According to legendary producer eddie kramer.
Recording electric guitar direct or mic.
Similar to acoustic guitar recording an amp and di can each play a crucial role in the final result and recording both if possible can provide some cool options.
When recording an electric guitar the amp is the instrument as far as the mic is concerned and mic position is important.
The electric guitar pickup.
The m160 was his absolute favorite option on electric guitar.
However this will require expensive equipment like a quality amp microphone and potentially sound dampening equipment or material.
What all direct boxes exist to do is convert a hi z or high impedance line level signal to a lo z mic level signal.
The only extra thing that you might not have is a direct box.
Tools like spire studio s verb 65 are a great way bypass your amp leaving less in the way between you and getting your ideas.
The one other ribbon mic in particular that has been used on countless recordings over many decades is the beyerdynamic m160.
Electric guitar might be the first instrument to come to mind when recording direct.
A microphone on your guitar cab or combo s speaker captures the air movement produced by the drivers and introduces your room s tone into the recording how much room depends on mic type and placement.
While a lot of sound comes direct from the speakers as you d expect a significant level is also emitted from the back and sides of the box via panel vibrations.
And it was the primary mic he used back in his days of recording zeppelin and hendrix.
With the advent of higher quality amp simulations it s easy to get a great sound without an amp on hand.