Guitar Cabinet Microphone Roundup Part 2 - Dynamics (2/2)

[theanthill1001]

Yuh. Thanks for the lesson. You can see the photograph properly though, can't you? Seriously, they're nowhere near it.

[JoshLittlemusic]

I find that if you use a dynamic mic pretty close to the speaker and then a condenser farther away you can get a really nice sound.

[imeddy]

3:23 Sennheiser 609 -condenser- ..?

[hawg427]

A good condenser mic can handle a pretty high SPL like the AT4040, even the ribbon mic the Cascade Fathead can do high SPL's.

[katzrob]

you do realize that you called the sennheiser and the audix condensors...right? because they aren't condensors...they're dynamics, just like the 57. Oh, and to everyone saying, "57's sound like crap...blah blah blah.."..... 95% of your favorite guitar tones on all of your favorite records....captured with a 57 on the cab! that is all!!!

[guitarsbunch347]

@katzrob i worked as a guitar tech for a band for a while, and the only reason EVERYONE uses 57's is because thats what everyone has always had and their jst used to it, audix i5 and senheiser e609's sound great right out of the box but sm57's require alot of eq tweaking, pro studios always boost bass and treble and scoop the mids to get the 57 to sound good, do u know wat sm57 stands for, sports microphone 1957, the i5 and e609 have surpassed it bt evry1 alrddy had a 57 so they jst used it.

[TheRoodhy]

I like the i-5 but it also depends where you put the mic infront of the amp!

Great amp!

[motphine4u]

I used to record my guitar using sm57 for very long time. but since I starting using e609 I am not using sm57 anymore. For guitar cabinet, snare, toms, horns.. I love the smoothness and detail in midrange. sound much warmer than sm57..

[danakerman]

I appreciate the effort to do a comparison. But the mics are all positioned at different distances from the center of the cone, so they are picking up different frequencies, which makes the comparison kind of useless. For example, the e609 is WAY farther from the speaker center than the sm57, which gives far fewer highs. And the i5 is practically on center. I would love to see this re-done with each mic at the same position. Not hard to do with video editing.

[CrawfordDrummer]

SM57 and E609 are dynamic not condensers, i think the others are too but those im sure about

[soundchaser59]

@CrawfordDrummer The i5 is not a condensor either, like he said in the clip.

[OMERTA011]

I5 sounds great... cant believe I've never heard of it

[Skicolorado75]

I think the I5 has better trebbles and punch, but the SM57 has better low end.

[dareheaven2]

i got a question, say i got an amp in my room, its miced, and i have a backing track playing loud in the other side of the room, would the mic pick up the backing track, i dont want it to i just want it to pick up the cab, how would i make this work?

[joakoPRIMUS]

thanks a lot for posting this : )

[cowboytonydee]

e609 rules. easy placement, good sound, nice looking, durable (well, more than the 57).

[theanthill1001]

You surely can't be serious. These mics are nowhere near placed the same way, which will change the tone much more than which mic it is. The only way to compare them is to place them IDENTICALLY, and set the gain at an ideal level for each different mic.

[Guitarfreak5253]

@theanthill1001 Why would you want to hear the mics placed in the exact same position? That makes no sense. Each mic has its own personality and should be placed where it sounds best. That's a true comparison.

[theanthill1001]

@Guitarfreak5253 that's nice for bringing out the personality of a mic, but it's no good for an even comparison, is it?

How u gonna know what the personality of the mic even is?? That's kinda what this test is about isn't it?

[Guitarfreak5253]

@theanthill1001 A Cascade Fathead II ribbon mic sounds great dead center of the speaker and backed off a few inches. If you put a 57 there it sounds like absolute shit, fizzy and thin. If someone listened to those clips they would think the 57 was a bad mic. True? Not in the slightest.

[theanthill1001]

@Guitarfreak5253 Yes, but you wouldn't know that until you'd tried them in the same spot, would you? And the reason a 57 sounds bad there is because of it's weaknesses, it can be harsh and scratchy. You need to put it there to find out.

[Guitarfreak5253]

@theanthill1001 So making one mic sound good and another sound bad is your idea of a good comparison?

