The Steel Guitar Forum

any suggestions on what type/model of mic to use for micing my amp

I use a Shure SM57 or a Sennheiser e609. You see them on the biggest stages in the world. I don't see a need to spend more loot than either one of these.

I second the Shure sm57. I use one to record and s small amp sounds incredible. the mike can handle stage volumes. play around with placement.

Sennheiser 421. Brighter and less midrangey than a 57. 57s for my setup have too much upper mids and not enough defined clarity.

Audix i5

I was at the Dallas Show, standing by the sound man, and someone from off the stage came over and asked the sound man if he would put a Sure 58 on Mike Johnson's amp. So, there you go, for what it's worth.

Rich Hlaves wrote:I use a Shure SM57 or a Sennheiser e609. You see them on the biggest stages in the world. I don't see a need to spend more loot than either one of these.

57 or E609... E609 Preferred.

I've always used SM-58's

Sennheiser E609 is my preference

If you carry a Shure SM57 or 58 most board engineers will know exactly what to do with it, from placement to tone tweaking. either one is the safest bet IMO. The others suggested are all good and might be better in some cases for recording, but for live sound the SM57 is the workhorse and it's hard to get a BAD sound!

Its flat so you can just stick it over the top of your amp and let it hang down. Sounds exactly like my guitar coming out front. I think they're only about 100 bucks and you don't need a mike stand.

+1 for the sennheiser. Factor in never having to buy a stand for it and it's a no brainer. Double loop the mic cable around your handle and there you go. I've used it every night for years.

I definitely like these square Sennheisers. The holy grail is the original 409, but the new 609 is nice, and the new 906 is nearly as good as the original 409, but they're a bit more expensive than the 609.

Sennheiser 421's are great. Nice and full with plenty of clear sparkle. Shure 57's are good guitar mic's but can be a hair harsh in comparison to these Sennheisers.

Brad