My favorite microphone(s) for recording electric guitar

[Andy Bartosh]

[Max405]

Nice video Andy. I like the e906 too.
Love your accent as well!
Joe D

[Bobby Timmons]

I can't stand dynamic mics. I understand their purpose for capturing a live sound to simulate band volumes and compress it down to something that sounds good in the mix, but I think they're way too dull for recording clean at regular volumes at home. I prefer condenser mics because they're more accurate. If the tone is too bright, I just move the placement to a darker area.

[JazzNote]

I can't stand dynamic mics. I understand their purpose for capturing a live sound to simulate band volumes and compress it down to something that sounds good in the mix, but I think they're way too dull for recording clean at regular volumes at home. I prefer condenser mics because they're more accurate. If the tone is too bright, I just move the placement to a darker area.

I also much prefer condenser mics, but there are exceptions like the Sennheiser MD441 or BF441, they both come very close to the condenser sound.
But it's always good to record two tracks, one with a condenser, a second with a dynamic and mix the two.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I also much prefer condenser mics, but there are exceptions like the Sennheiser MD441 or BF441, they both come very close to the condenser sound.
But it's always good to record two tracks, one with a condenser, a second with a dynamic and mix the two.

I was once working in a recording studio and the boss was swearing by Sennheiser MD 21s (vintage omnidirectional dynamic mics) for rock guitars. Omnidirectional mics have always a flatter response than directional mics so you could give it a try for Jazz as well if you can get your hands on one. They are much sought-after but sometimes you can find one for cheap. They were used as reporter mics a lot in the 60ies.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I can't stand dynamic mics. I understand their purpose for capturing a live sound to simulate band volumes and compress it down to something that sounds good in the mix, but I think they're way too dull for recording clean at regular volumes at home. I prefer condenser mics because they're more accurate. If the tone is too bright, I just move the placement to a darker area.

I had written about a trick I learned from a studio sound guy who had worked with bands like Nazareth in Andy’s original thread to this topic but I think that thread is deleted so I am gonna write it again.

This applies to close-miking an amp.

• Make sure nothing is plugged into the amp or you might kill your ears.
• Crank up the amp to full volume (gain included) and monitor the sound coming out of the amp through headphones. There will be a lot of noise.
• Slightly loosen the screws of your mic stand and slowly move the mic in front of the speaker until you find a position where the frequency response of the noise is balanced. Tighten the screws to keep the mic in that position.
• Before you plug in your guitar to make a test recording turn down the volume especially if you keep the headphones on !!!!!
• Repeat if you are not yet satisfied with the sound.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

[…] But it's always good to record two tracks, one with a condenser, a second with a dynamic and mix the two.

If you use two mics take care of the phase relationship between the two.

[JazzNote]

• Slightly loosen the screws of your mic stand and slowly move the mic in front of the speaker until you find a position where the frequency response of the noise is balanced.

I would not know how to determine if (when) the frequency response of the noise is balanced. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

[Christian Miller]

As long as it’s a funny shape, silver and has a German name, I’m good.

[Bobby Timmons]

I had written about a trick I learned from a studio sound guy who had worked with bands like Nazareth in Andy’s original thread to this topic but I think that thread is deleted so I am gonna write it again.

This applies to close-miking an amp.

• Make sure nothing is plugged into the amp or you might kill your ears.
• Crank up the amp to full volume (gain included) and monitor the sound coming out of the amp through headphones. There will be a lot of noise.
• Slightly loosen the screws of your mic stand and slowly move the mic in front of the speaker until you find a position where the frequency response of the noise is balanced. Tighten the screws to keep the mic in that position.
• Before you plug in your guitar to make a test recording turn down the volume especially if you keep the headphones on !!!!!
• Repeat if you are not yet satisfied with the sound.

