best mic for steel guitar

[Godfrey Arthur]

Micing live can be hit and miss reason many pro concerts isolate the amps off stage or bring iso-boxes so as not to have other instruments bleed into all the other mics. Also a combination of direct boxes and mics are summed at the mixer per instrument. And then they use IEM's for players to hear themselves all run through discreet separate custom mixes per person on stage. High tech and mega buck systems.

I second Derrick's choice of the MXL 603. A very inexpensive mic, used to be giveaways on MF bundled with an MXL 2001 large diaphragm condensers.

The 603's are used on pro tour stages for drum overheads, Leslie speakers.



But the lowly SM57 will get you enough signal without sucking in other amps on stage.

After that it is up to your sound-person to figure out the mixing.

For live it will depend on what sound system you are running, the venue, how large a space for you to be away from other amps so noise "rejection" is one factor that weighs in on choosing a mic.

For studio you would be better off leaving that to the studio as they have their mic cabinets and styles they like to use. Isolation will be ironed out for you to be able to use great mics. And many times those mics go into the multi-thousand dollar range and don't do well travelling for live tours.

The all-around SM57 is still used on pro stages. But your preferences should weigh in and you would need to know how to use your mic of choice or like what your sound person is doing with yours or his/her choice of mic for your amp.

It's not as simple as choosing a mic and thinking the mic itself will answer all the problems of you being heard. The mic has to address more than one issue.

You could spend a lot of money on a mic and then get turned down in the mix to where it sounds like you're running through an SM57 or your mic being turned off altogether unbeknownst to you because your instrument is showing up in the singer's and some other mics including your amp's speakers beaming into the audience.

Basically what you think your instrument should sound like does not always equal the way it gets represented out front in a live situation.

For studio this would work out similar. It will depend on the engineer and producer's idea of what role your instrument plays on a track not unless it's a steel album starring you.

[Dennis Detweiler]

e609 for live. Don't need a stand or holder. It's always in my case when needed.

[Dan Robinson]

e609... Don't need a stand or holder.

Got myself a 609, and that's why I picked it over the SM-57.

Where should I position this mic (12" combo)?

[Dennis Detweiler]

Between the center and outer rim of the speaker. Adjust to taste.

[Bob Hoffnar]

Where should I position this mic (12" combo)?

Experiment with it. What works for me is to position it a bit outside the cone. So off center to avoid the highs being to shrill.

[Bill Terry]

I used an SM-57 for a ton of live recordings over the last couple of years (the band leader has a Mackie DL-32, so we recorded EVERY gig to multi-track). I agree that off-center of the cone was a better tone, not so abrasive.

What I found interesting was that on one gig we were in a hurry and I just hung the 57 by the cable instead of the usual mic bracket. You see this a LOT and I was always told that's not a 'good' way since it's 90 deg off-axis, but surprisingly, with my particular rig at the time (P/P and a Session 400) I liked that sound better than pointed straight at the grill, YMMV.

The point I guess I'd make is that you have to experiment, there's no one way that will always work the best. There are way too many variables.

[Karl Nutt]

I've been experimenting with a Shure Beta 52 kick drum mic with really good results. I've used sm57's and 609's. My go-to mic for the last 25 years has been an AKG D1000E. But, I seem to be getting a really good sound with the Beta 52. The jury is still out...

[Danny Harrell]

I have two of the 30 year old SM-57 Unidyne III mics. These were made in the USA and they are hard to come by. On some sites they go for $200-$300. But that being said, I have found them to be very true and transparent. I had one that I bought years ago, and came across another one online and bought it. They are work horse mics and in my opinion a great all around mic.

[Charlie Thompson]

I carry a 609 in case the Engineer does have it or a 57.
I prefer a mic but the Telonics direct out also very good.

[Brett Lanier]

I don't carry a mic around for gigs, it pretty much always ends up being a 57 or 609.

For recording at home, I usually use a Royer 122 paired with a dynamic mic, like a 57, 409, or 421. About a 65/35% blend, favoring the ribbon.

I have a fe47 as well that I often use for vocals, percussion... Sometimes I'll just throw that on an amp and I like it quite a bit as well on it's own.

[Nick Green]

As both an engineer and a player, I can say 57/58s tend to do the trick (a 58 is a 57 with a headbasket). Reason being- they have a tight enough pickup pattern, a rise in high frequencies that seems to REALLY help lower quality PAs, and you can bury them in dirt for a year and still use them. (I’ll find the YouTube link). They are great at re-producing what the air gets rid of over distance, which is very low and very high frequencies. In an ideal situation- the PA is already set up to do this. (The real engineers call this “live sound reinforcement”). But this is rarely the case when you take gigs in bars, small stages, house shows, VFW halls, etc

That said, they’re not my favorite to hear in a well-balanced room over top-notch PA gear... An e906 works out better for a good sound system. They give (to me) the sound of “the amp, but louder”.

If you play bars and smaller stages (let’s call it lower-budget situations), a 57 will not always be on-hand in the house (usually Wal-Mart quality mics). By all means have one of your own. You need something to cut through the din, and likely also a poorly setup PA system.

A favorite of mine is the (discontinued) Electro Voice N/D 468, which was designed with horns and acoustic instruments in mind- a very nice natural high frequency “presence” lift, and super-cardioid pickup which means more of you, less drums one of the best mics I have ever used on a guitar cabinet. Undoubtedly it would work for steel.
A new model called the ND46 has been recently released, and is supposedly close. Pamphlets boast about “humbucking” the mic’s coil does, which I have never encountered a problem with.. but marketing is marketing. I have yet to test one.