Mic'ing question

I've Been Recording for a while now and have not really had a problem, but this is kind of irratating. When I'm specifically recording guitar I use one or two sm57's and when I record, it records fine for the most part but there's the issue of it being too quiet. I know it's not the amp (Marshall Head) cause my distortion channel is at about 5-6 and my master channel is at about 6-7 And I'm also using a cabinet (4x12), so I know that the source is loud enough, but when I check the db meter on the I/O in Sonar that my guitar is assigned to, it only registers at about -30 db. Now I know that's great for having head room, but I don't understand why it's regestering so quitely. When I use the same sm57's to record drums they work great! I just don't get how they can pick up drums very well, but when their in front of a screaming speaker (1-2 inches away) they don't pick up as well as they should.

Equipment for this includes - Marshall Head
Crate Half Stack
Sonar 5 PE
Sm57
Emu 1820 Audio Dock

I think thats all the important equipment, any help would be appreciated.

Eric,

I don't use the front 1/4" XLR I/O's for guitar, because when you turn the volume up to get a decent volume the recording sounds like ****. I strictly stick to the rear 1/4" inputs on the back.

I only use the front 1/4" XLR I/O's for condenser mics (acoustic guitar, Drum overheads)

ORIGINAL: lespaul678

I don't use the front 1/4" XLR I/O's for guitar, because when you turn the volume up to get a decent volume the recording sounds like ****. I strictly stick to the rear 1/4" inputs on the back.

I only use the front 1/4" XLR I/O's for condenser mics (acoustic guitar, Drum overheads)

sumthin' sounds funny here - SM57's by nature of their design are gain hogs. You need a fair amount of headroom for an SM57. What you're experiencing is normal. Do asearch over in the gear section (where this post probably belongs anyway). Someone posted a cool tweak for SM57's that lowered the gain floor considerably. It was an easy mod from what I remember. Do a search. Should be easy to find. That might help your situation.

Your signal chain looks wierd to me but I don't have the time to go researching your gear. Get a better preamp. That might help too.

ORIGINAL: krizrox

ORIGINAL: lespaul678

I don't use the front 1/4" XLR I/O's for guitar, because when you turn the volume up to get a decent volume the recording sounds like ****. I strictly stick to the rear 1/4" inputs on the back.

I only use the front 1/4" XLR I/O's for condenser mics (acoustic guitar, Drum overheads)

sumthin' sounds funny here - SM57's by nature of their design are gain hogs. You need a fair amount of headroom for an SM57. What you're experiencing is normal. Do asearch over in the gear section (where this post probably belongs anyway). Someone posted a cool tweak for SM57's that lowered the gain floor considerably. It was an easy mod from what I remember. Do a search. Should be easy to find. That might help your situation.

Your signal chain looks wierd to me but I don't have the time to go researching your gear. Get a better preamp. That might help too.

Exactly ! That's why they work so well for guitar amps, if you amp in on "11" the sound level from the mic is just about right