SM57 mic'ing redux please.......

[Flames1950]

I know this has been covered before but I'd like a refresher course and new discussion so don't tell me to search the freakin' forum!!

I finally gave up on the computer I had built to record with and stuck my M-Audio Delta 44 into my main computer, set up a different hardware profile to shut off a bunch of crap I didn't want running in the background, etc. Aside from a funny delayed-looping thing that's going on I can at least get sound to the computer........

Typically an SM57 is not what I would choose (at least not without a couple of other mics to blend in) but since it's everyone's point of reference I grabbed my 57 and set it up in front of the cab. As always, first couple of tries grab all the fizz and none of the meat of the sound of the amp in the room.

So first set me straight on cone placement and mic angle again please.......

And do you guys find that moving the mic away from the cab instead of sticking it right in the grill cloth helps capture a smoother airier sound? Typically I find I like mic sounds from mics about a foot or two away myself............

Sorry I don't have more time to experiment, but with a wife in night college and a toddler I need to be pointed in the right direction quickly!!!

[St August]

I like to place mine on the edge of the cone, of my best sounding speaker,
about 2 inches away and angle the mic towards the center of the cone.

Ive done it other ways but this seem to be the best for me

Also Instead of using a 57 Ill use a Sennheiser E609 this is a great guitar Mic
at about the same price as a 57

[Necrovore]

I'll second what StAugust posted, but with my speakers G12-65's, somewhere between the outer edge and midway in the cone is the sweet spot.

EDIT: I have also found that throwing a quilt over the cabinet/mic setup gives a flatter response when recording into the computer.

[jlummaa]

As always, first couple of tries grab all the fizz and none of the meat of the sound of the amp in the room.

So first set me straight on cone placement and mic angle again please.......

And do you guys find that moving the mic away from the cab instead of sticking it right in the grill cloth helps capture a smoother airier sound? Typically I find I like mic sounds from mics about a foot or two away myself............

Hi,

I have been through the same frustration of close micing cab and being unsatified with the results.

After a bit experimenting it seems that now i have found a way to get much airier tones. I'm talking about micing 4x12". I have used a condenser mic (i have used a cardioid Oktava MK 012-01) about 12 to 20 inches away from grille cloth on the edge of the cone and angled towards the center. The same as St August's but a bit further away from cab as i like the room sound. I haven't tried this with SM57 but it may work just fine with dynamic mics too.

[Flames1950]

I typically do use a condenser as one of the three mics I usually used to place. I'd have the 57 up close like everyone likes them, and then a relatively cheap CAD tom mic (that I really liked for guitar cabs!!!) on another speaker fairly close, then a $100 CAD condenser that I used for drum overheads back about three or four feet.
The last tracks I cut at home with that three mic setup came out wonderfully fat and warm, and that was mic'ing my 2204 with an overdrive in front of it -- sounded too gainy in the room but sounded just right on the track.
I just wanted to stick with the 57 since again, everyone uses it as a point of reference. I don't know when I'll get to try recording again to try some of these ideas out.

[VelvetGeorge]

If you're going to mix mics then cram the 57 right in the voice coil on axis IMO. All you'll use this mic for is that upfront, mid presence anyway.

One way to get it in the right basic place is to use headphones and a long extension. I made some adapters and use mic cables for headphone extensions. Get some signal going from the 57 and move it around, right on the grill until you hear the most amount of speaker hiss in the cans.
Once it's there, you can turn it off axis to your liking.

For the condensor, I like anywhere from 1-4' back. I usually find that a distance that is a multiple of the distance the 57 is away from the voice coil is most in phase. So if the 57 is right on the grill, and there's 6 inches from the dust cap to the mic, try putting the condensor 12, 18, 24 or 30 inches back and so on.

George

[Flames1950]

Well I will say that putting the 57 at the outer edge of the cone and pointing it inwards definitely cuts the fizz....almost too much so!!

........I was trying to lay some test runs on the Metro Jam, only had two mic cables at my new house so I had the 57 set up at the edge and the condenser about two feet out slightly off axis from center on the speaker......went to check the tone on playback and thought I had plugged in my Bandmaster or something, didn't sound anywhere near as overdriven as it did in the room. So somewhere in between the two approaches I'll find my happy medium, hopefully before the Jam homework is due!!

[VelvetGeorge]

Hey Flames, here's another cool thing to try with two mics:

Get the 57 where you like the tone. Then flip the phase on the condenser and listen in mono. Move the condenser around until you hear the most signal cancellation. Then flip the phase back to normal. That usually gets the mics working in tandem.

george