Recording: direct or mic, what do u prefer

[glocke]

The reason I am asking is because I have started recording practice sessions of a band I jam with....
I go DI from my demeter because I get a much cleaner and better sound than I would ever get with a mic on my cab (15 bagend)...its not a drastically different sound,or even better, just alot more pure ( i think anyway)...
 
I recently got into a debate (when I knew better to keep my mouth shut lol ) with the guitar player because I had him going direct from his Marshall head (JCM something or other)...He claims that his  direct tone isnt close to what comes out of his cabinet...His recorded tone does not sound good, especially with his overdrive channel, but what is recorded is what I hear in the room...(I attribute his bad tone as an overuse/misuse of effects), he claims that is not the case, that his tone from his cabinet (a marshall 4x12 i think), is alot better.. (
 
My question to you guys is, what do you prefer? direct or mic, and why?

[keavin]

the bass is always better direct,& the guitar (to me)is better miked.

[crgaston]

When I was using 8's exclusively, either an SWR 4x8 or 8x8, we would sometimes throw a Shure SM-57 on it and the engineers loved it. We would have a direct and a mic line and often they would end up using just the mic, sometimes adding the direct for some more bottom.   In general, though, Keavin is right.

[glocke]

cool....thanks guys...

[pace]

When I was still in school & had acess to the mic closet, the best sound I ever got to tape was a mix of direct & a Royer ribbon mic about 3' from a 15.....

[olieoliver]

I always liked the direct approach live but in the studio I like to run two channels. One direct and the other from a mike in front of my rig. Gives you more control and options on the sound.
 
(Message edited by olieoliver on April 17, 2006)

[gare]

I agree with Olie, given the option/enough channels, I've run a direct box, direct out from amp, and miked the cabinet. The direct box should give you the purest signal (in theory), that can always be re-eq'd or run to effects etc. if it turns out your amp sound isn't suitable.
But if the only option were mic'd or direct out I'd go direct (Keavins answer).
 
G

[glocke]

thanks for the great info....
 
So for a mic, which would be better, an SM57 type, or a condenser mic run off of phantom power...

[adriaan]

In the dark days of recording bedroom band practices, we used to put a set of headphones (not the open type) on the floor, right in front of the bass drum, with all amps roughly in a circle, with the headphones cord into a Y splitter, into the microphone jacks on the front of the cassette deck. So headphones can be pretty good microphones, if memory serves me right. Better than the electrets they used to put into ghettoblasters, anyway.

[crgaston]

The 57 worked well with the 8's, but they're pretty small speakers.  Traditionally people have used a D-112 or some other good kick drum mic because they handle the high-spl low end stuff really well.  I don't have any experience with condensers for bass, but it sounds like it could be good.  If you have access to stuff, the best thing to do is compare for yourself.

[glocke]

actually this is for a guitar cab....not bass...I have always gone direct for bass....

[olieoliver]

I love the SM-57's they are durable and always reproduce a comperable sound of the guitar or bass amp. I know a lot of guitarist now are going direct out of their effects into the board on live shows. This is great as it cuts down on equipment to carry and gives the Sound guy more control but I do think it loses a lot of the players personality. I guess weigh the options and choose which is best for you, Mic or direct?

[kenbass4]

For guitar recording, I always mic the cabinet, with an SM-57 off-axis up close, and a condenser about 3 feet away (making sure to check the phase of the mics in mono before tracking). The guitar tracks sound HUGE.

[zuperdog]

Yup. Gotta mic the cab for guitar. SM57 close, and I like to put a 58 about a foot away from the back if it's an open or semi-open cab.  
 
I bought one of the newer Boogie Dual Rectifier Recording Preamps when they came out, which were designed to mimic the personality of a cab and speakers (as well as pre and power amp sections), while letting you go direct. I messed around with it forever, and couldn't get anywhere close to the sound I could get in 5 seconds sticking a mic or two in front of my favorite amp. Still, it's the closest I've heard going direct.

[glocke]

what about drums?  Anyone here have suggestions for those?  Ive been using three, a bass drum mic, and tw overheads placed in front....
 
the drummer I play with likes to put them in back of the set though.  this results in a lower signal and more room noise in the tracks though