Mic Usage for 4 mic DAW

[NSJ]

Hi,

So, I feel like I’m getting good sounds from the SM57 and Royer R121 using the dual mic clip Royer makes. It’s close-miced to the amp, with the Royer a half foot a way, as per the Royer recommendations.

To record a single guitar, should I utilize the other 2 mic slots? And if so, how and where?

There are the mics I have:

Sennheiser MD 421 II:
Shure SM57
Royer R-121
AKG Perception 220:
DPA 4099G
Sterling Audio with PSM1 vacuum tube power supply
Slate ML2

[Gabor]

I am a beleiver to keep it simple stupid. (KISS). 4 mikes are simply overkill for KISS.

Either one mono, or a stereo pair. Place it according to the mike's characteristics and known best practice and the source and your intended final result. Maybe two different mikes in two different positions may bring a benefit and allows you to manipulate the sound in after processing, but four?

Also think about phase. Using a hand picked stereo pair, the phase is the king, brings the image. Using different mikes in different distances the phase is russian roulette. When noodling with your 4 tracks in after processing, the phase will randomly kill each other in the final result, what is worst, it may effect the different frequency ranges differently... the result will touched...with a hint of unmanagable chaos.

[vintagelove]

Hi,

So, I feel like I’m getting good sounds from the SM57 and Royer R121 using the dual mic clip Royer makes. It’s close-miced to the amp, with the Royer a half foot a way, as per the Royer recommendations.

To record a single guitar, should I utilize the other 2 mic slots? And if so, how and where?

There are the mics I have:

Sennheiser MD 421 II:
Shure SM57
Royer R-121
AKG Perception 220:
DPA 4099G
Sterling Audio with PSM1 vacuum tube power supply
Slate ML2

Hi, it can be good, however it c an also cause problems. If you're not familiar I would do some reading on phase cancellation and mic placement. Take care.

[fep]

Probably overkill, but if you have a good room (large, high ceilings, treated, etc.), you could use overheads. But you're probably better off with one mic and adding reverb in your daw.

[NSJ]

Thanks for the responses. I think some of those mics are best designed for acoustic instruments. You all have confirmed that, for an electric guitar through an amp, my SM57 and the Royer R121 and the Line In will work fine. I’ve just started learning about it. Lots to build on. Thank you, everyone!

[SOLR]

Thanks for the responses. I think some of those mics are best designed for acoustic instruments. You all have confirmed that, for an electric guitar through an amp, my SM57 and the Royer R121 and the Line In will work fine. I’ve just started learning about it. Lots to build on. Thank you, everyone!

You have 3 mics in your list that are "standards" for quality amp or other purpose miking....the shure, royer and sennheiser....there are other methods to mic but you need to aim for a "goal" i.e. what are you trying to achieve? What do you like about your method so far or don't like , is it phasey sounding, lacks punch or dynamics etc..

Illustration of 3 way miking.....with the 3 you have Getting The Ultimate Guitar Sound – Part 5. As others have stated, start with fewer sources to hear what you need to and isolate.It's really just like trouble shooting, you start with few components and work your way up the chain....I've mentioned polarity reversal on 1 mic and time alignement in another post of yours and that remains, you have to mix the signals in a way that you have control over the audio....

S

[SOLR]

FWIW some of the posters here have great sounding recordings...just listen to Mark Kl. or Max405 (joe) and some others .Some don't even use an amp ! You can find all their technical info in their posts or YT channels.....

S

[Jimmy Smith]

I like the sound of a condenser up to a foot back because it adds some room and detail but still sounds somewhat direct. I 2nd that 2 mics is plenty. You could try a dynamic or ribbon close and the condenser a foot back for room and detail. You can experiment with placement, but ime that's the general range.

Edit: Actually what you could do is record with all 4 mics, and then only choose the combination that sounds the best.