Yeah I understand that's how it's done in a studio, but that's ridiculous for me being in an apartment. Even with the amp cranked, a dynamic mic still knocks off like half of the high end and detail. Seems to be designed for capturing a live rock band and then compressing it for normal volume level mixing. What about for jazz where you don't play at 150 decibels? I'd much rather use a condenser, they're extremely easy to use. Just set your amp like usual, no need to re-eq or turn up excessively. Then you can compromise between compressed sound vs roomy sound within about a 4 inch window either right up against the speaker to 4 inches away. And you can compromise between bassy vs treble-y by moving between the edge and cone of speaker.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I would not know how to determine if (when) the frequency response of the noise is balanced. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

Not to much highs and lows amd no shrill mids (the ear is most sensitive at around 2.5 ... 3 kHz where speech intelligibility is located).

You can maybe train your ears by using a software by using a software that can generate test tones and different noises. In the so called pink noise each octave interval (halving or doubling in frequency) carries an equal amount of noise energy.

If you are interested in recording and mixing I can highly recommend this book by a Michael Stavrou who started out as an assistant of George Martin. It is very much practically oriented and does not contain much talk about decibels and kilohertzs.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

As long as it’s a funny shape, silver and has a German name, I’m good.

(Normally I refuse to make jokes about the darkest age of German — and a few years less Austrian — history, but this time I could not resist.)

You mean like this one? (This was the first serialized condenser mic which is still used in some studios AFAIK. Much sought after —> expensive.)

[Christian Miller]

(Normally I refuse to make jokes about the darkest age of German — and a few years less Austrian — history, but this time I could not resist.)

You mean like this one? (This was the first serialized condenser mic which is still used in some studios AFAIK. Much sought after —> expensive.)

Yes, and I’d drive it the session in my Volkswagen.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

Yes, and I’d drive it the session in my Volkswagen.

Designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

[Duad ma laad, Andy, dass mia so an Schaaß in dein Thread eineschreim. ]

[JazzNote]

Not to much highs and lows amd no shrill mids (the ear is most sensitive at around 2.5 ... 3 kHz where speech intelligibility is located).

You can maybe train your ears by using a software by using a software that can generate test tones and different noises. In the so called pink noise each octave interval (halving or doubling in frequency) carries an equal amount of noise energy.

okay, i'll try that :-)

[grahambop]

Yes, and I’d drive it the session in my Volkswagen.

On the Autobahn.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

On the Autobahn.

Those damn Brits love their German(s)

[NSJ]

LOL. Not to be Ruud to the v. Nistolroy’s of the world, the English delude themselves into thinking the Germans consider the English the their greatest footballing rivals. Whatever you do, don’t tell the “Auld Enemy” about how Total Football developed not in Barcelona but at Ajax.

Wait, what are you saying, the Windsors had to change their surnames 100 years ago, their name wasn’t English? NO WAY. Like the goddman Kowalskis from Deepest Wisconsin, they too had to anglicize their names? What nationality could their names had been? Amazing. Where’s that pic from the Daily Fail, of Lizzie, now in a Box, giving a certain NSDAP salute as a kid. Wait, what did Max Mosley’s dad do during the time ? Don’t tell Bernie.


On point: I got a Sennheiser 421, an SM 57, a Royer R121 or something- a really expensive ribbon mic I got used for cheap, Logic Studio Pro, a good audio interface, and I need a good YouTube tutorial on how to set it up to get a good guitar sound.

Any good tutorials for Luddites would be very helpful.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

LOL. Not to be Ruud to the v. Nistolroy’s of the world, the English delude themselves into thinking the Germans consider the English the their greatest footballing rivals. Whatever you do, don’t tell the “Auld Enemy” about how Total Football developed not in Barcelona but at Ajax.

Wait, what are you saying, the Windsors had to change their surnames 100 years ago, their name wasn’t English? NO WAY. Like the goddman Kowalskis from Deepest Wisconsin, they too had to anglicize their names? What nationality could their names had been? Amazing. Where’s that pic from the Daily Fail, of Lizzie, now in a Box, giving a certain NSDAP salute as a kid. Wait, what did Max Mosley’s dad do during the time ? Don’t tell Bernie.


On point: I got a Sennheiser 421, an SM 57, a Royer R121 or something- a really expensive ribbon mic I got used for cheap, Logic Studio Pro, a good audio interface, and I need a good YouTube tutorial on how to set it up to get a good guitar sound.

Any good tutorials for Luddites would be very helpful.

