I'm no guru, but from my own reading I've found out that the dynamics are better for mic'ing up your amp, due to them being able to handle the sound pressure waves created by the speaker better than the other designs...

I read that too. The mics I mentioned can handle of the order of 130dB - 140dB SPL, and I don't think my amp can reach that even at full tilt. They also use them on toms which I think will be louder even than most amps, not sure that's the biggest concern. I asked the pro I spoke to about this, asking about damaging the mics. He said nah, they put them about an inch away from the grill on amps. I didn't ask what amps, how loud, how many watts etc. I do know some people mic amps with a condensor and a dynamic at once. But I can only get the one or the other.

well......... just this week on monday i was hired for a guitar session for (don't laugh) an entire afrikaans xmas album, by a very famous and sucessfull afrikaans artist , in a lovely studio and i used my tele and my JP le roux (modded/redisigned) 15W tube amp ........i was setup in a fair sized sound booth with the amp and they used an AKG large diaphram condenser mic about 30 cm from the amps speaker ......... got an instant good sound that they recorded directly without any further EQ or fiddling ....... and the tone when recorded sounded like my amp........ never sounded processed or that the dynamics or frequencies were "clipped" a very open natural amp sound

so for live i would use a dynamic mic (to avoid extra stage/venue noise and feedback) but after this last experience when i'm in a controlled studio enviroment i would use the large diaphram condeser.........


but i guess you need to experiment and use what suits your ear ........

Close miking, the SM57 rules, especially for rockier sounds (maybe sometimes a Sennheiser MD421 for a Marshall). No, It's not the full frequency response, but it tends to capture the essence of the guitar sound and that sound sits well in the mix with minimal EQing. Plus the 57 works incredibly well for a lot of other different sources. That's why any studio - even those a cupboard full of other, more specialised mics - will still have a brace of 57s and they will see regular use.

A decent flat large diaphragm condenser set up further back from the amp works best to capture the full, developed sound of the amp with some of the room ambience. This sound is more difficult to place in a denser mix and the tonality is highly dependant on a good room sound.

I record with both most of the time (actually two 57s up close and a Rode NT1A about a metre back) and mix the three in different ratios, depending on what the track needs. But, if I have to do a quick recording with a single mic, I will always use a 57 up close and, even when I use all three mics, the bulk of the sound will come from the close mics.

ezietsman wrote: The mics I mentioned can handle of the order of 130dB - 140dB SPL, and I don't think my amp can reach that even at full tilt.

You would be surprised. Modern speakers are rated at only 1W, and measured from 1 metre away and most will be in the region of 100dB under those conditions. Most speakers will be run at a higher wattage and more importantly, close miking will usually see the mic set up against the grille cloth to 15cm away, so the real dB SPL is likely to be quite a lot higher.

I'm no expert but sm57's are pretty much industry standard and don't
need phantom power etc,
BUT personally I prefer the sound of a large diaphragm condenser a little
bit away from the speakers to give a bit of room sound too, sounds awesome
and really big.
IMO a condenser is more useful for all-round use because
it generally sounds good on most things such as vocals too... then again
something like a shure sm7b sounds super cool for guitar and vocals too and
that is a dynamic mic

SM57's = built like a rock, can be found for cheap(er), industry standard
Condenser = IMO more all purpose mic, but easier to break, needs phantom power and
most probably more expensive than a dynamic such as an sm57

For guitar I would go for the sm57 personally
But if I needed to use only one mic to do guitar, vocals and other instruments
I would buy a condenser such as a Rode NT1-A

PS. +1 on the sennheiser md421, personally love it on toms and guitar cabs ( a bit pricier than an sm though :/ )

I think you'll be better off with a condenser mic to start with. You'll definately be able to do more than with an sm57 IMO, but you'll need phantom power. The Ideal would be to have both, but I definately think the condenser is a good place to start.

I have 2 cheapie mics that have worked great for me and our band, a Shure PG58 Dynamic and a Behringer C1 Condenser. The C1 has far surpassed my expectations of a cheap condenser, and we have actually favoured it in some cases over the AKG Perception 220 that we have access to. Take a listen to the track we did here -> www.facebook.com/theaddingtons <-. All the vocals were done with the Behringer.

You have to prioritize based on what you will be recording.

Your basic project studio mic collection is as follows. This will cover just about any application. Specific brands will depend on budget and taste, but I'll list a few of the "go-to" mics you'll find in any studio in the world (plus many of them are surprisingly affordable, specifically the dynamic models).

1 X LDC (large diaphragm condenser) - vocals, ambient/room mic, pianos, brass (Neumann U87, AKG C414)
1 X LDD (large diaphragm dynamic) - kick drum, bass amp (Shure Beta 52, AKG D112)
3 X SDDs (small diaphragm dynamic) - snare, toms, guitar amps, hand percussion (Shure SM57, Sennheiser MD421)
2 X SDCs (small diaphragm condenser) - drum overheads, acoustic guitars (Shure SM81, Octava MC012, Neumann KM84)

...and yes, you can experiment with using your LDC as a guitar amp or acoustic mic or as one of your overheads (the U87 sounds good on just about anything). NB: Many modern LDCs are tailored specifically for voice and these can be a bit strident in many applications where you might use them for multiple jobs - you end up with a presence peak on virtually everything you record with them and it ends up getting a bit much. So if you plan on using your LDC for multiple different sources, choose a flatter response mic (like a Rode NT2000 instead of an NT2a) and be prepared to compromise on the vocals a little (and it's not that you can't EQ in a little presence to the voice).

Next you need to start looking for a good, transparent two channel mic preamp. Then you start looking at more flavours of mics and some more specialised models (depending on the work you are getting) - lots more LDCs, a more vocal oriented LDD (like an SM7 - although if you plan doing voiceovers, this might be a higher priority), a ribbon mic or two and even a medium diaphragm condenser or two. Plus, as you expand on your miking techniques, you will start wanting some omnidirectional, figure of eight and even PZMs.

And yes, there are thousands more mics to choose from other than the ones I've listed (Beyer, Schoeps, EV, et.al.), it's impossible to list every mic for every application and every engineer has their favourites. It's kinda like guitars in that respect (and mic preamps are like guitar amps).

Nobody mentioned ribbon mics? Tend to be bit more expensive, but I know there are some really affordable models available. Have no experience with any of them - but ribbons are awesome on guitars. If natural is what you want - your first experience with a ribbon mic will be a religious one - apparantly ?

I mentioned ribbons, but not a first choice for home recording. Until very recently, the vast majority were too expensive for the home recordist and too delicate for the amateur. You don't put an RCA or a Coles anywhere close to a guitar amp and you don't drop it, not even once.