You can't go wrong with a 421. It, like the 57, is a very versatile mic.
If you have an open back gtr cab, you can throw it right back there and mix it up.

Sennheiser also makes mics specifically for guitar cabinets. I have the e609 and love the sound. I usually put a 57, the 609 and a room mic a few feet away when micing cabs and mix for the best sound. I have to admit, I usually end up using the 57. Man, I love that mic.

I've heard good things about the 609 too. I pretty much have to stick with close mic'ing since I'm doing everything in a room that's basically a living room/den area.
I wish I had a good sounding room. Maybe down the road I'll look into that.

I love Sennheiser headphones... hate their mics. The 421 yields decent results with toms and I suppose could be used with guitar cabs, but unlike the 57 when you use it on vocals, acoustic guitar or anything else which has a clearly recognisable "sound", the 421 bears no resemblance to it. :/
A great all-around recording mic which happens to do a spectacular job on guitar cabs is the AKG 414. It holds up well to the SPLs and has a wonderfully detailed presence that lesser mics just don't approach. If it's in your means to get one ($1k) or two you will love, love, love them!!

That's my opinion anyway. :-)

ya i have the e609 as well and im a fan of it. and you probably couldnt go wrong with a 421 either. :)

Depending on your room and micing situation, you may want to look at several condensers in that range. However, if you are recording with other live instruments in the same room, this is an option that only works if 'bleed' is your friend.

The ADK A6 and S7 are new models that will go a long way to 'fattening' up your signal.

The Kel mics offer incredible clarity as well as some attitude to guitar amp.

I am not a big fan of small diaphrams on guitar amps, but the SM81 is a mic I would not hesitate to put up on any source. It has a very 'forward' sound to it as well as warmth with the right preamp.

Back to dynamics, the Heil PR30 or the PR40 are both excellent mics.

At that price range, perhaps a search for a 'real' MD409 is in order. Not many mics can do guitar amps as well as this one. Also the AKG D20 works well and is a mic that has many other uses.

An ATM25, even though its touted as a kick drum mic for the most part, is one of the better heavy guitar mics around. Hard to find, no longer in production, but you could get four for that budget. I like it more than the MD421 on guitar amps. But thats just me.

I forgot to mention the Audix mics. I use this as a plural because so many of the line works so well in this capacity. The i5 is a current mic that many say easily replaces the SM57. I think they are somewhat different and will generally use both on a cabinet. The i5 has a bit more gloss to the highs and the bass is a bit firmer. The D series Audix mics are killer guitar cabinet mics. A D2 is quite interesting in the low punch it adds to a cabinet sound. No blur or fuzz either. The D1, D3, and D4s' are simply differently voiced mics and each offer their own take on a guitar sound.

Davedog wrote:
Back to dynamics, the Heil PR30 or the PR40 are both excellent mics.

At that price range, perhaps a search for a 'real' MD409 is in order. Not many mics can do guitar amps as well as this one.

+1 for Heil and MD409 (the only mics of Davedog's post I've used).

May I also suggest the ubiquitous EV RE20 (even better an RE27), or the RE11, RE15, RE16, and the N/D468. All still very under-rated and cheap.

i oftenly use, with great result, a large diaphragm mic such as a U87, added to a 57...
If this one is too expensive you could try a Studio project TB1...

I'm considering getting a "blue ball", so i can get different tones... does anyone ever tried this one...
And what about the blue "8-ball"??

Thanks Davedog...that's a huge list. I forgot at the 409 too.

I should mention that everything will be close mic'd (for the most part) as my room is just a basic living/den area; drywall, carpet, nothing exciting. I do have hardwoods in other rooms so I could (and may in the future) drag stuff around to experiment with room sounds. Also, I would say with 99.9% certainty that no other instruments will ever be recorded at the same time, so bleeding isn't a problem/friend/foe.

So, just out of curiosity, how much would be too much to spend on a real 409?

Thanks.

great suggestions everyone!

let me throw in one more.. the CAD Equitek e-100

it's a nice side-address condensor that looks a lot like the e609, but w/better sound.

it has an attenuator so it can handle SUPERHIGH spl levels.

in fact, it's super versitile as well and works on almost everything (except vocals, really). great for OH, elec guitar, acous gtr, even kick drum.

and they're cheapish ... like $150 on ebay or $200 new!

Grrr....I GAS for stuff too much. Just like I've done with guitars and amps in the past, now it's just moooooved over into recording equipment.
The only difference with my guitars and amps is that I know how to play. Not so much the same story with recording I must say. At least not yet. :-)

421s, 609s, 409s...ARGH!

C'mon...are the 409s really the shiznit?

Another thing I might add is that most of my amps are EL84 based, so I'm not lacking in the mid-high/highs. That being said, I suspect I really don't need much help from a mic in that frequency range unless it can smooth things out a bit.

The MD409 was a secret weapon in MOST of the huge studios in the world back in the day.

Yeah.....they really are 'it'.

As far as price, its hard to say since NO ONE with any kinda budget is gonna give em up.....so finding a good one is a search. Its gonna be "what the market bears" as far as price.

I owned two. But thats a sad and long story.........

Your'e totally correct on the topic of the 409's.

I don't know about the 609's, though - They're evolution series, aren't they?
Don't have any... but the mouse, OTOH, is chock full of 409's - good on horns as well (I've said as much in posts regarding brass...)!
They can take one hell of a beating SPL wise and keep coming back for more!

And to go along with Tiff, the 468 is a very cool, versatile mic.
That's a good mic for toms, and it's got a nice, low profile for use on a snare. I've used it as a secondary mic on gtr, but honestly can't remember how that turned out... Perhaps I'll try again soon and let you guys know what I think.

i just did a rough mix of a song using 609's on my '59 bassman

ill put a link up once myspace decides to stop being gay

once myspace decides to stop being gay

You're gonna be waiting a long, long time!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

i know :'(

god i hate myspace.

Aww, I didn't say I hate it.

I just think that 99.9% of it is friggin' gay!

***Disclaimer - The adjective used here - "Friggin' gay", has nothing to do with one's sexual preference! We certainly don't mean to offend any of our friends in the gay community, and I doubt seriously that we ever could (you should meet some of my friends in said community). If however you are offended - get over it, you know where I work!

amen to that, but i got it to work!

so here we go...

the electric guitar was recorded with the e609

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=241317837&MyToken=3252562f-dbd5-4554-9fc4-455c323e81fa

"The Hound"

there is some fuzz and the reason for it...im too lazy to explain right now cuz i suck at typing.

-ps-

sorry if the song puts you to sleep haha

There's a 409 and some SWEET vintage 421s on Ebay.
I should really just go to bed.