SM57 placement

[LCW]

Got an SM57 placed so the edge of the mic is in line with the edge of the dust cap. The mic is at 90 degrees to the grille cloth, it just looks angled due to the camera creating an optical illusion.

Is this ok?

 

[sleewell]

try this

 

[TedEH]

Is this ok?

Does it sound ok?

 

[LCW]

Does it sound ok?

I guess so I don’t really have a reference. First time recording using a mic.

 

[TedEH]

That sounds fine to me. IMO to really get the full "picture" of what your mic placement is doing, double track and hard pan them like you'd hear on an album or something. A dry centered guitar track is always going to sound a little strange on its own.

 

[Drew]

This stuff is SO subjective.

But, at a minimum, you're doing two things (IMO) right -

1) you're using a SM57. Everyone's got their own personal approach and some people might tell you something else is a batter cab mic... but no one (or, almost no one, who knows this stuff well enough to have an opinion worth listening to) will tell you a SM57 is a BAD choice. If you can't get at least a decent tone out of one, it's not the mic's fault.

2) you're using a flashlight, so you can actually see WTF you're doing.

I probably tend to go a sliiight bit further towards the cone and off the cap than you do (and suppliment with a MD421), but again, personal preference. I also can't see what you're doing with distance off the cab, but after being a lifelong "right up against the grill" guy, I lately found I'm getting more open and balanced sounds, without losing much if any "punch," with the mic maybe an inch off.

The two SM57s in a 45 degree angle thing DOES sound really good, and one of SRV's techs swore by a pair of them parallel with each other byt pulling the second back gradually until the phase happened to align in away to get rid of all the nasty harsh high end. Lots of fun things to do with more than one mic...

...but, don't bother with any of that until you can double-track a riff with a single SM57, with your guitars panned hard L and R, and have a pretty sick guitar sound. Lots of great recordings have been made with just one SM57.

For a single track of guitar, it at least sounds like you're getting a pretty solid tone here, though whether or not its what you want from a guitar I can't say.

 

[TedEH]

I also can't see what you're doing with distance off the cab

I've always wondered if there's no way to really have a general rule for this, since the speaker could be any distance from the grill. Maybe right up on the grill is right for some cabs and wrong for others.

 

[Drew]

I've always wondered if there's no way to really have a general rule for this, since the speaker could be any distance from the grill. Maybe right up on the grill is right for some cabs and wrong for others.

It's absolutely possible - and, I've heard of some engineers simply removing the grill to let them either get closer, or at least remove that as a variable.

But, in any event, it's also noit a hard and fast rule where, "oh, you must be exactly 1.25" off the grille!" There's a wide range of usable territory there.

 

[LCW]

That sounds fine to me. IMO to really get the full "picture" of what your mic placement is doing, double track and hard pan them like you'd hear on an album or something. A dry centered guitar track is always going to sound a little strange on its own.

Ok - I did need to double the mono track as it was initially just on the L channel. I’ll try the panning suggestion. Would you full(hard? pan each track L and R, or something between center and full pan?

 

[LCW]

This stuff is SO subjective.

But, at a minimum, you're doing two things (IMO) right -

1) you're using a SM57. Everyone's got their own personal approach and some people might tell you something else is a batter cab mic... but no one (or, almost no one, who knows this stuff well enough to have an opinion worth listening to) will tell you a SM57 is a BAD choice. If you can't get at least a decent tone out of one, it's not the mic's fault.

2) you're using a flashlight, so you can actually see WTF you're doing.

I probably tend to go a sliiight bit further towards the cone and off the cap than you do (and suppliment with a MD421), but again, personal preference. I also can't see what you're doing with distance off the cab, but after being a lifelong "right up against the grill" guy, I lately found I'm getting more open and balanced sounds, without losing much if any "punch," with the mic maybe an inch off.

The two SM57s in a 45 degree angle thing DOES sound really good, and one of SRV's techs swore by a pair of them parallel with each other byt pulling the second back gradually until the phase happened to align in away to get rid of all the nasty harsh high end. Lots of fun things to do with more than one mic...

...but, don't bother with any of that until you can double-track a riff with a single SM57, with your guitars panned hard L and R, and have a pretty sick guitar sound. Lots of great recordings have been made with just one SM57.

For a single track of guitar, it at least sounds like you're getting a pretty solid tone here, though whether or not its what you want from a guitar I can't say.

Thanks much for the feedback and recommendations.

As for mic distance it was right up kissing the grille cloth.

