I use an SM57! great mic for $100, but I also have an Audix i5, and it may be better suited to metal. It's got a bit more bite to it than a 57.

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I tried out a Vox amp at GC and was fairly impressed with its performance. It's NOT loud at all so don't try to gig with it. But what you lose in volume you gain in tone. I played some pretty chunky metal riffs and they maintained their clarity while having that signature metal sound. I used it with a Jackson guitar with EMG HZ's.

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Take it or leave it, that's my ¢.02

2nd the 57. If you can't get a good metal recording w/ a 57 on a good amp/guitar/player.... don't bother.
For $100, that's a great starting point.
Keep in mind that PROS have been using 57s on stage and in the studio for half a century. There IS a reason for that.
Work w/ that, and then explore some of the other mics others might mention.

Not sure that the Vox amp has the "metal" sound you're looking for, but they're found in many a pro studio - I'd like one myself.

Now that GF and I have chimed in, it's time for the big dogs to set us all straight... right?

Just a note -
To see someone suggest that they don't want an amp below 30 watts tells me that you probably don't understand the meaning of amplifier wattage.

The reality is, 30 watts of power, especially paired with a relatively efficient speaker is a LOT of power.

For recording purposes, I could rarely ever see using more than 4-5 watts of power. For a coffee house gig - 10 would discourage people from hanging around for long. For a small show, 30 would hurt people in the front couple rows.

Granted it's not a full stack with a rack full of amps driving it, but a recording combo isn't meant to be.

Bear in mind, a 100 watt amplifier will put out only ~4.5dB more total sound than a 30 watt amplifier with all other things being equal.

As for the guitar mic -
57 is ubiquitous for a reason.
That being said, you can't go wrong with:
Audix i5
Royer 121
AEA R84
Beyer M160

Cheers-
Jeremy

thank you guys. I really REALLY love the sound of the Diezel Herbert, if that helps. I can't affors that sense it's like $4,500. haha

That being said, I do recommend the 57 in general over the i5. For me, you can do a lot more with the 57 than the i5 and for the same price. I AM seriously considering purchasing that VOX though. That and maybe some EMG HZ's for my Jackson. lml :twisted: lml

Thanks Cucco - I was going to suggest using a ribbon mic, but not having experience w/ the Royer or AEA or Beyer, specifically for metal, decided not to mention it.

I have had good success w/ my Fatheads on guitar amps. Someday I hope to have a couple of the mics you mentioned in my locker.

soapfloats wrote: Someday I hope to have a couple of the mics you mentioned in my locker.

Seconded. Especially on the Royer. Or at least any really good ribbon.

I love the sound of James Hetfield's guitar in Death Magnetic.

And just how much do you want to spend here? I have one word for you: botique. Everything botique, even botique guitar picks. And after that you need to go have an amp guru personally mod your botique amp. But you'll need more than just botique -- you'll need a whole team of master sound engineers working at $400/hr. Then maybe you can get that sound.

But, if you want great metal tone on a budget, then go buy EMGs. Buy a distortion pedal and put it through the clean channel of a tube amp. Toss some dynamic mics up there, high pass, and you'll have fantastic metal tone.

Dan, its spelled >boutique<.

Just in case it matters.

Davedog wrote: Dan, its spelled >boutique<.
Just in case it matters.

If you run a botique it matters a lot.

Well it all depends on the price of the ribbon mic. I can't spend over $300 on the mic, and thats my delima and why I was leaning more toward the sm57. What is a boutique? I've been playing for a while now and I've heard of a lot of gear, but never a boutique

"Boutique" is what you say when a heavy shoe flies at you.

BOOT! EEK!

I have a Cascade Fat Head II that is a pretty good cheap ribbon mic, but there is no way I'd recommend you buy one before you got your first SM57.

Boutique amps and guitars refer to high end, limited production pieces. The amps are usually point-to-point hand-soldered rather than made with printed circuit boards, but it's a loosely defined word.

