How do these mics sound together? 57/906 NOW CASCADE fattie

[michiganmusicalcraze]

Hi,

I owned the fathead w/ the lundahl upgrade. Although it was warm and had smoothness, it was a bit dull. It only sounded good when it was a foot or more off the cab, IMO. The proximity effect was insane on this mic, making it extremely hard to work with in the low end unless you thinned the amp out heavily before recording. Even with a high pass at 100hz the low mids are so strong that it remains "tubby" and this is even when blended with an SM57. Overall it was a colossal disappointment for > close micing < if you were going to use it in a full recording mix. I upgraded to a Royer 101 and am totally blown away how much it was worth the price differential. I blend 50% Royer 50% SM57 for rhythms, 25% Royer 75% SM57 for solos. It's super warm but with that mix ready, present top end. No EQ ever used, no high pass either. The Royer 101 was designed off the 121 to be even more close micing friendly, with noticeably less proximity effect than the 121 even has. You can place the Royer dead center of the dust cap and the sm57 where the cap meets the cone, each about an inch and a half off the grill. Voilà! Perfect results, no fuss. I'm not a fan of an SM57 used alone, it has to be blended if you really want the best sound. Just want to point out for reference, my set-up is a modded JMP 2204 w/ 4x12 Greenback cab.

Hope my experience can help in some way. Best of luck in your recording journey my friend!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Hi,

I owned the fathead w/ the lundahl upgrade. Although it was warm and had smoothness, it was a bit dull. It only sounded good when it was a foot or more off the cab, IMO. The proximity effect was insane on this mic, making it extremely hard to work with in the low end unless you thinned the amp out heavily before recording. Even with a high pass at 100hz the low mids are so strong that it remains "tubby" and this is even when blended with an SM57. Overall it was a colossal disappointment for > close micing < if you were going to use it in a full recording mix. I upgraded to a Royer 101 and am totally blown away how much it was worth the price differential. I blend 50% Royer 50% SM57 for rhythms, 25% Royer 75% SM57 for solos. It's super warm but with that mix ready, present top end. No EQ ever used, no high pass either. The Royer 101 was designed off the 121 to be even more close micing friendly, with noticeably less proximity effect than the 121 even has. You can place the Royer dead center of the dust cap and the sm57 where the cap meets the cone, each about an inch and a half off the grill. Voilà! Perfect results, no fuss. I'm not a fan of an SM57 used alone, it has to be blended if you really want the best sound. Just want to point out for reference, my set-up is a modded JMP 2204 w/ 4x12 Greenback cab.

Hope my experience can help in some way. Best of luck in your recording journey my friend!

That helps a ton thanks! Yeah the royer while also tubby also has a little more on top. The 101 also caught my attention but not sure I could justify that price! I have heard that recording with the flat side of the fathead turned the other way brings out more high end so I might try that. As you can hear from my recording I also felt it left things a little too fat..and that was a 2204 clone so not exactly lacking on the high end!

 

[paulyc]

I know a lot of people swear by SM57s for guitars, but I think they sound fizzy/buzzy when I use them, so I bought an EV RE20 dynamic instead...broadcast quality dynamic, so much better frequency response.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

they are fizzy, but when you mix another mic in (even another 57), it evens it all out. I put the 57 a little closer to center and dialed back the fat head, prob a 35/65 split (65 on the 57) and it is already a lot better. The fathead helps with the fiz of the 57.

 

[michiganmusicalcraze]

The right ribbon will not only cure the fizziness, but also "fill in" all the missing frequencies of the SM57 so to speak. An overall thicker meatier sound, richer. The problems with most ribbons is that the low end is so exaggerated that it's hard to get them right without a lot of post production. Even the Royer 121 as you said can be "tubby" in part because it still has a little too much proximity effect. That's why I say the Royer 101 is quite an amelioration compared to the 121 for the task of blending with the 57 because the highs are exceptional and the lows also don't need any work to get right -- it's more focused on it's own as the sole mic, which concludes as a more focused sound with the two mic blend. I absolutely love that pair of mics! I understand your concerns about the price, I agree it is a luxury to have $1000 invested into a pair of mics. It all boils down to how much you are into your recordings and how close to perfect you want it to sound. I personally don't have a lot of money, but saved and sold off any little things I could to scrape the funds together to get a nice used like-new Royer 101 because it was the missing link to getting a perfect recording for me. You can get a used 101 for $600 or just under that if you wait for the right one. Glad I could offer some thoughts for you to ruminate... best of luck on all your future recording adventures!

 

[Greazygeo]

The Fathead sounds better, but the 57 needs to be more up front then blend in the Fathead. just needs bit more of the crispness.

I used to hate the 57….after messing with them awhile, i can get them sounding pretty kickass now. For rock guitar tracks, the 57 really should be there.

 

[spiritledd]

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