Without going any further into your post-colonial blues about the Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, Mr. Lion, LOL, directly to your mic question. I do not know any tutorials on YT regarding miking, but I would try the following:

• I would use only two mics, one of the moving coil dynamics plus the ribbon (which is a dynamic mic as well) — the more mics the more phase problems (= frequency additions or cancellations).
• Try to get a good sound with either the 421 or the 57 as described by me above. Again: Turn done volume and gain to your normal level before plugging in the guitar!!!
• Ribbon mic as room mic: The following is problematic if you are doing it alone as normally a sound engineer would listen to s/o playing. Put the ribbon mic on a stand in your (standing) ear height. Note that the mic should be vertical because of the position of the ribbon inside the mic. Normally the sound guy would walk around the room with one finger plugged into one of his ears hearing only through the other ear. Now he would listen to the amped guitar trying to find a good sounding position in the room (sound varies a lot inside a room — think standing waves). He would put the mic stand into that position with the mic pointing (front side should be where the Royer sign is) in a thought line through where his ears were. It should be you who is playing the guitar in this test phase as your personal sound should be captured so if s/o is helping you in a home recording situation (should be s/o with good ears) this person would be the one walking around. If you were doing it alone you could maybe use a foam plug in one ear walking around playing your guitar. Now maybe the problem is a little that depending how acoustic your guitar is (archtop) you will hear the acoustic sound as well and will have the sensation of the vibrating guitar body. But anyway you will realize the differences of sound in the room. Now if you find a good position before you mark it with tape on the floor try to memorize where that line between your ears is and then put the mic on the stand in the respective position. Make a test recording and if not satisfied yet repeat until satisfied.
• If you are mixing two mix check the phase relationship between the two. There is a thing called absolute phase. The wires in your cable might be swapped. Therefore listen first to the close mic alone and click on the phase switch button of your DAW. Choose the switch position that sounds more direct. Now bring up the ribbon. Try the phase switch on that channel as well and see which one sounds better in combination with the close mic. In every modern DAW you can delay or pre-delay a channel either by milliseconds or samples. Experiment with that for the ribbon (which is further away) and see if you can fine a better sounding phase relationship. Experiment with the volumes of that combination. Try also to use the ribbon as your main mic and the close mic as support.
• You could also try to use the Royer alone — then you have to make sure that it is not positioned too far from the amp so the balance between room and direct sound is not to much on behalf of the latter which would mean too distant sounding.

I hope this is understandable and helpful.

Recording just like guitar playing is of course a field of practicing and experience. So do not give up .

[NSJ]

Without going any further into your post-colonial blues about the Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, Mr. Lion, LOL, directly to your mic question. I do not know any tutorials on YT regarding miking, but I would try the following:

• I would use only two mics, one of the moving coil dynamics plus the ribbon (which is a dynamic mic as well) — the more mics the more phase problems (= frequency additions or cancellations).
• Try to get a good sound with either the 421 or the 57 as described by me above. Again: Turn done volume and gain to your normal level before plugging in the guitar!!!
• Ribbon mic as room mic: The following is problematic if you are doing it alone as normally a sound engineer would listen to s/o playing. Put the ribbon mic on a stand in your (standing) ear height. Note that the mic should be vertical because of the position of the ribbon inside the mic. Normally the sound guy would walk around the room with one finger plugged into one of his ears hearing only through the other ear. Now he would listen to the amped guitar trying to find a good sounding position in the room (sound varies a lot inside a room — think standing waves). He would put the mic stand into that position with the mic pointing (front side should be where the Royer sign is) in a thought line through where his ears were. It should be you who is playing the guitar in this test phase as your personal sound should be captured so if s/o is helping you in a home recording situation (should be s/o with good ears) this person would be the one walking around. If you were doing it alone you could maybe use a foam plug in one ear walking around playing your guitar. Now maybe the problem is a little that depending how acoustic your guitar is (archtop) you will hear the acoustic sound as well and will have the sensation of the vibrating guitar body. But anyway you will realize the differences of sound in the room. Now if you find a good position before you mark it with tape on the floor try to memorize where that line between your ears is and then put the mic on the stand in the respective position. Make a test recording and if not satisfied yet repeat until satisfied.
• If you are mixing two mix check the phase relationship between the two. There is a thing called absolute phase. The wires in your cable might be swapped. Therefore listen first to the close mic alone and click on the phase switch button of your DAW. Choose the switch position that sounds more direct. Now bring up the ribbon. Try the phase switch on that channel as well and see which one sounds better in combination with the close mic. In every modern DAW you can delay or pre-delay a channel either by milliseconds or samples. Experiment with that for the ribbon (which is further away) and see if you can fine a better sounding phase relationship. Experiment with the volumes of that combination. Try also to use the ribbon as your main mic and the close mic as support.
• You could also try to use the Royer alone — then you have to make sure that it is not positioned too far from the amp so the balance between room and direct sound is not to much on behalf of the latter which would mean too distant sounding.

