Every guitarist is on a personal quest for the greatest tone ever. That’s half the fun of playing guitar! But just when you’ve found the right pickups, pedals, the perfect string gauge, the ideal plectrum material and thickness, and of course, the most incredible amplifier—recording enters as a brand new variable. There isn’t just one best mic for guitar amps, but a handful of excellent choices based on your needs.
In this list you’ll find a variety of dynamic, condenser, and ribbon microphones. Each is in the running as the best mic for guitar amps, and in many cases you’d actually want to combine a pair of these guys when recording guitar.
The Shure SM57 is the most well known and thoroughly used dynamic microphone in history. They’re indestructible, they’re inexpensive, and best of all, they sound great. SM57s are also the most popular mic for guitar amps, probably because of a combination of the aforementioned factors. Being a tough dynamic mic, they can handle extremely loud volume coming from an amp. On top of that, 57s have a fairly pronounced presence bump that works great on electric guitars.
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For most people, the SM57 is going to be the best mic for a guitar amp. It ticks every box, particularly in sound quality and affordability. If you stop here, no one would blame you.
While the Shure SM57 is a workhorse dynamic, the AKG 414 is a workhorse condenser. If you owned only a pair of 414s and a pair of 57s, it’s not a stretch to say you could record just about anything. The 414 is in a league of its own, and relatively speaking, it’s a pretty affordable microphone for the quality and features you get. Nine polar patterns, up to 18 dB of pad (great for guitar amps), and the unbelievable character of a C12.
Neumann exudes class, and even at the “low end” of the spectrum, these mics offer nothing but the best. In particular, the TLM 102 has a reputation as an excellent solo instrument condenser microphone, with distortion-free sound at the highest SPLs thinkable, and a pleasant treble boost for an extra bit of clarity and edge. Those who’ve used it on guitar amps speak highly of the way it accurately captures the rig.
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Here’s an awesome dynamic mic specifically designed for miking electric guitar amps and cabinets. In terms of cost it’s right on par with the super affordable 57, and in terms of design, the e 609 is a foolproof point-and-shoot. The super-cardioid polar pattern keeps pickup tight and rejects noise when recording live or for onstage use. The flat, square body lets you settle up right against the mesh of an amp or cabinet for flawless close miking technique.
Royer’s flagship 121 debuted in 1998. At the time, it very much reintroduced the ribbon microphone to recording engineers. It also flipped old school ribbon design on its head, and in a profound way. Royer managed to retain all the warmth and naturalness of classic ribbons that engineers love, but package it in a compact, rugged body. While ultra-loud sources could damage older ribbon mics, the R-121 can withstand even the highest SPLs, like those screaming from a guitar amp. This may very well be the best (ribbon) mic for a guitar amp.
Beyerdynamic’s hypercardioid double-ribbon microphone is purpose built for recording electric guitars and drums—loud, abrasive instruments that could do with a bit of taming. Solid low-end response, warm mids, and smooth highs make for an awesome vintage-y sound that just plain works on guitars. The M 160 does a brilliant job of taking raw, unbridled sounds like heavy guitar tones and turning them into something more refined.
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The MD 421 is Sennheiser’s most popular dynamic microphone and has been for many decades now. Overall, it’s tough-as-nails and easy to handle thanks to its wide, durable shell. The five-position low-end rolloff switch is a nice touch, but for the most part, this is a simple mic that just gets the job done. Incredibly popular on toms, the MD 421 makes a great mic for guitar amps as well.
Even small changes in mic placement can make a big difference for recording guitar. Every place around the speaker is going to have a unique sound, and how far you place the mic from the cone will impact the tone as well. Many engineers agree that a good start is to point the mic right at the center of the speaker cone, then move it to the left or right slightly. It should be no more than a few inches away from the cone, usually just about touching the grill—or if the grill is removed, maybe an inch or so off the speaker.
Another consideration is this: if you’re using a multi-speaker cabinet like a 4×12, you should record little samples of each speaker and ultimately use the one that sounds best to you. There really is that much nuance in each individual speaker and one may actually be noticeably better than the rest.
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Finally, you should record a guitar amp with two mics if possible. That way you have options and can even create a blend of more than one microphone for the best possible recorded tone. Usually a trusty SM57 plus any condenser or ribbon of your choice is going to be a winning combination.
For many engineers, the Shure SM57 is going to be their “desert island” mic for guitar amps. It just has the longest-running reputation as being amazing on instruments like electric guitar, snare, and even vocals. Still, there’s no reason to shy away from any of the others on this list. Apart from guitar amps, all of these are versatile enough to become staples of your mic locker.What kind of guitar are you using? Are you running it through any pedals? What kind of amp are you using? Is it solid-state? A tube amp, perchance?
All of that aside, almost any microphone can fulfill the role you’re wanting to use it for. However, not all microphones have been created equally, as some of them are more consistently reliable than others and require less work and touch up in post production.
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If you want to get the most out of your guitar tone, obviously the bulk of the work lies in getting as close to the tone you want before you start running it through a microphone. Once that’s all squared away, as long as you have a fairly neutral-sounding mic, you should be ready to go.
Some microphones may be a bit more colorful than others, which can obviously be used either to your detriment or benefit. You’ll have to use your discretion in this regard, but if the mic you’re using has more high-end than what you’re aiming for, you can either use a different mic or EQ it down in post.
Anyway, we’re starting to get too pedantic. The microphones listed here are in no particular order, but they’re all your greatest bets when it comes to finding the best microphone to record your electric guitars with.
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Starting right off the bat, we have the Shure SM57. This is one of the most iconic microphones, and for good reason. Almost every studio will have a handful of these on deck, due to them being inexpensive, nearly indestructible, and incredibly reliable.
Aside from them being useful in practically any audio engineering situation, they’re particularly good when it comes to recording guitar cabinets. Why? Well, the SM57 can theoretically handle a maximum SPL level of 190 dB – which is pretty loud.
Ultimately, the SM57’s sound signature is unassuming, in part to its neutrality but also largely due to how often its been used in large scale recording projects.
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If you’re at all familiar with microphones, you’ve probably heard people go on about how great of a microphone the Neumann U 87 Ai is.
If you can get your hands on an original U 87 (maybe because you have some ten thousand dollars burning a hole in your jeans), these things are monsters in the studio.
The newer models, the U 87 Ai, are just as good although they might lack the depth and warmth that the OG’s have to offer.
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Either way, the U 87 Ai is a truly phenomenal microphone. Whether you’re trying to record a guitar cabinet or anything else, the microphone offers a neutral and flat frequency response that can get up close and personal with whatever you’re trying to capture.
The M80-SH is a dynamic microphone with a supercardioid polar pattern and a frequency response of 50 Hz – 18 kHz. The SH models are particularly apt to handle tight-fit applications where a full-sized microphone might be too overbearing.
While the M80-SH is technically a dynamic microphone, it performs much more like a condenser. It also has a high SPL, making it more than capable of capturing the full range and sound of whatever source you’re applying it to.
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When it comes to guitar amps, we’ve found that the M80-SH is especially great for dirtier sounds, although it does perfectly well on cleaner tones.
The U 47 is capable of
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