O.K. so I bought a new SM57 and I am going to start all over with recording my guitar thru my Tremoverb, Mesa Boogie tube amp. 


I am not liking the tone I got before so I upgraded to a better mic. 


I will try all different positions for the mic, according to all the best practices evident from online research. My question is this. Does Sonar 7 PE have it's own plug ins that emulate speaker cabs or whatever to get a real good tone?


I am new to this and in the past I would just mic the cab and hit record on my tape machine and I would get an amazing Nuno Bettencourt tone or maybe better said is a thick, punchy, articulate, musical, percussive guitar sound for my gain tone and a chimey, bell, piano tone for my cleans. 


I mean I really got a great tone and it sounded great on external equipment like the car stereo or house stereo. This required no eq or plug ins of any kind. So I am lost, as it was either blind luck or the process that produced that great guitar sound. 


It may be as simple as my cheap crappy mic. Now that I am using a Motu 8Pre and Sonar I am really getting the "garbage in/garbage out" scenario, whereas the tape method was more forgiving.


It may be as simple as a new mic, which I have and will use this weekend, and placement.


But for now with all digital equipment I can't get it, or at least not yet, as I have not plugged the SM57 yet. Any advise on plug ins internal to Sonar or EQ'ing methods would greatly help. Thanks.


I am not looking for metal or anything like that. If you are familiar with Extreme's "Waiting for the Punchline", then you know exactly what I am looking for.


It is a very organic, roots rock based sound that is probably one of the most overlooked albums out there for guitar purists.


And yes, I know I am a hack and don't have a million dollar studio, but going from a cassette that had a killer guitar tone with NO effort at all, to Sonar, Motu etc. and having a crappy sound is just not acceptable, so I need your help, thanks.

I would experiment with the SM57 and your Mesa Boogie first, before thinking about plug-ins. That's a tried and tested combo, and I'm sure if you get a tone you like, you'll be able to capture it.

Get the right sound going in first rather than try to tweak a tone you're not happy with.

Ditto ^^^

No need to upgrade your microphone, you already have the most widely-used industry standard for this application.

Amp and speaker sims are a great convenience, but they never quite get there (in most peoples' opinion) like a real amplifier moving air can.

The 57 is just fine, you should be able to get a very decent tone in your DAW.

If you prefer the tones you used to get on analog tape, I guess that it's related to the natural compression and eq'ing which are inherent to that medium. Tape may seem more forgiving in that it probably did roll off certain frequencies, so even if the mic position puts a bit of emphasis on those frequencies, the tape may even that out for you. Whereas, w/ digital audio, you get exactly what you put in.

So the tones you get in your DAW may seem a bit harsh by comparison and may not sit as well. You can try and make up for that - at least in part - by experimenting w/ mic placement a bit. That's where I'd start.

Thanks guys.

You all are in alignment with your suggestions, and I have to agree with you.

I didn't know much about plug ins and I still don't, but after a conversation with a friend, it sounds like the opposite of what I am looking for.

I guess IF I was to use plug ins they would only have a place in my studio for application such as reverb, delay etc. 

I certainly don't want to use anything related to "modeling". I have a great amp and tone. Now I need to get that into a good mic.

Once I figure out the proper placement and I think that will solve my problems. Using a cheap crap mic does fall right into the "garbage in/garbage out" scenario, so I am confident this will work.

I also think, learning from failing miserably at it, that I should NOT increase any specific or individual frequency gain on any EQ, and instead reduce the unwanted frequencies that do compliment the tone I seek and then push the dB up a pinch to compensate for any loss in level.

Again, I am a newbie (10 weeks into this), so please chime in with your opinions and thanks.

Happy Holidays to all of you and oh by the way I think my wife might be wrapping a Sennheiser e906 to put under the tree.

Oh Boy! Wouldn't that be nice, as I have seen online all sorts of varying techniques using multiple mics.

I know...I know I would rather have expensive mics that cost thousands of dollars, but this is in my budget. 

I have a home studio and not a Hollywood studio, so don't laugh if I get excited about the SM57 or e906 etc. 

Thanks again! 

You seem to be pretty much on the right path in your understanding. 
Another thing we often overlook is that distortion adds up, so if you're layering guitar tracks, it's always a good idea to back down the gain knob a bit. 

I wasn't familiar w/ the e906 until a friend mentioned it a few weeks ago. Seems indeed like it could help you in your quest to get that tone upfront.

Thanks Rain.

And yes, I agree. 

Oh, and I am reducing gain, as this will get me a more musical tone and less blotto or garbage, thanks man.

Problem solved!

The SM57 is amazing.

Guitar tone is amazing. Sounds like a guitar, as it should.

Thanks guys, for all the help.

Oh, and I did get a e906 for xmas, so I can't wait to use that too.

Thanks again.

Glad you're getting that tone you wanted. And with a second mic, it'll probably be twice as much fun. :)

 Thanks Rain, I totally agree. I have read that mixing mics can produce great sound. Is there anything I should worry about regarding phasing issues? I tried this before while running stereo with my rig and it was bad. Now I am running one amp and will try two mics, so will phasing be an issue and how do I solve this issue? Thanks.