Mics for clean guitars

[Sizzler]

Looking for opinions guys -

I currently have an sm57 and an md421. They kick ass for dirt guitars but I'm looking for some other options out there for clean / mid gain stuff.

I am going to keep working with what I have right now but wanted to see what you guys prefer.

[nakedzen]

Budget? I like my t.bone RB500 ribbon (I believe it's Nady RSM2 in the states), good enough for the once in three years I need to record acoustic.

In case you get a ribbon, remember that they DON'T use phantom power, you might break the mic.

E: Now that I think about it, a combination of a bright condenser and a dark ribbon could sound pretty nice for acoustic. But if the acoustic is just a layer in a thick mix, I'd just go with the 57.

[Sizzler]

Budget? I like my t.bone RB500 ribbon (I believe it's Nady RSM2 in the states), good enough for the once in three years I need to record acoustic.

In case you get a ribbon, remember that they DON'T use phantom power, you might break the mic.

E: Now that I think about it, a combination of a bright condenser and a dark ribbon could sound pretty nice for acoustic. But if the acoustic is just a layer in a thick mix, I'd just go with the 57.

Thanks man -

My budget has not been locked down but I would be willing to spend around $1200 total (not now, in January). I don't have a condenser anymore and was thinking of going with the AT4050 as I have some experience with it already but these ribbon mics are really looking cool.

[nakedzen]

Well with a budget like that...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/R121

[Sizzler]

It will be my budget if certain things work out and I knock some stuff off my GAS list


Holy crap I didn't realize that Royer was in that range! For some reason I thought it was higher - not that 1300 isn't high already lol.

Damn that is tempting as hell. I would use that on dirt tones too...

[ajaxlepinski]

I never owned a ribbon mic... while checking out the Royer, I noticed that the majority of ribbon mics are Figure 8 pattern.
When you record an acoustic guitar or vocal with a Figure 8 pattern mic, do you put a gobo on the other side of the mic to block room noise?
Any tips on using a ribbon mic? Thanks!!!

[crankyrayhanky]

Are we talking about clean guitars (amp) or acoustic guitars?
Hard not to endorse the royer, that is an awesome mic...but there are plenty of cheap ribbon alternatives out there that you can take for a test drive. The fathead is a relatively cheap and great sounding option. On my Crowley Tripp ribbon, I turn the mic around to use the back side for brighter tones, aim it at the 12 fret and it is golden. Th best idea is to find the room that sounds the best, then set up tracking there. I like a high ceiling with some tiles, but it all depends on the material. SDCs are great at capturing acoustics to place in a dense mix. I also love the AT4047 on just about everything (see F Fillipetti)....So many options

[Sizzler]

Are we talking about clean guitars (amp) or acoustic guitars?
Hard not to endorse the royer, that is an awesome mic...but there are plenty of cheap ribbon alternatives out there that you can take for a test drive. The fathead is a relatively cheap and great sounding option. On my Crowley Tripp ribbon, I turn the mic around to use the back side for brighter tones, aim it at the 12 fret and it is golden. Th best idea is to find the room that sounds the best, then set up tracking there. I like a high ceiling with some tiles, but it all depends on the material. SDCs are great at capturing acoustics to place in a dense mix. I also love the AT4047 on just about everything (see F Fillipetti)....So many options

The various ribbons are certainly interesting. I do have some experience with condensers as well and I would be cool them as well.

I was looking primarily at clean guitars but if the mic is versatile enough to work for acoustic that would be great.

[crankyrayhanky]

Ribbons are so interesting, will work on clean amp tones, vocals, acoustics... Just font stick it on kick drum unless it has roswelitte
DAWs are so clear I like the dark vibe and room tones a ribbon brings. Many of them can be flipped around for brighter tones too

[Micter]

Ya I would say a ribbon mic but It really depends on your interface/preamps. I would probably say an upgrade there will have more effect on the overall recording process than a mic change. I know that's not what you want to hear but trust me, when I spent $2000 on a mic pre my recordings all the sudden had way more of a professional quality than all the 50 mics I bought befor that. LOL, Live and learn!

I can stick a 57 in front of pretty much anything and get not only a usable but a good sounding recording.

[Elessar [Sly]]

I have used SM57's on clear guitar amps and been really happy with the results. I recently put a recording of a Leny Cub12R up recorded with an Audix i5 mic and it sounded pretty good (in terms of giving a nice clean sound).

I also have an MXL 67(UI?) that works for clean tone. But I tend to use the 57 more.

[TurboPablo]

You know, I like my SM57 way more for cleans than dirt. Seems to capture the DSL cleans more honestly. The dirt sounds are what get clipped for me. It just doesn't sound as big and brilliant. I'm going to pony up over the winter and get a Heil. Like Raf suggested. Then I can use both.

[Sizzler]

Hmmm

Here's a click I threw together a while back with an SM57/MD421 mix in the same positions I use for dirt tones.. I think I like it but there's air missing or something. I have got to get some time moving mice around.

[video]http://youtu.be/D9HOKr99yVY[/video]

Edit - also I think this is more 421 than 57.

[Markdude]

Hmmm

Here's a click I threw together a while back with an SM57/MD421 mix in the same positions I use for dirt tones.. I think I like it but there's air missing or something. I have got to get some time moving mice around.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9HOKr99yVY[/video]

What's missing is depth. Back one (or both) of them up and get some room sound happening (or maybe simulate it in post with reverb (room IRs work great for this). Clean guitars generally don't need to be sharp and in your face. Round them out with some ambience.

[Sizzler]

Hmmm

Here's a click I threw together a while back with an SM57/MD421 mix in the same positions I use for dirt tones.. I think I like it but there's air missing or something. I have got to get some time moving mice around.

What's missing is depth. Back one (or both) of them up and get some room sound happening (or maybe simulate it in post with reverb (room IRs work great for this). Clean guitars generally don't need to be sharp and in your face. Round them out with some ambience.

Cool thanks!

I am going to give them some air next time I have the mics out. I remember back when one of my bands were recording the engineer did a close 57 and an AT40(xx, don't remember which one) back a ways and they aligned with pink noise. I might start with just one mic and move it back until I get some room in there before I start messing around with multiples.

[Markdude]

Hmmm

Here's a click I threw together a while back with an SM57/MD421 mix in the same positions I use for dirt tones.. I think I like it but there's air missing or something. I have got to get some time moving mice around.

What's missing is depth. Back one (or both) of them up and get some room sound happening (or maybe simulate it in post with reverb (room IRs work great for this). Clean guitars generally don't need to be sharp and in your face. Round them out with some ambience.

Cool thanks!

I am going to give them some air next time I have the mics out. I remember back when one of my bands were recording the engineer did a close 57 and an AT40(xx, don't remember which one) back a ways and they aligned with pink noise. I might start with just one mic and move it back until I get some room in there before I start messing around with multiples.

They definitely sound good in that clip and it's a great starting point. If your room doesn't sound great or you just want to keep it simple, I bet you could make it sound great by processing one of the mics with some fairly wet reverb/IRs and have it function as your ambience track. But if the room sounds awesome, nothing will beat capturing it for real.

[Sizzler]

They definitely sound good in that clip and it's a great starting point. If your room doesn't sound great or you just want to keep it simple, I bet you could make it sound great by processing one of the mics with some fairly wet reverb/IRs and have it function as your ambience track. But if the room sounds awesome, nothing will beat capturing it for real.

The room definitely has some issues - actually the best tones come from having cabs in the corners so I might move stuff around as well. If I don't get some decent results back in the box I go so to speak.

Thanks again for the help man.