#alanparsonslive Electric guitar mics


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songghostwriter
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Do you favor condenser microphones over ribbons when recording electric guitar, and if so why?

Kurt van Lilienthal
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Depends...

I would say that for an acoustic, I would be happy with both. But really - nothing beats a good ribbon, say an old B&O. It is IMO a fail-proof method for acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin etc.
I would not use a ribbon for loud electric guitar or an even worse task like a bassboomed heavy "fullrange" ....( Dropped E !! ) guitar.

Now, a condenser microphone is a highly relative thing. You may easy overload the inside build amplifier of the microphone or even overload ( displace ) the membrane of a large 1"microphone , in particular by the over amplified bass that many heavy guitarplayers prefers.
Experiment with the patterns. You may find to you surprise, that an omni characteristic often is the best choice.

Best approach is not to play any louder than necessary. ( Yes, I know ;-) and also to avoid turning up the bass controls too much of the guitar amp.
Then simply ad some deep bass response at a later stage.