5150 HELP! Need advice on this tone (raw and in a mix) 5150 + Mesa/Boogie + SM57SM57

[Virgil.]

Hey guys,
So I've finally gotten around to trying to mess with mic'ing up my 5150 and needed some advice on this guitar tone.

5150 + Mesa/Boogie 2x12 roadster cab + SM57.

There are 3 different tones I'm asking opinions on. Which one is better? The raw guitar tracks are un-mastered, and the "in the mix" versions are to give a feel how it would sit in a more finalized mix. Please ignore the playing and lack-of cool riffage/songwriting as that isn't what I was going for. This is simply just to get a feel for how I've been mic'ing the cab and whether or not this is a good/decent start.

Tone 1 - Raw guitars only:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5218029/ToneTest1Solo.mp3

Tone 1 - In a mix:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5218029/ToneTest1Mix.mp3

Tone 2 - Raw guitars only:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5218029/ToneTest2Solo.mp3

Tone 2 - In a mix:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5218029/ToneTest2Mix.mp3

Tone 3 - Raw guitars only:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5218029/ToneTest3Solo.mp3

Tone 3 - In a mix:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5218029/ToneTest3Mix.mp3

If you don't like any of them, that's fine too. I'm a total noob. So give me some advice. Let the criticism begin!

Thanks fellas!
ubr

 

[Red Phoenix]

hey you,
i like tone 2. It has more bite. Tone 3 sounds more like moderate rock.

 

[Charles J]

tone 2 is the best of the bunch but i don't really like any of them!

check your cab placement in the room, how high the post is on the 5150, try adding a boost?, list goes on and on...

it really sounds almost like a poor mic pre/converter situation... it's really kind of flat and uninteresting...

 

[Virgil.]

Well, I actually have the cab mic'd in my closet (lol) with lots of sound padding. The mic placement I've been using for the most part is my SM57 slightly on the edge of the cone at an angle and pulled back about 1" from the grille. I'm not using a TS or NS at all yet. I'm using the lead channel, and pre-gain is at about 5.5 (actual values and NOT o'clock), bass 7, mids 4, high 6.5, resonance 4, presence 7, post-gain 1.5 (I can't turn it up any louder as it's too loud for my neighbors).

Tone 1 is just a raw recording with nothing done to it. Tone 2 just has a HP at 110, and LP at 12000. Tone 3 has the same HP and LP, but also C4 with tweaked sneap settings.

I'll play around with mic placement and post some more clips later with some different variations. I'm thinking the mic being at an angle is causing it to be a bit harsh on the high-end. But when I don't do that, the tone sounds very muddy and there seems to be no articulation with what I play.

 

[Virgil.]

Is it easier to judge the tone if I just did 1 take and left it centered and not double tracked/panned?

I also know the type of riff I'm playing shapes the tone as well. Maybe I'll switch it up and just do random riffs for some good variety per mic position.

 

[Charles J]

Is it easier to judge the tone if I just did 1 take and left it centered and not double tracked/panned?

I also know the type of riff I'm playing shapes the tone as well. Maybe I'll switch it up and just do random riffs for some good variety per mic position.

Makes a bit more sense now, I could tell it was recorded in a less than ideal place... it's not horrible by any means, though...

i always find it easiest to judge a tone when it's IN the mix and panned/sitting exactly how it would in the mix....

i didnt even listen to the solo clips you put up. No point IMO, it's only really good for really picking out certain problem freq's but ONLY a few mintues at a time, IMO... =D

constantly a/bing solo'd and then in the mix, etc...

 

[Virgil.]

Makes a bit more sense now, I could tell it was recorded in a less than ideal place... it's not horrible by any means, though...

i always find it easiest to judge a tone when it's IN the mix and panned/sitting exactly how it would in the mix....

i didnt even listen to the solo clips you put up. No point IMO, it's only really good for really picking out certain problem freq's but ONLY a few mintues at a time, IMO... =D

constantly a/bing solo'd and then in the mix, etc...

Cool thanks. Yeah, I wish I had a better space to record it, but it has to do for now. The cool thing I noticed immediately is when I recorded the track, I looked at the frequencies with a spectrum analyzer and everything looked balanced (for the most part) between about 80hz to 8khz. I didn't see any resonant frequencies out of control or anything. It seemed pretty balanced. There weren't any crazy spikes anywhere really that I could tell.

But I'm going to try a few different mic positions to see if I can shape the tone a bit more for a more suitable tone. At this point I think tone preference is going to get pretty subjective and just based on the type of music, personal preference for the listener, the guitar I use, my playing style I guess, etc. But I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track.

The clips I post I will probably do the same thing as before -- post them as solo'd and then in a mix as well for those that want to listen to just the solo track or in a mix (like yourself)