http://www.shure.com/accessories/a15as.asp

Also, a mic preamp with a lot of headroom is helpful.

Or maybe a THD "hot plate" or a Marshall "power break". Do a google search on either to find out more about the two products. I'd leave some more info, but I got to go to work this morning early.
Later

The Hot-Plate / Power Brake is not the answer as this will affect the amp and thus the tone. You are experiencing power tube distortion (the very best sounding kind) with all that gain, and from a guitar tone standpoint that is good. Your problem is an either an overloaded mic or mic pre-amp. Buy one of these..

link removed

it's called a pad, and is an in line attenuator that you connect between the mic and the mic pre..this particular one will give you 30db of attenuation before the mic pre even "see's" the signal, thereby eliminating the possibility of the mic pre clipping. Shure makes a cool one that has selectors to switch between 10, 20 & 30 db of gain reduction..I just couldn't find it readily on the net.

Oh..and use a dynamic mic on the amp, an sm57 or something along those lines. If you're using a condenser, make sure it's pad is in as well.

These recommendations will fix the problem of recording anything that is extremely loud.

Much appreciated!

Thanks for the help,

-Benji

For extreme sound levels and condenser mics you might look at something like the DPA 4007 or 4004. One of these will be able to take all sound you can get out of your amp. And then a bit more.

http://www.dpamicrophones.com/

Gunnar.

RecorderMan wrote: Shure makes a cool one that has selectors to switch between 10, 20 & 30 db of gain reduction..I just couldn't find it readily on the net.

Try looking up five posts or so... :roll:
:wink:

Hey that whirlwind one is cheaper though! Didn't know about that

If your in a tight room, move the mic back a foot or two.

perfectwave wrote: If your in a tight room, move the mic back a foot or two.

Moving the mic back will bring more room into the sound..maybe not what you want..and if by tight you mean small..well that's not always a good color to have more of.

It's like a medium-sized room.
But I hate the sound you get when youstart moving the mic back a few feet. The room just wasn't built for recording.

Well thanks for your help, I believe I have a pad built into a mixer of mine. I'm gonna try that.

Thanks,
Benji

RecorderMan wrote: The Hot-Plate / Power Brake is not the answer as this will affect the amp and thus the tone

Does that mean that the Hot plate/ power brake suck? I've never used one, but was gonna buy one in a few months. Do they really f*ckup the sound that much? How bad is it?
And the reason I wanted to use one was so I won't have to crankup the volume to 11 to get a real "drivin" sound. Seems like there is soooo much power (almost to much) at around 2 or 3 on the amp dial and it sounds better with the volume at about 6 or 7 or even higher. BUT as you know a Marshall stack or a Hughes & Kettner 200W powerhead is louder than hell.
I had a guitarist who was really good. People were always telling him to "Turn down". But he really hated to turn down because, it changed everything about the dynamic's. But to get the sound he liked the damn amp would end up WAY TOO LOUD. So I want to fix this problem...somehow
What do you think?

I've used the hot plate on my Fender Hot Rod Deville before for a small gig, and though these weren't anechoic chamber tests, I didn't notice any real change in tone. I was able to drive the hell out of my power amp, getting the good sound, and keep the volume reasonable. I'm sure that since it's something else being added into the chain that it effects the tone in some way, but it wasn't noticable at the time.

Yeah those Hughes and Kettner amps are LOUD. Mines only 25 watts, but it'll really kick your ass.

Hey is this thind any good for my purposes?

It's a Rolls DB25

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/428706/

Thanks,
Benji

I see no use for it.

So would you say that Shure pad/attenuator thing is better?

If attenuating the signal from your mic to your preamp (mixing board) without having to turn the amp down is what you are after, then yes.

I have used Marshall Power Brakes and THD Hot Plates a lot. In my experience I thought the Hot Plate sounded more transparent. They will definately help you achieve power tube compression and distortion. These attenuators should be used in situations where power amp distortion is wanted but SPL's are an issue. The speakers being pushed hard has a factor in what a cranked up amp sounds like too. So if the speakers aren't being pushed hard the tone is not as distorted. BUT the attenuator definately gets you closer to that cranked amp sound. Most of the time that I've used attenuators was in live settings where you don't want to overpower the PA or there's issues with bleed on stage. Also attenuators are a good tool to get the amp cranked without ticking off the neighbors. One thing to remember when using an attenuator is that you will wear out your power tubes a lot faster.

Stay away from anything by Rolls...poor build quality.
And any power attenuator WILL affect the tone,if for no other reason, simply because the speakers aren't being "pushed".
No "cone cry", no "edge break-up", no "resonance thump"= NO FUN!!!
Also remember that most inline pads are not to be used with phantom-powered mics. What mic did you say that you were using? Into what pre?
Could it be that the amp is just "too GD loud" for the room?
Gobo it off, or better yet, use a Moonbaby AmpTrap. Box that amp in and shove a 57 in its face! PEACE.