In order of most use, SM57, 421, U87Ai, D112.

I've been using a Royer R-121 with a 57 a lot lately. Also just purchased an Oktava ML-52, and am interested to hear it on electric guitar.

royer, a 421, and the re20

Okay, I'm a weirdo. :s: I usually go with a 57. However, three other good choices are:(depending how unique you want ot be.) sure beta 52(sounds good on smaller amps for a roots bluesy sound, sounds like crap for metal) TOA rd-16, and akg c-414. The beta 52 works best from about 3ft back. Toa is good close. 414 is good anywhere depending on the sound, and spl's.

Lately my primary guitar mic on an amp has been the ADK A51....its a very balanced mic and can take some spl's...it has a nice flavor to it...
Otherwise I use SM57,SP B3,ATM63,ATM25,Audix D2,and other usual suspects.

In the past, when recording HEAVY guitars, I used an MD409 Sennheiser.This is a great mic for this and most other applications including some vocals!

I've had good luck with SM57's, Sennheiser 421's and a Beyer M160.. Suprised no one mentioned the Beyer :)

-Jay

For clean sound try the shure ksm32. Adds a nice character to a fender combination.

Originally posted by fallout:
I've had good luck with SM57's, Sennheiser 421's and a Beyer M160.. Suprised no one mentioned the Beyer :)

-Jay

Don't forget the Beyer M88, M69 and M201.
Great for heavy guitar sounds.

Peace, Han

Have played with a couple of different combinations - but the sm57 has always been my favorite

Happy Hunting

Rod

Howdy

I've been liking the Sennheiser 441 close and the Blue Baby Bottle in the room.

I've had great success blending a Rode NTK (at the outer edge of the speaker, off-axis, about 6 inches back) and an SM57 (almost right at the center of the speaker, just off-center, right up against the grille cloth). Especially on a 4X12, this combo nicely captures the lows (NTK) and mids/mid-highs (sm57).

I'm really anxious to give an R-121 a try though. Recordings I've heard of this mic on a guitar amp are pretty stellar.

You left out an important part- what preamp are you using? Even the traditional 57 thru the wrong preamp sounds awful. But thru the Great River NV its the greatest electric guitar chain I have heard.

Besides the old stand-by SM-57, I've had good luck with the KSM-32, an SM7 and an old AKG D1000E.

Ever changing list. Most used are:
57, 421, Beyer 260, 414 (usually on edge), KSM 32 back a bit, weird old Shure ribbon (330 I think) for real notched stuff, oh the list goes on........

Wow, I've become a senior member.....

Try a 57 off axis and a Royer 121 on the other side of the cone faced a bit off center. I've been using a regular Stanley screwdriver handle (seems to work) to set the distance of the 2 mics. Always measure the off axis line for distance on the 57. Blend the mics for the result you need. No eq needed though you might want to treat the 121 if you need a lttle more top. The 121 ends up being the core of the sound with the 57 blended to give you what you need. Just one of a thousand technigues. K.D.

Kurt mentioned the D112 wich is about the same as the Beta 52. I have an engineer I work with from Chicago to do live stuff and he always looks like a little puppy when he ask what mic we're using on kick. I like the D112 he likes the Beta 52!
I'm glad some one mentioned the Byers. I use them a lot. Also I've had good results with the Audix OM5 vocal mic for some amps. Still hard to beat the SM57 for most applications.
Larry

I love Shure mics! Always have but the thing that turns me off on the Beta 52 is the fact that a passive eq network is used to achive the frequency curve. That is the main reason I would go to the D112 first. To me, less is more. But I would use a freaking waffel iron if it sounded good.. I know many are on a tight budget (believe me I have become aware of how tight money can be since I retired) but the best advice I can give is, buy mics one at a time and build a collection of various types for various applications. A kick drum mic may sound great on a givin drum but with a different player on the same drum the same mic may sound horrible. Best case scenario, have a D112, a RE20 and a Beta 52.. it can't hurt..

Good info on the 52. The next time I see this engineer I'll sound like I know what I'mm talking about instead of just saying the 112 sounds better.
I think your advice about how to build a mic collection is right on.
I started with one 57 and one 58.
The reason you gave for differnet mics is the only reason to have more than one mic, otherwise we could just pick our favorite mic and mic everything with it.
I've listened to recordings that sound like they've done just that.
Larry

Besides that, mics are soooo cool! So are pre's, comps and eq's. I love the "front end" stuff. As far as I am concerned, once it has been recorded, it's all over except for the fat lady singing... The damage has been done.. a chimp can mix. It's about "capture" in my book.. That's why I don't care too much for midi recording. Anyone can plug a guitar cable into a sound generator and the plug the other end into a mixer.. It's not like you can stand back and say "Look what I did" when you work that way... The art is in the mics for me.. Real instruments, played by real people, in a real room, recorded with real mics and front end gear. Organic music!