SM57 and LR100 on Electric Guitar

This video is meant to show the type of sound that can be achieved by pairing a Shure SM57 with a Stage Right LR100 on a guitar amplifier. It is NOT meant to be a shootout video since these mics have different frequency responses and technology behind them and they are not placed at the same location on the amp (which is what you would want for a shootout). Instead, this is meant to show what kind of tones can be achieved by combining the signals of both mics (provided that the placement is good enough for decent phase alignment).

For both the clean and distorted samples, I start out by using the audio of the SM57 only, repeating the same performance using the LR100 only, and then repeating the same performance once more using both the SM57 and LR100 with each mic providing roughly half the total signal. The reason for this is to give the listener an idea of what each microphone is contributing to the tone prior to hearing the combination of the two.

The only post-processing done on the audio samples was some volume boosting/level matching to keep the audio at an acceptable level throughout.

Keep in mind that while I did try to match the volume of both mics, the SM57 is much more focused in the high-mid range, whereas the LR100 has a lot more low-end and less high frequencies. This can have the effect of making the SM57 seem louder in the solo mic mixes–especially on small speakers that aren’t capable of reproducing many of the lower frequencies. The benefit, however, is that they compliment each other fairly nicely when combined. The LR100 picks up the low-end warmth of the amp (perhaps too much in the way that I’ve recorded it here–high-pass filter next time, anyone?), and the 57 provides the sparkle/chime/[insert your favorite word to describe clarity and brightness here]. In a dense mix, the low-end on the LR100 may actually be too much. I could see myself using only the SM57 in that case. But for lighter mixes, where I want to hear the full spectrum of frequences a 10″-12″ speaker puts out, I could see myself using the two mics together.

Timestamps:
00:06 – SM57 Only – Clean
01:42 – LR100 Only – Clean
03:19 – SM57 & LR100 – Clean
04:57 – SM57 Only – Distorted
05:29 – LR100 Only – Distorted
05:59 – SM57 & LR100 – Distorted

Mics: Shure SM57 Dynamic Mic and Stage Right (by Monoprice) LR100 Ribbon Mic (low cut and pad both turned OFF)
Audio Capture Device: Tascam Digital Portastudio 2400 MKII
Electric Guitar: 1974 Fender Tele Custom w/original Wide Range Humbucker in the neck and an old Seymour Duncan Broadcaster pickup in the bridge
Amplifier: Princeton Reverb 65 RI w/Jensen Special Design 10” Speaker
Effects Pedals: Mooer Yellow Comp, Radial BigShot PB1 Power Booster, and Nobels ODR-mini (for distortion)

The mics were run directly into the built-in preamps on the 2400 MKII.

Song Clips:
Closer Look: https://music.apple.com/us/album/closer-look/904439296?i=904439304
Best Thing: https://music.apple.com/us/album/best-thing/904439296?i=904439305

#SM57 #LR100 #Electric #Guitar

Originally posted by UCd4hoYsghcN-DcNtkLYLD6Q at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78VPnmwIdI8