[Scott Dorsey]

James Price wrote:
If the goal of a live recording is to record the instruments as faithfully as possible to the source audio, wouldn't a measurement mic with a flat response be preferred over a mic with a response that's not flat?

1. Usually that isn't the goal at all.

2. When that IS the goal often a measurement mike is a good choice.

3. Because measurement mikes are flat in all directions and perfectly
omnidirectional, spotmiking anything becomes problematic and the
possible stereo miking configurations are limited.

For example, if I wanted to record a guitar playing through a 1x12 cab at a reasonable volume, wouldn't a flat response mic be preferred if the goal were to record the sound coming out of the cab as accurately as possible?

Try it, you may find that you likely don't actually like it, and that some
of the sound you are familiar with on recordings is actually a consequence
of breakup problems with the SM-57.

A measurement mike will record the sound an inch away from the cabinet as
accurately as possible, but you don't normally listen to guitar amps an inch
away from the cabinet. When you pull back, because of the wide pattern, you
get a lot more room effects than you would if you'd pulled back with a
cardioid mike.

Still, try it, you might like it.

In general, though, the effect of moving a microphone half an inch across
the cone of a guitar amp is more dramatic than the effect of different
microphones.

However, measurement microphones and microphones derived from measurement
designs like the Josephson 617 can be very good choices for area miking in
good rooms. A lot of classical folks swear by them.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."