Well, I think I'll go ahead and get the sm57. But I still need an amp thats great. Combo or Half-stack (As long as I don't go over about $900). As I have already mentioned, I love the sound of the Diezel Herbert, but it's too expensive. I've been looking at Mesa/Boogie Rectifiers, but once again, a little too pricy. I just need an amp that sounds great with metal and isn't over $900.

Thanks

You guys don't think that the VOX 30 on clean channel with a distortion pedal will give him a metal sound? Even without the pedal it is a modeling amp and I seem to remember a metallica preset or two while playing with it at the store.

I just need an amp that sounds great with metal and isn't over $900.

And I'd like a cheap Ferrari. Even the greatest metal amps that cost as much as a house require some real recording engineering knowledge and experience to sit right in a metal mix. Heck, that goes for everything in a metal mix. Good metal tone = stupidly high distortion that somehow manages to stay clear and crisp and not noisy. Go ahead and buy an amp under $900, but don't come crying to me when you can't get the tone you want. Like I said before, get some EMG pickups, and run a good distortion pedal (EHX makes some great ones) through the clean channel of just about ANY tube amp. That is the best you're gonna do for the amount of money you want to spend. If you do it right, people will actually be envious of your tone. Just break it to them gently that you aren't using some boutique (thank you Dave) amp. That's my two cents, take it or leave it. 8)

Wow, what a marketing gimmic a "Metallica" preset. I bet that has sold a whole bunch of amps for a few dollars in endorsement money.

NCdan wrote: That's my two cents, take it or leave it. 8)

You thief! :o

Guitarfreak wrote: Take it or leave it, that's my ¢.02

Alright, thanks for the help. I've got a Zoom G9.2tt Effects Console so that should work for that. What amp would you prefer NCdan?

What amp would you prefer NCdan?

Something with tubes that isn't made by Be$%^ger. :lol: I guess that depends how loud you want to be. I'm just assuming you want a combo amp and not a head and cabinet setup? You could always buy a good head and get a 1x12 cabinet for studio use. That's what I do. Granted, if you do go with my suggestion, the amp itself might not be the most versatile by itself. I don't play metal, but I do use one of these: https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=V3 You can't beat the features for the price (or for more a lot more, too). Of course, you have to know how to use all those fancy buttons, lest you turn in to one of those annoying people who complain that the amp is too fizzy. :x You will get more bang for your buck with a separate head, but I'll see what combos the evil empire has to offer.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kustom-The-Defender-50W-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp-?sku=482291
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Peavey-Delta-Blues-115-Tube-Amp-Combo-?sku=481016
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Hot-Rod-Series-Blues-Junior-15W-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=481861

All these amps are aimed more at the thick, "chugga chugga" metal sounds; of course, I'm recommending these amps for use with your Zoom unit, lest anyone think I've lost my mind. Don't forget that changing tubes and speakers can help take your tone from good to great. Of course, that can get a bit pricey after a while. :D

I would actually prefer a half stack, so a head would be nice.

Just be aware (if you aren't already) that really pushing your tubes and speaker(s) with a half stack means EXTREME sound levels (without an attenuator). And then there's the issue of having to buy 4 speakers you like for the half stack. Of course, getting a separate head, half stack, and 1x12 for recording (trust me, you are really gonna want that 1x12 after recording with a half stack) can cost a lot. If you want to go with the guitar head, then I would recommend a Carvin V3 (see my last post for the link), because it doesn't need any disotortion pedals to sound good. However, it is a very tight and bright head, even after retubing with 6L6's and different 12AX7's, which might not get you that Metallica sound. For using distortion pedals through a head you might try this Peavey head:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Peavey-Classic-30-Head-Tube-Amp-?sku=481019
You could also try one of these, which would give you tube tone with no frills to run your distortion through:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/tube-guitar-amp-heads?N=100001+338497+203721

I really like the V3. It's a little pricy. I noticed the SX300H which is in my range. So is the X100B. Do you have any experience with these?

