Grrr, SM57's... Pulled out my condensor again.

Started by Heady Jam Fan, June 21, 2013, 03:40:39 PM

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Heady Jam Fan

A while back I noticed a little distortion from my condensor mic when close-mic recording at high volumes so I grabbed a pair of SM57's because obviously dynamic mics can handle that kind of beating and they are pretty cheap...

The treble boost on the SM57 makes everything sound really lively, but damn, it can be harsh sometimes!

They sounded much better at a distance, not surprisingly (nice, smooth midrange, attenuated bass), but thats not how Trey has his amps miced (I know he doesn't usually use SM57's either - I'm not about to spring for his AKG's).

So I busted out my MXL2010 condensor, set it to cardiod and attenuated bass, and hung it over my cabinet. Much warmer and smoother! Then I set up an SM57 about 4 inches further and hard panned. Starting to sound pretty nice!

I know the techs from Phish say its counterintuitive using two kinds of mics for their technique (as the stereo image / width after hard panning comes from the distance/time between mics, not the frequency response), but this sounded pretty good and more balanced. Not to mention, when I pushed the SM57 closer to the MXL, I lost the stereo width; the frequency response difference wasn't enough difference to make a stereo image, I needed one mic to be further from the speaker.

Also, I've definitely seen pics where there are two different mics on Trey's amp.

Anyway, its tough IMO to get a good sound with close micing, so its relief to get a pretty smooth tone. Making a few changes on my rig and hoping to record some stuff soon, but today was a pretty good tone day.

Oh yea, the funny part is that, in my understanding, condenser mics are usually further away from the amp than dynamic mics because of their warmth (and sensitivity to really loud sounds), but I prefer it closer...
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