andy474x
Knows the Drill
Here we go!
Getting into recording has been one of my favorite things about playing in the last few years - it has made me a much better player, more on that later.
You can’t go wrong starting with a 57 to start. That being said, one thing I’ve enjoyed is using a second mic to contrast with the 57. I’ve got a Sennheiser e906, which is an entirely different flavor from the 57, more "body," less of the upper mid, but also less present on top. That one is interesting, but I wouldn't consider it a necessity, especially for recording heavy rock tones. If you want to stay closer to the 57, I highly recommend the Heil PR20. It's very much like a 57 tonally, but just a touch less upper end harshness. Or, you can also just use another 57 positioned differently on the cone.
Regarding getting the same tone you hear in the room - tread with caution. The difficulty I've found is that a mic just doesn't capture sound the same way our ears do. Mics have frequency responses that color sound, (57's do for sure) and if you're using a dynamic, wherever the mic is positioned on the cone, it's not capturing the full frequency spectrum that the ears hear once the sound can spread out and blend together in the room. To help, you can use a room mic, but that's not "the tone" when it comes to heavy rock.
Like Michael said, definitely try pulling the mic back from the grill, I like 1.5-3" because it cuts out some bass. But also, I'm sure unintentionally, but your cab is in the worst possible place for enhancing bass. The more flat surfaces your source is near, the more bass reflection you'll get, and when you start compounding surface - floor, then floor + wall, then floor + wall/wall corner, each step multiplies bass response. Move your cab further into the middle of the room, and if your V30's are on the bottom of the cab, change them to an X pattern, or lay the cab on its side, to get the one you'll record further from the floor. If you're like me, getting away from walls can be a pain if your studio space isn't huge! But it definitely does help. Closed cabs I've found to be a little less prone to the bass compounding, but I think the Friedman cabs are ported out the back, which is probably shooting a ton of bass right into your walls. Les knows a lot more about this subject than I do, I'm just condensing what I've gathered from him.
Having recording capability is great for your playing. When my band gets ready for the studio, I put together our demos to work out the songs - we just use a little Scarlett interface, which is enough to mic amps, bass, vocals, and an electronic drum kit (tracking separately of course). That way I can record multiple takes over the demo to see how my parts are coming out. You'll be amazed how much more you can hear listening back to a recorded take, vs just trying to assess your playing "in the moment." I find a lot of slop in my playing, but by the time I go to the recording session, I can lay down my parts in just a couple takes - the recording engineer loves it!
Getting into recording has been one of my favorite things about playing in the last few years - it has made me a much better player, more on that later.
You can’t go wrong starting with a 57 to start. That being said, one thing I’ve enjoyed is using a second mic to contrast with the 57. I’ve got a Sennheiser e906, which is an entirely different flavor from the 57, more "body," less of the upper mid, but also less present on top. That one is interesting, but I wouldn't consider it a necessity, especially for recording heavy rock tones. If you want to stay closer to the 57, I highly recommend the Heil PR20. It's very much like a 57 tonally, but just a touch less upper end harshness. Or, you can also just use another 57 positioned differently on the cone.
Regarding getting the same tone you hear in the room - tread with caution. The difficulty I've found is that a mic just doesn't capture sound the same way our ears do. Mics have frequency responses that color sound, (57's do for sure) and if you're using a dynamic, wherever the mic is positioned on the cone, it's not capturing the full frequency spectrum that the ears hear once the sound can spread out and blend together in the room. To help, you can use a room mic, but that's not "the tone" when it comes to heavy rock.
Like Michael said, definitely try pulling the mic back from the grill, I like 1.5-3" because it cuts out some bass. But also, I'm sure unintentionally, but your cab is in the worst possible place for enhancing bass. The more flat surfaces your source is near, the more bass reflection you'll get, and when you start compounding surface - floor, then floor + wall, then floor + wall/wall corner, each step multiplies bass response. Move your cab further into the middle of the room, and if your V30's are on the bottom of the cab, change them to an X pattern, or lay the cab on its side, to get the one you'll record further from the floor. If you're like me, getting away from walls can be a pain if your studio space isn't huge! But it definitely does help. Closed cabs I've found to be a little less prone to the bass compounding, but I think the Friedman cabs are ported out the back, which is probably shooting a ton of bass right into your walls. Les knows a lot more about this subject than I do, I'm just condensing what I've gathered from him.
Having recording capability is great for your playing. When my band gets ready for the studio, I put together our demos to work out the songs - we just use a little Scarlett interface, which is enough to mic amps, bass, vocals, and an electronic drum kit (tracking separately of course). That way I can record multiple takes over the demo to see how my parts are coming out. You'll be amazed how much more you can hear listening back to a recorded take, vs just trying to assess your playing "in the moment." I find a lot of slop in my playing, but by the time I go to the recording session, I can lay down my parts in just a couple takes - the recording engineer loves it!