I hope this is understandable and helpful.

Recording just like guitar playing is of course a field of practicing and experience. So do not give up .

Gonna file this away for eventual grokking when I contemplate the musical “42” in life. Most likely in 3 months, thanks
I.e, gonna need some good quality sound for some promotional videos to be made this winter, the iPhone and iPad mic won’t cut it.

[wzpgsr]

Gonna file this away for eventual grokking when I contemplate the musical “42” in life. Most likely in 3 months, thanks
I.e, gonna need some good quality sound for some promotional videos to be made this winter, the iPhone and iPad mic won’t cut it.

Depending on how deeply you want to get into the recording side of things, you might just consider an amp or pedal with built-in cab and speaker emulation and call it a day. (I specifically don't mention amp modeling and impulse responses because that's a deep rabbit hole as well). Quilter Superblock US (amp, ~$275) or Joyo American Sound (pedal, ~$40) and done. Fast, simple—probably a bit of EQ and compression in post and done. Lots of other similar offerings out there. There are a number of variables beyond mic selection that can and will affect the quality of your final product, not least of which are the acoustic properties of the recording and monitoring spaces. The number of variables and their various interactions can make your head spin if you're a noob, and often times even if you're not a noob. Recording direct with built-in cab and speaker emulation eliminates a good many of these variables and also forces you to work within some reasonable limits vs. becoming paralyzed with options.

[John A.]

Yeah I understand that's how it's done in a studio, but that's ridiculous for me being in an apartment. Even with the amp cranked, a dynamic mic still knocks off like half of the high end and detail.

Maybe you have a crappy dynamic with no high end, maybe, or maybe what you're using has an extreme proximity effect or something that makes your recordings sound bad, but that's not a function of it being a dynamic mic per se. It's a function of it being the wrong mic for your application. There are plenty of good dynamics that are very good with electric guitar (loud or quiet). Odds are, a large portion of the electric guitar records you like (including jazz guitar) were recorded with one. Many other instruments, too. An electric guitar through an electric guitar amp does not actually have a lot of high end detail compared to many other instruments (e.g. acoustic guitar), so the idea that you need a high end condenser mic with extended frequency range to capture one is not true. The typical use of a LDC mic is to capture ambient/room sound at some distance from the amp, or the sound of the unamplified guitar to blend with the amplified sound. But the main capture is usually a dynamic mic.

Seems to be designed for capturing a live rock band and then compressing it for normal volume level mixing. What about for jazz where you don't play at 150 decibels? I'd much rather use a condenser, they're extremely easy to use. Just set your amp like usual, no need to re-eq or turn up excessively. Then you can compromise between compressed sound vs roomy sound within about a 4 inch window either right up against the speaker to 4 inches away. And you can compromise between bassy vs treble-y by moving between the edge and cone of speaker.

Some dynamic mics are designed specifically for live use, some are not. All of the placement adjustments you're talking about can be done with any kind of mic. Also, mics don't compress. Compressors compress. Mics capture. If the source is too loud for the mic to handle, the signal gets distorted (or the mic gets damaged in extreme cases). If the source is too quiet, you hear the mic's self noise. I don't know what mics you're using or what your recordings sound like, so I can't really say a whole lot, but in general, it's pretty difficult to get a good mic'ed amp sound in a low-volume home recording situation, even with pretty good gear. Direct recording with a good amp emulation box or software plugin-generally yields a better sound.

