I'm looking for a good mic for recording electric guitars. Most sources suggest going for the SHURE SM57, but I've tried it and wasn't too much impressed. Our band needs to record both rythmic and effected guitars, and our amps are a bit lousy. We already own an SM58 and an AER compact head preamp. Any suggestions? (Prices up to $400 should be OK)

Thanks in advance

The sound of a mike depend on where it's placed in relation the speaker cabinet. Placing the mike close to the speaker cabinet with the mike pointed directly at a speaker only a few inches away, having the mike 100 cm away to get the whole cabinet sound or much farther away to get the room sound. This will all affect the recorded sound. the SM 57 is a good general instrument recording mike but perhaps better for acoustic instruments. A good condenser mike might be better for an amp. generally if you have a good vocal condenser mike it will also work well for electric guitars. It you amps sound bad don't expect the mike to make it better. Shit in...shit out. Try to get a good amp sound first then experiment with moving the mike around.

Dr Harmonica

Along with looking (and listening) at (to) where the mic is, you should look at the SM58 impedance level. If there is too much (or little for that matter) voltage from the mic and it does not match the operating parameters of the board then there will be distortion. It might not be the mic, but how the recording is set up. Good luck!

i like the sennheiser e906.it has a 3 way switchable presence filter,is a super cardiod dynamic mic and the capsule is on one side of the mic making for great close micing with minimal cross talk.it's little brother the 609 works well also but i like the versitility of the 906 best.