Basic cab mic'ing question

[chillytouch]

Hey guys, just poking around as I'm new to this.

Do you have any general advice for mic'ing a cab in a house environment into a USB interface?

Basically, I tried mic'ing my 2x12 cab into my apollo interface and it went horribly. The sound out of the cab was great and was what I wanted, but the sound going into the interface was incredibly quiet (the apollo is a good interface and I had it at 30db on the mic line which is a little less than half on the gain meter).

The only thing I can think of right now anyway is that when I tried it I just draped the mic over the cab, so it wasn't really right up against the grill, it was 2'' or so off it. I purchased a mic stand so maybe that will help if I shove it right up against the mesh grill? I'm recording via a 50w Amp head at house level volumes so I mean I'm putting it loud, but not like blow your neighbors out of bed loud.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

[Clint 55]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

Somethings up. Mics vary with their sensitivity but I'm not aware of any that you have to blast with dbs to get any sound.

[chillytouch]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

Somethings up. Mics vary with their sensitivity but I'm not aware of any that you have to blast with dbs to get any sound.

Roger. Ill give it one more shot with the mic stand and see what happens. Its a sennheiser e609. Hoping there isn't anything wrong with it.

[DankStar]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

That mic looks handy, you just drape it. Might get one. With that mic I wouldn’t goof with a mic stand, that’s not the issue (assuming you put the labeled “front” of the mic toward your speaker).

I’m sure you watched a few YouTube vids on the Apollo to make sure you didn’t miss something in the setup? When the crap hits the fan I go back to square one.

https://youtu.be/-tKMgnkPxXY

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

That mic looks handy, you just drape it. Might get one. With that mic I wouldn’t goof with a mic stand, that’s not the issue (assuming you put the labeled “front” of the mic toward your speaker).

I’m sure you watched a few YouTube vids on the Apollo to make sure you didn’t miss something in the setup? When the crap hits the fan I go back to square one.
https://youtu.be/-tKMgnkPxXY

I’ve got one as well. It sounds great, no doubt.
My only real complaint is that you have to twist the cable “just so”, so that the mic lays flush to the grill cloth.
I sometimes get frustrated and just use it on a shorty stand.

[chillytouch]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

I’ve got one as well. It sounds great, no doubt.
My only real complaint is that you have to twist the cable “just so”, so that the mic lays flush to the grill cloth.
I sometimes get frustrated and just use it on a shorty stand.

I'm glad someone else shared my frustration with that. I spent about twenty minutes doing that exact same thing last time I tried.

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

I'm glad someone else shared my frustration with that. I spent about twenty minutes doing that exact same thing last time I tried.

Yeah, I tried a bunch of things to get it to work.
I tried taping it to the grill....the tape didn’t hold.
The twisty method, forget it.
I had an old cab grabber mic holder thingy that didn’t work either. Mostly because it was probably about 20 years old and past it’s prime. But it used to be a great devise.
I just bought a short mic stand and typically use that.

[jeremy]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

try speaking into the mic and see what level you are getting

[dystrust]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

With that mic I wouldn’t goof with a mic stand, that’s not the issue (assuming you put the labeled “front” of the mic toward your speaker).

+1

With an e609 (or e906) it's fine to drape across the front of your cab. Just make sure the side of the mic labeled "front" is toward the speaker, and you may need to run a bit more gain on the preamp depending on how loud you were playing. I generally don't worry about exactly where the gain knob is set; I turn it up until the loudest thing I'm playing is peaking at -15 or so. That way you can stack a bunch of tracks and not worry about clipping due to the levels summing. If you're recording a sparse mix you may be able to get away with a peak around -10 to -12, but I wouldn't record hotter than that.

[chillytouch]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question

+1

With an e609 (or e906) it's fine to drape across the front of your cab. Just make sure the side of the mic labeled "front" is toward the speaker, and you may need to run a bit more gain on the preamp depending on how loud you were playing. I generally don't worry about exactly where the gain knob is set; I turn it up until the loudest thing I'm playing is peaking at -15 or so. That way you can stack a bunch of tracks and not worry about clipping due to the levels summing. If you're recording a sparse mix you may be able to get away with a peak around -10 to -12, but I wouldn't record hotter than that.

Good info. I will aim for the -15. I'm adding my interface as a reaper track and playing against backing tracks on a separate track. nothing fancy.

[chillytouch]

Re: Basic cab mic'ing question



+1

With an e609 (or e906) it's fine to drape across the front of your cab. Just make sure the side of the mic labeled "front" is toward the speaker, and you may need to run a bit more gain on the preamp depending on how loud you were playing. I generally don't worry about exactly where the gain knob is set; I turn it up until the loudest thing I'm playing is peaking at -15 or so. That way you can stack a bunch of tracks and not worry about clipping due to the levels summing. If you're recording a sparse mix you may be able to get away with a peak around -10 to -12, but I wouldn't record hotter than that.

This is what I ended up with. Does this sound decent? I'm going for the OU812 tone and I can't really tell if the detune mix is too wet (i'm in mono).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bh380c2obNaQF4rrCDCn3uUh28nuLeKk/view?usp=sharing

[devastone]

Where is the mic in relation to the center of the cone? 2" from the speaker should be fine, but as you move the mic closer to the center it will get brighter, closer to the edge it will get warmer/duller (whichever term you prefer). There is a happy medium usually ~ 1 - 1.5 inches from the center, but YMMV. The recorded sound rarely sounds like what you are hearing from the cab, it usually takes some experimentation to get a recorded sound you are happy with.

[GreatOz]

From my personal experience, I have found that I prefer closer to the center of the cone. I use a cheap condenser and an e906 to record.
The reason being is that I prefer closer to the cone for the band mix, less lows that will compete with the kick and bass guitar.

By itself, it is thinner than recording closer to the edges, but in a band mix, it sounds fuller.