ever EV RE20 (~$1000 AUD). The RE320 costs around $300 AUD and has a switchable kick drum curve, which works very well.
EV N/D767a (supercardiod), ostensibly a great vocal mic, but works brilliantly just hung over the front of a cab. I've used it to mic up a Fender Rumble 30w bass amp (so totally off axis, just loop the cable through the top handle and hang it over the speaker). I was blown away with just how good it sounded.
Rode NT5 - I have a pair of these (similar to the famous Neuman KM84s, but a little better IMO). Works great for stereo mikeing cabs. I run them a bit off axis, very accurate and articulate condensers, often used as a stereo pair for mikeing classical performances.
Rode NT1 - I use this for final vocal takes but also good as a mid distance mic for cabs to get room air, and great for acoustic guitar etc... These sound better than Neuman U87s IMO (which I find a bit middy/muddy in comparison)
The only criticism I have of the Rode mics is they are a "little" bit metallic/brittle, so I feed them through my Ivory 5001 tube (hybrid) preamp which fixes this up perfectly.
Some other choices I like if you can find/afford them:
Beyer M88 - Not cheap but a fantastic vocal mic, they have a 80Hz boost for male vox. Great kick mic (much better than an AKG D12 IMO and the later "egg" version they came up with never grabbed me..) and sound awesome on cabs for a big full capture. The original D12 was also for male vox BTW.
Sennheiser MD421 (MD441 is the weather proof version) - you can use these for anything, nearly as good as an EV RE20, great for kick, toms, cabs, vox... Down side is the clip mechanism, have had to gaph a few clips on in my time :facepalm: , If you want big toms, these are much better than 57s and also a reasonable kick mic. Fantastic for cabs, very hard to bottom out the diaphragms, they were designed for high SPL applications, although just at home on vox...
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The Superlux PRA-628 MKII is a clone of a Sennheiser e609, comes with a bag, a tiny mic clip and a bracket for attaching it to your amp/cab. Sounds very clear to my ears, and much more transparent than the SM57. I highly recommend them for anyone on a budget (like a musician)
I own superlux headphones and they are excellent, so go on tell me more about Superlux mics as I believe in their headphones
This ist the mic: https://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_pra_628_mkii.htm
I recommended it to Dante 2 or 3 years ago and I still highly recommend these mics. Very close clone of a Sennheiser 609/906 with just a tad bit more sparkle...easy to position and blends really nicely with a '57
Only a short vid but it displays how much fuller/rounder/warmer the Superlux sounds...me likes a lot!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-j7Awq83dw
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Hey SC, nice. I like aspects of each of the mics, as you say they would blend well (well sounds like they would).
Hey Dante, I hear what you are saying about the transparency :thumb-up: and Amazon has them for $50 USD, great value.
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I typically use an SM57 on 1 cab and a TBone RB-100 or RB-500 (both ribbon mics) on another cab.
If I'm doing only cleans then I sometimes use one of the ribbon mics and an M Adio Sputnick or a Studio Projects C1 on the other
8)
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Hi Peter, I noticed you mentioned a T-bone mic. Again another budget brand of mic mentioned in this thread. First of all is it any good?
Second of all, how come the rise in budget mic quality?
I too have T-bone mic and it's built like a Tank
https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_cd_56_beta.htm
(https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_cd_56_beta.htm)
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Hi Peter, I noticed you mentioned a T-bone mic. Again another budget brand of mic mentioned in this thread. First of all is it any good?
Second of all, how come the rise in budget mic quality?
I too have T-bone mic and it's built like a Tank
https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_cd_56_beta.htm
(https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_cd_56_beta.htm)
Well, I bought one thinking "For this price I might take a gamble" and I lucked out catching good ones.
The thing with the budget things is that manufacturing tolerances are way more liberal than you would want when producing quality gear.
Therefor you can have OK ones or very bad ones or very good ones.
As I use them as part of the recorded sound only they bring a nice balance to the SM57 on its own.
:thumb-up:
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Peter,
Are you referring to micing your bass rig, or guitar rig?
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Peter,
Are you referring to micing your bass rig, or guitar rig?
Guitars
Bass is TLA5051 parallel to MB-1, both direct to Cubase
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Thank you,
I'll have to look that one up. I'll need to mic a bass rig in the future too, so that will be good to start with.
Harley 8)