Best mics to capture punch

[Hogard]

love the sound of Shure sm57 but most mics to me fail to capture the punch of a loud Marshall?mesa guitar amp it sounds so good in person and the recording sounds good but just really flat sounding. the immediate attack and punch is what im looking to capture . any help would be appreciated thanks

[zenguitar]

love the sound of Shure sm57 but most mics to me fail to capture the punch of a loud Marshall?

Sorry, but this is completely meaningless. You reference the SM57, say nothing about it in the context of mic'ing a Marshall, and then raise the idea of a whole host of mics you don't name.

And when it comes to 'capturing the punch of a Marshall' there's a whole host of things to take into consideration than just the mic or mics used.

We have decades of great recordings (not to mention live amplification) of Marshalls that make it perfectly clear that SM57s, MD421s, Beyer M160s, and many other mics can easily do the job.

It's really NOT the mic that's the problem.

Andy

[ore_terra]

guitar amps are not really that picky for mics. you can get awesome (and punchy!) results even with cheap mics.

your quest shouldn't be about getting a new mic, but about knowing your current set up:

- have you tried changing the placement of the mic? even the slightest movement can alter the sound dramatically.
- do you have your amp well set up? most of the times amps are recorded much cleaner than they're finally perceived in the whole mix. don't forget that overdriving a valve amp inherently compress the signal. therefore if punch is what you're looking for you may be loosing it by driving the amp too much.

[Hugh Robjohns]

love the sound of Shure sm57...

Yes, it's a very versatile mic.

... but most mics to me fail to capture the punch of a loud Marshall?

Really? Not my experience. What mics have you tried?

mesa guitar amp it sounds so good in person and the recording sounds good but just really flat sounding. the immediate attack and punch is what im looking to capture . any help would be appreciated thanks

Tell us more about how you are currently recording it. Key details like:

Where is the amp?
What are the room acoustics like?
How many mics are you using?
Where are they placed?
Have you experimented with position?
What are the mics?
Have you tried other mics?
What changed?
What's the signal chain from guitar to amp?
How is the amp set up?

[MarkOne]

I would interpret ‘punch’ as dynamics. And you’re saying you are capturing a loud Marshall.

It follows then, that to experience the same level of dynamics in your recording you need to play it back at the same level, and on a monitor chain that is capable of reproducing the same frequencies at the same level.

And of course as mentioned above, experiment with the mic position(s)

[shufflebeat]

I don’t do a lot of (any) amp/cab recordings but I do a fair amount of live audio and the same question comes up regarding kick drums, snares and guitar amps.

It’s sometimes difficult to assess mic position when there’s an acoustic kick drum pounding your ear but I have found a pair of in-ears supplemented with industrial ear protectors can provide enough isolation to make useful choices.

[sonics]

Who knows what the OP means by punch?

He may mean that sense of air moving when you fire up a 4x12 and chunk out a few chords. A close-mic'ed '57 is not going to capture that. When I've wanted that whole sound I generally have three of four mics in the room, or I replicate it in software. You'll need a big monitoring system to play it back and get the same effect, as has been mentioned.

It’s sometimes difficult to assess mic position when there’s an acoustic kick drum pounding your ear but I have found a pair of in-ears supplemented with industrial ear protectors can provide enough isolation to make useful choices.

You could also retire to the bar or the restaurant next door, perhaps!

[shufflebeat]

It’s sometimes difficult to assess mic position when there’s an acoustic kick drum pounding your ear but I have found a pair of in-ears supplemented with industrial ear protectors can provide enough isolation to make useful choices.

You could also retire to the bar or the restaurant next door, perhaps!

That’s usually a last resort when all hope of a decent kick sound has been abandoned, but I mean while placing mics and tweaking for best position on an unfamiliar kit while monitoring on IEMs. It’s not ideal but then neither is jamming it in the hole and praying.

That restaurant does sound good, though.

[sonics]

I mean while placing mics and tweaking for best position on an unfamiliar kit while monitoring on IEMs.

That wouldn't work for me for various reasons. I like to have my ears available to listen to the real sound of the instrument, plus talk the the band etc. Get in, listen, place, get out quick.

That does it for me, and the desk EQ does the rest. There are times I want to tweak mics a little, and can usually get to do so during the intermission.