[Bobby Timmons]

^ Like I said, I understand the use of dynamic mics, they're just not for me. I've tried a range of them through the proper range of set ups and didn't like them compared to condensers. I would rather use a condenser and be able to capture the true sound of my rig rather than half of it all dulled down.. if I turn up to 150 decibels. I use my closet as an iso booth for my leslie, stick my condenser in there, turn up a little bit.. job done. I don't have issues with them being too tinny, I just adjust with placement.

[princeplanet]

Guys, i do this for a living, there is no "right" way. This I have learned over the years by noticing odd, or "wrong" techniques that yield great tones.
I have amassed a lot of these techniques and I won't divulge them here but I will offer the following:

Books and tutorials - I have worked along people (usually inexperienced) that swear by certain techniques they have read about or been shown. Good, time honoured techniques that will get you in the ball park. But all too often they don't have what it takes to "tweak" to taste. That's because they have no, er, taste! As guitar players you follow your ear with your sound, you tweak absolutely everything until it sounds right, to you!

Unfortunately what sounds right to you does not sound quite the same into a microphone placed an inch away from the speaker grille. Putting you ear there gives you a better idea, but your ear diaphragm is NOT like a mic diaphragm, and no two mics are alike, in fact, every mic sounds amazingly different in this situation. Once you have your sound through your amp, try to become aware of each mic's signature sound.

But to fairly compare everything, you have to be very careful that you place the mics in exactly the same spot. I've seen people throw up 4 or 5 mics in front of a speaker, and then audition each one from the control room to pick their favourite mic. What they fail to realise is that changing a mic's position by millimetres (fractions of an inch) makes a huge difference to the sound. Changing it's angle of incidence changes it again, massively!

So, to choose your favourite mic for your sound, you need to try every mic you can get your hands on in a full range of positions from centre of cone to edge of speaker - depending on the sound you like any position may sound "best" to you. Then try different mic angles, the phase differential due to mic angle makes it sound less direct, but sometimes in a pleasing way.

Then you have mic combinations- tread carefully here! some parts of the spectrum will be reinforced, others cancelled. The newbie will always, yes always, get an inferior result when using more than one mic, unless the 2nd mic is more than 5 times away from the speaker compared to the 1st mic (where the phase problem is no longer a main issue). Room mics for ambience can be great, or they can suck. Not just because of the room sound, but because of poor mic choice and/or placement. Follow your ear, if the room mic sounds best to you on the floor, in the ceiling corner, or behind the cab, then go with it - to hell with the books and tutorials....

Then you should realise that a mic preamp is an important part of the chain, especially if you desire non linearities in your sound. Here we deal with distortion, not distortion as you know it (crunchy, dirty overdrive etc), but non linear responses where aspects of the sound come out one end somehow different to how they went in. These differences in clean preamps are so subtle as to be of little consequence, but with vintage preamps, the differences are night and day. A vintage Neve 1073 can impart a vibrancy and bounce to a sound when pushed a little, or it can make a sound nastier or more smeared in an unpleasant way. A vintage pre amp (and there are dozens of flavours out there) will not always flatter your sound, but when it does you'll hear it!

In the non linear dept we have our 3 T's - Tape, Tubes, and Transformers. Not many use tape any more, but the non linear hysteresis these things can bring are often the missing ingredient that guitar players feel they are missing in their sound. It's on the old recordings, but then, we are also hearing vintage signal paths - EQ, compression/limiting, console summing - not to mention the post production tape based or vinyl lathe mastering... So you can see there are literally billions of combinations of recording choices that can go into creating a recorded guitar sound, it's not just the mic! Often I'm given things to mix where the mic choice has not been ideal, yet I can always find a way to flatter what I have to work with, and in the process discover a really cool unique sound.

And that's what's it's always been about for me, finding unique cool sounds - but not one of them ever came from a book, a tutorial, or even advice from another pro. It's the same as it is with Jazz improv - it's always more meaningful when it comes from your own sense of "taste". Just follow your own ears.