I’ll play with the panning first as I can do that with what I’ve already recorded and go from there.

 

[Drew]

Thanks much for the feedback and recommendations.

As for mic distance it was right up kissing the grille cloth.

I’ll play with the panning first as I can do that with what I’ve already recorded and go from there.

That MAY work for you - for lead sounds lately I've found that comes out a little muffled for me and I get a more "open" sound back an inch. I'm not saying "do what I do," just that maybe "spend some time experimenting with different positions and different distances from the grill, record a bunch, go back and listen, and figure out what sounds the best to you."

Amp VSTs and IRs are cool because they allow anyone to plug their guitar into a computer and get pretty great sounding guitar sounds, but doing it "the hard way" with an amp and mic gives you almost infinite control over what you capture, and it's really, really fun. \m/

 

[LCW]

That MAY work for you - for lead sounds lately I've found that comes out a little muffled for me and I get a more "open" sound back an inch. I'm not saying "do what I do," just that maybe "spend some time experimenting with different positions and different distances from the grill, record a bunch, go back and listen, and figure out what sounds the best to you."

Amp VSTs and IRs are cool because they allow anyone to plug their guitar into a computer and get pretty great sounding guitar sounds, but doing it "the hard way" with an amp and mic gives you almost infinite control over what you capture, and it's really, really fun. \m/

Definitely enjoying the learning process. Thanks again!

 

[LCW]

Here's a panned version. It's subtle but with headphones there's a difference. It's more "in your ears" than "hitting you in the forehead"... at least that's the sensation lol.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

If you're digging the tones, then the "how you got there" doesn't matter. Otherwise, I'd say you're on a good track based on everything posted here

Try recording each of the 4 speakers in the cab, too. Pick one that seems to have the most qualities you like, then deep dive a bit on that speaker with different mic placements. I generally start about 1.5 inches back from the grill, but will move closer depending on what I need. I have an extra 125B pedal enclosure that I use as a gauge for that distance since it's almost exactly 1.5 inches tall. A typical 9 volt battery is right around 1 inch wide, which I've used a lot before as well.

One thing I've been trying out over the last few days is putting a mic on one of the top speakers in an angled cab, but keeping it level with the floor rather than matching the baffle angle. All other factors being equal, the "level" version will have a bit of scratchy/fizzy stuff rolled off.

 

[LCW]

If you're digging the tones, then the "how you got there" doesn't matter. Otherwise, I'd say you're on a good track based on everything posted here

Try recording each of the 4 speakers in the cab, too. Pick one that seems to have the most qualities you like, then deep dive a bit on that speaker with different mic placements. I generally start about 1.5 inches back from the grill, but will move closer depending on what I need. I have an extra 125B pedal enclosure that I use as a gauge for that distance since it's almost exactly 1.5 inches tall. A typical 9 volt battery is right around 1 inch wide, which I've used a lot before as well.

One thing I've been trying out over the last few days is putting a mic on one of the top speakers in an angled cab, but keeping it level with the floor rather than matching the baffle angle. All other factors being equal, the "level" version will have a bit of scratchy/fizzy stuff rolled off.

View attachment 157746

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[dr_game0ver]

that's the beauty of recording Do some testing until you find something that pleases you.Trial and error.

 

[TedEH]

Here's a panned version.

When I say double-tracked and hard-panned, I mean record it twice. If you take one track, copy it L and R and pan them, then you have functionally the same thing as a single track down the center. Playing a centered mono track is already playing the same thing on both sides. The two sides need to be different in order for you to perceive any "width" or space.

 

[LCW]

When I say double-tracked and hard-panned, I mean record it twice. If you take one track, copy it L and R and pan them, then you have functionally the same thing as a single track down the center. Playing a centered mono track is already playing the same thing on both sides. The two sides need to be different in order for you to perceive any "width" or space.

OK - got it

 

[LCW]

played with distance of mic away from grille cloth. Could definitely hear the fizz drop. Got it to where the fizz was acceptable without sounding dull. Went and got some A-T MT50x closed back headphones and worked great to monitor myself while I played with the mic distance.

Setting for anyone who cares:
Orange channel
Tube rectification
LP w/ Custombuckers
Mesa Trad V30s
SM57 edge of mic to edge of cap
Mic 5/8" Away from grille cloth

 

[gnoll]

Just remember, you don't have to use an sm57. There are a lot of other mics, and there's no rule that says you have to stick to a 57.

Sm57 is not "the best" mic. It's just a mic that you might or might not like the sound of and that might or might not work well in your particular situation.