Getting a Crisp, Clear Home Studio Tone A-la EVH

[Sean_McFly]

Ok, so this is my first thread on the forum (aside from my member introduction lol), and I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice on how to enhance the clarity of my home studio tone (more crispness and sparkle). I'm using a Marshall 100wSLP reissue with a David Bray Mod 1 modification. I'm already getting a very nice crunch from the amp, but I need to use a condenser to pick up room acoustics as well as an SM57 close to the speaker, whereas David only uses one SM57 in his clips and gets amazingy clear and crisp tones without losing any warmth (we also use pretty much the same cabinet from the mid 70's)! Any tips on maybe how to achieve this clarity using recording software plugins or mic placement? I'd love to be able to get a punchy, warm, crisp tone by using just one SM57. Here are the links to some audio clips of me messing around with my studio tone:
http://soundcloud.com/sean_mcfly/my-tone" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://soundcloud.com/sean_mcfly/feedback-control" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://soundcloud.com/sean_mcfly/feedback-control-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lemme know what frequencies I should maybe alter, or what plugins to use (I use Cubase LE5 because it's compatible with my Lexicon plugin)!

[Janglin_Jack]

Are you recording in a properly treated room or is this an untreated "bedroom" or office, etc?? Unless you have a great room, I think you are better off with just close mic's and not use a condenser to introduce a bad sounding room. Move the mic around until you get the best sound you can. What preamp(s) are you using?

Mike

[6burgh]

I had one eye-opening experience when dealing with the SM57... look at the impedance that the mic sees from the interface. Older boards and pre's were a lower impedance. Nowadays everything is usually much higher. For example, my Firebox is 1300 ohms, but older boards were on the order of 300-700 ohms. Recording with a lower impedance was like taking a blanket off of my SM57.

[rgorke]

Old thread, but what is your signal chain. I went from a Firebox to a Digi 002r and my clips have been day and night in terms of clarity. I also took the transformer out of my SM57. That helped as well.

[Xplorer]

why not a bit of good ribbon mic pair to capture some natural and warmth ? mixed with your other mics.

[6burgh]

Funny you resurrected... I have been unhappy with my firebox for a bit now. Wondering how to improve.

[SteadyEddie]

The tapeOp mod is pretty drastic and renders the mic unusable for a lot of things.

I put together a mic "gizmo."
http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/r ... l/330.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It changes the impedance of the SM57 using a short patch XLR cable.

[6burgh]

I saw that same article a while back... I built a stompbox with XLR connectors and a rotary switch. It varies the overall impedance from 300 ohms up to 1k, then a true bypass.

[rgorke]

I put together a mic "gizmo."
http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/r ... l/330.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It changes the impedance of the SM57 using a short patch XLR cable.

Doesn't it change the impedance the SM57 "sees" rather than the impedance of the mic?

I have been looking at the tab-funkenwerks for my SM57. I have done the TapeOp mod with decent results.

http://www.mercenary.com/tatrmosmands.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;