Recording with a pod studio - which mic and method?

[paultheoneyoulove]

Hey all! I've been using my pod studio ux2 to record riffs and ideas for a while, and it's amazing. Probably the single best piece of kit I own for usefulness. However, the models are not the same as my amp. So I wanna rig up a mic to it and record direct from amp and pedals.

I use ableton live lite 16 track, and have downloaded some freebies from the net for drum models to program, a click at a time. Does anyone have experience doing this? I'm assuming I'd need to use a mic preamp in the pod, but I don't know what mic to go for. It would be for guitar basically and possibly screaming profanities down (lol jk, my friend wants to write humorous blues and rock). Any thoughts? I immediately think sm57, but don't want to spend too much for someone that is really just a bit of fun.

[John_A]

Try one of these, and SM57 clone and do sound very good as so their SM58 clones

http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_mb75.htm

Hey all! I've been using my pod studio ux2 to record riffs and ideas for a while, and it's amazing. Probably the single best piece of kit I own for usefulness. However, the models are not the same as my amp. So I wanna rig up a mic to it and record direct from amp and pedals.

I use ableton live lite 16 track, and have downloaded some freebies from the net for drum models to program, a click at a time. Does anyone have experience doing this? I'm assuming I'd need to use a mic preamp in the pod, but I don't know what mic to go for. It would be for guitar basically and possibly screaming profanities down (lol jk, my friend wants to write humorous blues and rock). Any thoughts? I immediately think sm57, but don't want to spend too much for someone that is really just a bit of fun.

[guitarfishbay]

In my opinion your best bet is likely an SM57, and in real terms they are quite cheap even new. It is an industry standard for rock guitars and has been for decades, with good reason as it generally puts guitars right where you want them in a mix. If you look around you can usually get new bundles including a 57, mic stand and mic lead for less than £100. I got mine from DV247 but they might not still be the cheapest so do shop around. Be aware some SM57s on eBay may be fakes, but there is debate as to how many fakes there could be and how different they would sound. I can't really comment as I've never used a fake since I bought new.

I record using a UX2 and an SM57 for electric guitars, here is an example of what I've managed out of the UX2 when micing a cab.

Feeder - Pushing the Senses Cover.

This is a Blackstar S104EL34 through a Blackstar S1412B, all rhythm tracks were recorded with a single SM57. The higher pitched lead riff with delay was actually the emulated out on the amp since I ran out of time for tracking at volume and had to do those overdubs quietly to be considerate to neighbours. The solo break has a Micro Pog adding a bit of low end, again this was recorded with the sm57. Vocal mic was a Rode NT1A, a budget condensor but good for the money IMO.

The UX2 has enough gain to use an SM57 close miced on a guitar amp, and enough gain to use a condensor mic on vocals or acoustic guitar. I don't feel it has enough clean gain to use the 57 or other dynamic on vocals or acoustic guitar but it will work just about if you accept some noise. In general the pre amps are ok for the money but like a lot of cheaper units they get a bit noisier when run at higher settings. I'm actually looking to upgrade from my UX2 to get more channels and gain, but I've been using the UX2 for over 3 years and it works absolutely fine for home recording.

I've also got an Audix i5 mic, which is cheaper and similar to an SM57. However it has a bit of a thinner tone with slightly less mids and slightly more highs. It is kind of like the EQ you might apply to a recorded SM57 track, but it is pre-ingrained so hard to dial out. I do use it but sometimes wish I just bought a second SM57, and I still might do this anyway.

Here is a great comparison of the two mics. You might actually prefer the i5, it isn't a bad mic at all but in general I prefer the SM57 as it is a bit fatter sounding.

[paultheoneyoulove]

Okay, both replies have been awesome. It's great to hear real world examples! Did you use a mic preset on pod farm? As in, the mic preamps? Or is it just dry?

Edit: Great playing, by the way!

[guitarfishbay]

That track was mixed in Logic using Logic plugins. I didn't use any Line 6 models or presets on that track but sometimes I still use Podfarm for my bass tone. In general these days I use plugins from Logic if I want to alter a recorded tone, but sometimes I still use the pre amp models from Podfarm as they can give a nice tonal option for vocals. Thanks for listening!

[paultheoneyoulove]

That track was mixed in Logic using Logic plugins. I didn't use any Line 6 models or presets on that track but sometimes I still use Podfarm for my bass tone. In general these days I use plugins from Logic if I want to alter a recorded tone, but sometimes I still use the pre amp models from Podfarm as they can give a nice tonal option for vocals. Thanks for listening!

Yeah, it sounds really professional! I guess, for the time being, I'll use the pod farm plugin. So long as it sounds better than my current recordings do, it's a result. I think an SM57 or T bone 75 will be my choice. On my budget, the t bone seems more likely... Thanks for the help! Now I need to learn how to use Ableton better... :S