Neumann km184 vs DI from Mesa Boogie Rosette 300/ two-eight

[al_az]

So I am not the most skilled recording engineer, but I do try. My set up has been a pair of Neumann km184's (1 positioned at 12th fret pointed towards body and another in front of the widest portion of the lower bout pointing towards the bridge-both about 18"s away). I run the mics through an Apogee Duet into my mac pro running Logic Pro X. I record in my home office, 15' x 15' but with cut off corners more hexagonal like a home plate in baseball, area rug but no other sound treatments. My guitars all have LR Baggs anthems in.
I always feel my recordings,all fingerstyle, need a little EQ'ing: cut the the lows a little (below about 200 hz) and a bit of boost around 1000 hz.
There of course are then the other recording "issues": the dog barks, the wife calls me, the air conditioner comes on, the phone rings etc.
So a month or 2 ago I get a Mesa Boogie Rosette amp, I really do not 'need it' but when has that stopped me before. Yesterday I decide to try and record the Rosette. I ran a direct line out (post amp EQ) into the Duet on one channel and used the neck Neumann on the other channel. I had set the amp EQ for what I felt was a good room sound. I unplugged the speakers on the Rosette so there was not any sound coming out of the amp (basically a DI).
I had no preconceived ideas as to the outcome, I was just fooling around.

When I listened back I was surprised. I called my wife to get her 'unbiased' opinion. I could not believe the quality of the DI recording. It had a great balance, no need for any EQ. The sound was a little 'crisper' and tighter, but not in an unpleasant way. Honestly I wanted to like the mics better, I still want to blame myself on a poor mic positioning, or a poor acoustic room. But in reality just plugging my guitar into the amp and running a direct out post EQ into my Duet sounded GOOD. NO need to worry about the dog, air conditioner, wife etc etc.

I know this means nothing without sound clips, I was just noodling so there was nothing I would post but I am curious.

Any opinions with DI recordings vs mic's. Maybe it is the Rosette. I have been a big Boogie player for over 25 years (let me find my hearing aids) so maybe it is just that good.

[DukeX]

If you like the DI recording, that is a good thing. One more tonal option.

But I would work with my mic positioning. Try XY or ORTF near the 12th fret or neck join. Using a spaced pair as you have (placing a mic on the at the 12th fret pointed toward the sound hole and also placing a mic near the lower bout) will tend to give you more bass, which often causes boominess or muddiness problems.

You should be able to get excellent recordings with those mics and the Apogee. Mic placement is key. Lots of experimentation is needed IMO.

[al_az]

Originally Posted by DukeX

If you like the DI recording, that is a good thing. One more tonal option.

But I would work with my mic positioning. Try XY or ORTF near the 12th fret or neck join. Using a spaced pair as you have (placing a mic on the at the 12th fret pointed toward the sound hole and also placing a mic near the lower bout) will tend to give you more bass, which often causes boominess or muddiness problems.

You should be able to get excellent recordings with those mics and the Apogee. Mic placement is key. Lots of experimentation is needed IMO.

Its the day job that gets in the way of the 'lots of experimentation" part . Wife is going to be away with family for a couple weeks so I think it is time for some 'woodshedding'