What are you plugging in to 1/4 jack of the amp? The guitar? I sure hope so otherwise there is no point mic'ing the amp.

I don't understand what you are asking, but I'd love to help. Can you rephrase what it is that you are asking?

Ok srry,

So right now im taking my buddys guitar and plugging it into a channel on my Alesis MultiMix, and from there its going into my Mac G5 OSX.

My question is, should i plug the guitar into an amp and just mic the amp up instead of pluging the guitar into the mixer directly. Becasue ive seen people on these forms saying you will get a better sound.

And if it will give me a better sound will the mic's i posted above work

thanks

My guess is that you won't be very happy with the sound of an electric guitar plugged directly into a computer to get sounds.

It can work, but you will most likely need to use some sort of amp modelling plugin to get it to sound "right".

A guitar amp is a big part of an electric guitarist's sound, as the amp will color the sound (ie, provide distortion and EQ controls) in a way that we have come to associate with the electric guitar.

So yes, I think most would agree that the best electric guitar sounds come from a good player playing a good guitar through a good amp into a good microphone placed correctly.

Your drum mics should work OK, experiment with them. 2 of the most common guitar amp mics are the Shure SM57 and the Sennheiser MD421, both of which are also commonly used on drums. I'd start with the mic you'd use for the snare drum and see how that works. The kick drum mic could be interesting too, if you need a beefier sound.

Check [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.saecolle…"]this page[/]="http://www.saecolle…"]this page[/] for a good reference on where to begin. Mic placement is the trickiest part, ie, where to put the mic, what direction it should point, and how far away from the speaker cones.

I forgot to add that the guitar is plugged into a footswitch also. Should i still go witch expirementing with mic'ing the amp?

Answer: depends on what the footswitch does. If it's something like the Pod XT Live, or another product that "models" (meaning digitally simulates) amp sounds, you can go direct. But many will argue that running through a real amp and using good mic technique sounds better....

JWL wrote: A guitar amp is a big part of an electric guitarist's sound, as the amp will color the sound (ie, provide distortion and EQ controls) in a way that we have come to associate with the electric guitar.

So yes, I think most would agree that the best electric guitar sounds come from a good player playing a good guitar through a good amp into a good microphone placed correctly.

Your drum mics should work OK, experiment with them. 2 of the most common guitar amp mics are the Shure SM57 and the Sennheiser MD421, both of which are also commonly used on drums.

I'd second all of the above and add this:

The way a real guitar amp "pushes air" is not well-emulated with an amp cabinet software. So, you'd miss that subtlety.

The way which amps saturate and sustain sound, especially with tube amps, is also not well-emulated with amp sim software. So, you'd miss that too. For me, it's a clencher.

57s and 421s are reliable staples when recording guitar amps. However, many current amp recordings are created with ribbon mics (e.g., Royer 121) as well as large diaphram mics with high SPLs.

Moreover, many times amps are mic'ed with a combination of misc, giving you more sonic variance to mix with. For example, you might an a amp with a 57 pressed to the grill, a 121 two feet back and, say, a U47 a number of feet away to pick up room ambience. And that's just one combo solution.

It really depends on the sound that you (or the guitarist) likes. I'm going to assume you are running an electric guitar through some kind of FX pedal. If you like the sound running straight from the pedal to the computer, then use it. The amp sound should theoretically give a warmer sound, so if that's what you're after, mic the amp.

Guitarist's are all about their distinct tone, so if the guitarist has amp and guitar settings that he uses to produce his tone, the easiest way for you to capture it would be to mic the amp.

That kind of went in circles, but the point is to try it and see if you like the sound you get from either one.

-restashured