First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

[Phantasmagoria]

Got it new for $40..


Just plugged straight in and jammed a bit lol. I used my super cheap ($17! ) no-name Chinese condenser mic (..so I could check out the phantom power). I should've edged the mic a bit closer to the dust-cap (it's a tad bassy/dark...) but otherwise not bad for a first try.. would be pretty usable with some basic post prod..

I used the "valve" preset 'cause I thought the "electric guitar" one sounded a bit fizzy/bright.. should've gone with that instead..

That's it ...just the raw track...recorded with my handheld recorder at bedroom levels. Played the same stuff I usually play (to compare w/ my other vids)




.wav:

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

Judging by the sound, are you sure that mic is end-firing?

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

haha...you should've heard that baby record without the preamp :lmao:

OK..so I need to work on things a bit? Any suggestions lol?

EDIT:

Oh..you meant is it a drum mic? ..don't know..maybe. I think it was more the postioning though..and maybe the preamp preset..

It's my only condenser mic and I wanted to check out if the phantom power worked on the preamp.. or I would've used a dynamic

Anyway, by my usual mic'd recording standards that was "good" :laugh2:

..see for yourself..

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

What I mean is -- Most condenser microphones are side-firing; are you sure yours has the diaphragm on the pointed to the end of the grille, not the side?
Is there a way to disable the modeling entirely? That's where I would start, with the mic preamp doing preampfification only.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

What I mean is -- Most condenser microphones are side-firing; are you sure yours has the diaphragm on the pointed to the end of the grille, not the side?
Is there a way to disable the modeling entirely? That's where I would start, with the mic preamp doing preampfification only.

wow..you're right :lmao: ..it is pointing to the side of the grille, not the top..

So I need to have the diaphragm parallel to the face of my cab then?

Ok..I could try that..there's a setting that says "neutral" ..I guess that's the one I need to be working with first?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

Yes to both; you need to point the front of the diaphragm to towards the sound source. In all likelihood, it is a cardioid pattern, which means the sound will be much louder and clearer from one side ... the pickup pattern prevents it from picking up too much room reflection. That was the giveaway in your clip -- the room sound was really loud compared to the direct sound.

Definitely start with 'neutral' ... adding DSP only complicates something that is already complicated enough. Start simple!

I would start with the mic dead center on the speaker. Play a riff. Move the mic 2" in any direction (still pointing forwards). Play the same riff. Repeat until you are at the very outside edge of the cone. Then play back what you have just recorded and you can select the one that sounds best to you.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

Cheers....pretty sure I was doing something wrong lol....thanks for that :bigthumb:

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

No problem -- there is no right or wrong! Only what sounds best to YOU. It is not uncommon to turn a cardioid mic 90 degrees to the guitar speaker, though it's usually done with a dynamic mic. Lately, I've been mic'ing guitar by firing an SM57 'across' the cone, which puts it at a pretty oblique angle, but not at a straight 90 degree angle. You just have to be aware of room reflections and how they introduce phase issues. That is why it is better to start with the mic pointing directly at the sound source for starters ... will make your life much easier later on. Once you've got that down, you can experiment with the mic's angle and use it to add colourations to the basic sound.

The reason the oblique angle works for me even though I am not recording in tuned/designed space is because I am using an iso cab -- so there's no 'room' to get into the mic.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

haha..yeah..that's pretty technical, all of it. I'll just point it straight at the speaker and try and see that it's the right end I'm pointing there lol..

Then I'll move stuff around and see how it goes.. thanks again.

I can actually do fairly decent recordings with dynamics..they won't win awards ..but they're decent. I've never used condensers before though...just bought this one because it was cheap & I thought it sounded decent in the demo's. Never had any luck recording with it ..but then turns out I was doing some pretty dumb stuff :lmao:

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

Here's another try (V2)

`


.wav:



Less noise..more presence etc..

It's not perfect but I think everything's working fine..& the mic's pointed the right way lol.. it's just a matter of a little experimentation/fine-tuning now..

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: First mic'd cab recording with my new mic preamp..

Gave my dynamic (Audio Technica MB2K...pretty SM57-like) a try with the Behringer pre ....played the same old **** :laugh2:



Not too bad except for the birds chirping right through haha ..should've recorded it at night like I usually do.. :9:

Dry mono track/no Fx etc..