Tracking Metal Guitar Solos

[Dg17]

Hope everyone is well!
\m/-(><)-\m/

What methods are people are using to record metal guitar solos on a 4X12 tube amp these days?

My go-to guitar miking method is 2 mics blended into 2 channel mixer before Interface, and I usually do some method of that for tracking solos but I usually can't get any pleasant tone into the session - always find myself mixing way too much on solos.

Which mics are you using? X-Y arrays, One mic per Speaker, on-axis?
Bonus points for anyone who has tried this with a blumlein technique!!!

I'm always experimenting but this is one category for which I've never sought input :'( so curious what people are doin out there! Also thought people in learning stages would enjoy the conversation.

Be good to yourselves, and each other.
\m/-(><)-\m/

[JFreak]

Have another channel with DI, connect gator clamps straight to one pair of the speaker terminals

[albee1952]

Which 2 mics will make a big difference, as will the preamps. I use a ribbon and a dynamic. For the ribbon, a Royer 121 is first choice, but a Cascade Fathead II is darn close(and what I use). For the dynamic,many will use the old SM57, but not me. I much prefer an SM-7(with TUL and Sennheiser 421 as my next choices). Despite how many people love the 57, its way down the list for me. Normally, my mics are about 2" off the grill cloth, but I had gotten great results with a Royer set a foot away and aimed in between 2 speakers. It may be worth trying all of the 4 speakers as one may sound better than the rest(or worse).

For preamps, its tough to beat a Neve, or a decent clone. I've had excellent results with the Chameleon Labs 581 and Vintech 573. Placement is the next important detail and I start with the mics aimed at where the dust cap meets the cone and move as needed(95% of the time, that spot works fine). While I have used room mics in the past, I no longer bother.

When you place the cabinet in the room don't aim it straight at a wall(the reflections back will hurt the sound). I point the cab at an angle so reflections don't come back directly(if at all).

When it comes to mixing, I may favor either mic, or maybe only one of them. I might pan the 2 opposite, but this does nothing for stereo spread. Better would be to track the part again and pan each pass opposite(blending the 2 mics to taste for each side). I also will send each "side" to a mono reverb that is panned to the opposite(so the left guitar has reverb on the right, and the right guitar has reverb on the left).

[JFreak]

+1 for the Royer