Which interface to mike a guitar amp with two microphones?

riscado

Which interface allows you to to a decent recording of an amplifier miked with two/three microphone setup?

Thanks

LeeCassidy

Just about any multi input device. I've used Focusrite, M-Audio, Steinberg, and currently use a MOTU, but all were great. You can start splitting hairs amongst interfaces for their preamps, but just about any will sound good with a decent mic. 

octatonic

Any interface with 2 or 3 inputs- which is many of them.

If you want to sum the signals before converting to digital then you will need some sort of mix function- most people use an analog mix function.
Or sum them on a bus.
Or record them individually and then submit them in your DAW.

Most interfaces now are capable of decent recordings, but as a general rule the more you spend per input the better it will sound.

riscado

Can I capture the recording at the same time on both mikes to one or multiple tracks? Sorry I'm really unfamiliar with this.

LeeCassidy

Yip. Usually very straightforward in most DAWs.

riscado

Thanks, any suggestions of microphones to record small amps. Ex: princeton reverb, champs, etc

For a dynamic mike, I'm thinking about something like, a shure 57/58, should the second mike have a different flavour, like a condenser mike?

Rowby1

Classic combo (or at least I've heard of a few people doing this) is a 57 and ribbon mic of some sort. I've got a Cascade Fat Head which I use along side an SM57. Seems to work well if you take your time making sure they're positioned properly relative to both the speaker and each other.

riscado

Cool, again thanks for the advice. Will start looking into this, as I plan on recording a bit this year.

Stuckfast

The classic mic combination is an SM57 and a Royer 121, but the Royer is not cheap. Neither is a Neumann U87 which is also a popular choice.

If you can find an old Sennheiser MD409, that's a great guitar amp mic. It looks the same as the current e609 and e909 models but isn't. There are also a lot of Beyer mics that work really well, including the M160, M260, M201 and M88.

riscado

Yeah the royer and the neumann, might be a tad too expensive for this initial exploration of mine. But I've definitely heard good things about them. Will look into some of you other suggestions.

octatonic

Stuckfast said:

The classic mic combination is an SM57 and a Royer 121, but the Royer is not cheap. Neither is a Neumann U87 which is also a popular choice.

If you can find an old Sennheiser MD409, that's a great guitar amp mic. It looks the same as the current e609 and e909 models but isn't. There are also a lot of Beyer mics that work really well, including the M160, M260, M201 and M88.

We have a different definition of 'classic'- Royer started in 1997.
This, for me, is a newish technique.

I have 121's, and a couple of other Royer mics, they work great with a dynamic, but I prefer an E906 to a 57 though.

Cheap multi mic options for guitar that I would recommend to someone on a budget:

A dynamic: E609. Everyone should have one. Beyer M88, Shure Beta 87A, SM7B, Sennheser MD421
A ribbon: Avantone CR14, Beyer M130 or M160 (ideally both)
SDC: Avantone CK1, Rode M3 or M5, AKG C451B
LDC: Audio Technica AT4040, C214, Avantone CK7

This is in no way an exhaustive list, but some mics off the top of my head that I use a lot.
My favourite most used mic though is a Josephson C42- I have quite a few of these now and they are excellent, although around £450.
If I was going to suggest one mic for everyone to buy it would be the C42.

riscado

That is an interesting set of choices, no SM57 or 58...Thanks for the list, those seem to be prices within my range. I might even consider the C42.

Stuckfast

Agreed, it's a newish technique -- I guess most people just used one mic before that -- but there has definitely been a vogue for using those two mics in particular. Hey ho.

To be honest, a guitar amp has a pretty limited bandwidth and there are tons of mics that work perfectly well.

Do you often use SDCs on them? I tend to gravitate to ribbons or dynamics, or a U87 for a small amp.

octatonic

Have a look here: http://www.electricalaudio.com/class.php?page=microphones
This is Steve Albini's site.

This is what he has to say about the SM57 (and I mostly agree with him- although I have several 57/58's- if you are going to get one then get the Beta version).