The SX300H is actually a solid state head. The X100B doesn't do extreme gain by itself. It is designed to do more of the 80's metal and classic rock sounds. That being said, the experienced players who run their gain at the lowest possible level would be able to make the X100B work by itself for metal. If you really want extreme gain you could always buy a good overdrive pedal, which would add another $100-$200 to your purchase. The bottom line is that you ARE NOT going to find any heads that can do high gain WELL by themselves under $1,000. Carvin is the cheapest (right at $1,000 or barely under), Peavey is the 2nd cheapest ($1,500 and higher), and after that the prices just go up and up. I don't want to sound discouraging, but I'm just trying to save you money in the long run. If you can't save up enough money in the forseeable future (I've been there before), then your best bet is to pick up a realatively inexpensive tube amp or head that has a good clean channel and run a distortion pedal through it. That will sound very good, actually, once you start giving the tubes a workout.

As far as Carvin goes, you have a 10 day trial period, and all you'll be out of is the shipping if you decide you don't like any of their amps. Or if you live in CA it will cost you nothing as you could just drive up to one of their stores and buy/return an amp.

ok. Thanks. Wait. What about the Marshall MG100HDFX? No good? It is a solid state, though

Tubes give good clean signal. If you are using a distortion box you need good clean signal. Go with tubes, as everyone is suggesting.

ok, any affordable tube combos out there?

This one is definitely affordable, I have never played it so maybe someone can tell us both if it is good as well? As I am in the market for an amp as well... And how it might compare against the others previously posted.

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A Vox is not going to do metal by itself. I purposefully recommended amps that are naturally darker because Metallica doesn't have a bright, snappy guitar sound. I'd think the vox would be a bit bright for "chugga chugga," but with a distortion pedal it would certainly work for more extreme rock. I would guess it would end up being similar to the V3 but a bit chimier. My friend just bought that amp and while I haven't personally heard it, he says it is somewhat noisy with the B#ss overdrive pedal he bought for it (I'm sure some of that is due to the brand of pedal, but overdrive pedals shouldn't be all that noisy).

How about the senses fail tone, will a VOX do that? That's really the tone I'm looking for myself. (Sorry to siderail the topic, but I feel TC can learn from the questions I ask as well)

By itself, that particular Vox will have all the raging distortion of songs like "She Loves You" and "Yellow Submarine." Vox amps are sort of chimy, bright, and snappy, so if that's the tone you're looking, with the right distortion pedal it would be tonal nirvana.

How about the senses fail tone, will a VOX do that?

I have no idea. Is that an emo band? Or a modern rock band? I stopped listening to new music in about '98. Well that's not entirely true; I did buy a copy of "Shave the Planet," but that's about it. Vox amps are chimy, whatever that means. If you like bright, tight tone you can get a vox and an overdrive or distortion pedal, OR just buy a V3.

maybe I'll look into a fender, I know those have good tone, but with a purchase like that we're pretty much limiting myself to pedal tones aren't we? I don't rly have that many good ones. I have a BOSS SD-1 overdrive, which is decent sounding, but kind of dull. A Digitech Metal Master, processed sounding p.o.s. And the best sounding pedal I have; an Electro Harmonix Big Muff, but it doesn't always fit my style of music.

Rocktron distortion pedals are very crisp and clear and have tons of gain, but they are a bit noisy. But they are quite cheap.

maybe I'll look into a fender, I know those have good tone, but with a purchase like that we're pretty much limiting myself to pedal tones aren't we?

Do you mean Fender tube amps have good tone? Yeah, if you want great clean tones. The built in distortion will make you want to kill yourself, though. The bottom line is that good, built-in distortion on amps is very expensive. Carvin amps are great but they definitely have their own sound, and some people just want to hear something more "normal" in an amp (M@#shall and M$A B**gie type tones). If anyone really wants to get a "cheap" tube amp that will cover all the meat and potatoes rock tones without pedals, start saving up for a Peavey that's over $1,000.