If the results were private, I can follow your logic, there is nothing better than experimentation. But since these clips are public, people are actually going to come to conclusions based on the results. For that reason, I think getting each mic sounding its own personal best is the best way to go.

[soundchaser59]

@Guitarfreak5253 Maybe the sound coming out of the speaker is fizzy. The mic is not what sounds fizzy, (assuming you are not distorting the diaphragm). That fizzy sound is coming out of your speaker, and some mics pick that up better than others. You cant hear fizzy crap when you stand 20 feet away. There is a LOT more to this equation than just which mic you use. If you suddenly hear fizzy crap when you put a mic in front of it, it's time to redial your amp, not fuss about mic choices.

[TheeAldeen]

@theanthill1001 ** now this guy knows what he is talking about**

[hailmasch]

@theanthill1001 They are all the about same distance from the cone. What are you smoking?

[theanthill1001]

@hailmasch Dude, you need to do some research about mic placement. Distance is only one factor. You get very different sounds with a mic placed in the centre of the cone than the edge, and a bunch of varieties in between. That's why I still say this comparison can't possibly be accurate.

[hailmasch]

@theanthill1001 That is pretty much exactly what I said. They are all the same distance from the center of the cone. In case you didn't realize, its a a 2x12 cabinet.

[ThursdayisPathetic]

the mics don't look like they were placed identically. The sennheiser looks like it was further away from the center of the speaker than the sm57 which is why the shure sounds brighter. the sennheiser also appears to be angled outwards which would make it sound even darker in comparison to the 57. kind of seems like an uneven comparison.

[Billy982810]

57 rules

[tanakakai]

Wow, I never realized how much of a difference there was when miking cabs with dynamic vs condenser mics. I'll never use a dynamic mic again, the SM57 sounds terrible in comparison with the el-cheapo MXL 993 (that I already own.)

[toneslingercliff]

a lot of people agree MXL are a great value microphone for what you get for just a little money.

[temorello]

Hey, greetings from mexico.

It seems like this information is valuable for studio recording but about touring.

Which condenser microphone is better in avoiding the sound leakege you get playing live? also i see you use a very close miking, i know condenser microphones can get damage but using them near loud sources.

Hope you can answers. Thanks in advance

[toneslingercliff]

Most people use a dynamic mic like an sm57 to mic their cabinets in a live situation. Dynamic mics have a lot of "bleed out" from other sources.

I know the mics were close in, but I didn't have the volume on the amp turned up to a point that would damage the elements. the SPL's were actually quite low.

The beauty of a preamp.

[goldenhopper]

@tanakakai This is just not true. I'll agree that a condenser mic will be brighter, have a wider range and more presence, but that's not always what you're looking for. There is no mic more present then the SM57 in the history of rock & roll guitar.

[Fishies125]

@tanakakai Dude, I couldn't agree with you more. SM57s (without a good preamp at least) completely suck. I don't give a crap how "present" they've been in the guitar world, it still sounds like crap to me. I was wondering why I got such a crappy tone when I'd mic up my amp, until I tried the cheap condenser I have. 100% better. I will say, though, that a good preamp will make most mics sound pretty good. Freakin expensive though.

[TheeAldeen]

@tanakakai you need that dynamic mic for the "bite" to compliment the condenser - I would not use this one video as your finally say-all do-all for tracking, especially since the angle and placement of the mic has so much to do with the tone... for all we know this guy is just millimeters off -thus giving a sound you find displeasing

[thegreatestaction23]

i prefer the sm57

great video

[toneslingercliff]

thanks. you cant go wrong with a 57 can ya?

[Zparticus]

I own both the audix i5 and an sm57, and to me the audix sounds better... i cant place it, but my recordings seem to turn out better.

[toneslingercliff]

I think the I-5 has a little more presence boost. Visit my website and look at the freq response graphs for the two mics. You can see where things are different. toneslinger(dot)net

[Zparticus]

Yeah, i mean the sm57 still sounds good, but i prefer the sounds of the i-5, but yeah i will check that out, sweet

[toneslingercliff]

Let me know what you think when you check it out.