Shure SM-57
Piece of shit dynamic mic some people are inexplicably crazy about, so we bought one. Sounds equivalently good on everything from snare drum to electric guitar. Unfortunately, not a very high standard of "Good." If you need to record something and there's no microphone available, this will do, I guess.

I was trying to limit myself to sub £500 mics. 

Most of the good stuff costs a great deal more and can be fragile. 

Ribbon mics, in particular are not particularly hardy.

riscado

The thing that usually I hear with recordings of SM57s is a bit of a raspy high end. But I'm totally new to this world. I'll have a look at the E609 as well.

octatonic

riscado said:

The thing that usually I hear with recordings of SM57s is a bit of a raspy high end. But I'm totally new to this world. I'll have a look at the E609 as well.

Well, most people use 57's when they can't afford better stuff and they get used to them and keep using them.
Having a fairly extensive mic collection, there aren't many times when I'd use a 57 over another mic.
The main reason I use them is when I am recording people I either don't trust with the expensive stuff (for reasons of theft or damage) or they specifically ask to use them.

The E609 is a killer mic, definitely get one of those.
I have a couple of original 409's as well, which are killer- but you won't find those for non-silly money now.

Stuckfast

A 57 on a guitar amp has a particular sound do it, and if you want a sort of aggressive snarling bitey tone that cuts through the mix, it'll definitely do that. If you want smooth or refined, look elsewhere.

If I had to recommend one affordable mic it'd probably be a Beyer M201. You can pick them up for well under £100 second-hand and they sound great on lots of things, not just amps. The M88 is great too, but a lot more expensive.

octatonic

Stuckfast said:

If I had to recommend one affordable mic it'd probably be a Beyer M201. 

I use that a lot on snare (esp bottom)- it is great at rejecting hi hat spill.

Rowby1

The other thing to bear in mind is that mic placement with guitar cabs makes a massive difference to the recorded sound, particularly if your mic is up close. If your new to recording it would be worth experimenting with one mic first until you have the hang of it. Otherwise you may find yourself going in circles wondering which mic is doing what tone wise and never get satisfactory results.

duotone

octatonic said:

Stuckfast said:

The classic mic combination is an SM57 and a Royer 121, but the Royer is not cheap. Neither is a Neumann U87 which is also a popular choice.

If you can find an old Sennheiser MD409, that's a great guitar amp mic. It looks the same as the current e609 and e909 models but isn't. There are also a lot of Beyer mics that work really well, including the M160, M260, M201 and M88.

We have a different definition of 'classic'- Royer started in 1997.
This, for me, is a newish technique.

I have 121's, and a couple of other Royer mics, they work great with a dynamic, but I prefer an E906 to a 57 though.

Cheap multi mic options for guitar that I would recommend to someone on a budget:

A dynamic: E609. Everyone should have one. Beyer M88, Shure Beta 87A, SM7B, Sennheser MD421
A ribbon: Avantone CR14, Beyer M130 or M160 (ideally both)
SDC: Avantone CK1, Rode M3 or M5, AKG C451B
LDC: Audio Technica AT4040, C214, Avantone CK7

This is in no way an exhaustive list, but some mics off the top of my head that I use a lot.
My favourite most used mic though is a Josephson C42- I have quite a few of these now and they are excellent, although around £450.
If I was going to suggest one mic for everyone to buy it would be the C42.

Thanks for all the mic Info!

blobb

Great thread.

For info, not having access to different mics, I have recorded with a 57 + SE R1 (ribbon) through a NI KA6 interface. One thing to watch with ribbons is that your interface needs plenty of gain, about 60db.  I tried loads of positions to find the sound I was after. Sounded good. Then I ran the recording out from my head direct to the KA6 in, and added cab IR's. Sounded exactly the same, with a fraction of the hassle. So that's what I do now. Interface is good though, well built, solid drivers, clean, has plenty of gain, big volume knob, all that jazz.