Miking guitar amp?

[Kent S.]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

Wow, cool replies. Mike, good suggestions. I do the best I can to get the tone I want without eqing the signal. If I do eq, it's usually to take out an unwanted frequency, but rarely do I boost anything.

Then you are ahead of the curve, it takes a long time for some people to understand that a cut is as good as a boost, better in fact many times from noise reduction and headroom perspectives.

KentS, great info. Funny, I've experimented with putting the mic in the open cab, and love the darker sound, but miss the high end. It never occured to me to use two mics, one in the cab and one on the speaker. Duh!

That does require mixing the two to get the balance you want (because of the phase cancellations), even so ...for home recording panning one hard right, and the other hard left; with a subtle mix in the middle, is a great way to create a stereo track ...helps to EQ each a bit differently also (which they will be anyway), but it enhances the effect.
Even in mono with mixing between the two adds an interesting spaciousness and air to the sound.

Thanks for the link, Kevlar.
Architect, thanks for the mic suggestion and info. I've messed with room micing, and always come back to putting the mic on the speaker. Course, that has always been with only one mic. Think I'll buy a new mic this weekend and expirement. My control room with my computer is also my amp room. I have a modest setup and record at home as a hobby. I have LOTS to learn!

Ah, room miking, far miking do lose a lot of focus, but if you have two mikes to play with you can get some really good results, stereo or mono. Someone mentioned the 58 also, the main difference in the 57 and 58 is that the 58 has a presence peak around 3kHz. or so, and a bit leaner low end (still exhibits the proximity effect though), if you run a bright set up it might not be your cup of tea, but it does make a nice addition to the 57 or replacement for it at times.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

I've gotten really used to just going direct with guitar & bass signal. You won't get the sound of the room, but I've found that I like the purity of the signal; for me, it's easier to work with.

The suggestions on mic techniques were great, though!

There was one "mic" technique that I wanted to share. I don't remember where I read about this one, but I've tried it and it does add a certain texture to your signal. Take a piezo pickup and put it on your guitar cabinet. It won't be a terribly clean signal, but you'll get a definite low end "rumble", which, if you mix a little bit in with the main track (not too much!!), will add some crunch to the sound.

 

[JimiHWannaBe]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

i stick my mic in the back of my open back 2X12 cab

 

[FireBros.]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

Hey whats a good condenser mic to use for micing? You know one that isn't too expensive but a good value such as the sm57 but a condenser. thanks

I have several more expensive mics in my studio, but for guitar cabs, I usually use either an SM57 or an Oktava MK219 condenser, or both, sometimes I use a Rode NT1. The Oktavas are about $75 from Guitar Center. On my rig thats the mic I also use live. Btw the MK219 sounds great on snare too.

 

[NT02]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

Went ahead and got the sm57. Haven't had much time to play with it. Did record a couple of quick tracks. It seems to resopnd to changes in placement better than my other mic. The mic I have been using forever is a V-Tech VT-1040. Not a bad cheapy mic, at least it has lasted me years. Look forward to using both for a variety of combinations to get different sounds. Great info in this thread. Love this forum for such things. Now all I need is a low mic stand, another mic cable, and I guess I could go for a mic preamp instead of using the one on the mixer. When does it end?

 

[Kent S.]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

Went ahead and got the sm57. Haven't had much time to play with it. Did record a couple of quick tracks. It seems to resopnd to changes in placement better than my other mic. The mic I have been using forever is a V-Tech VT-1040. Not a bad cheapy mic, at least it has lasted me years. Look forward to using both for a variety of combinations to get different sounds. Great info in this thread. Love this forum for such things. Now all I need is a low mic stand, another mic cable, and I guess I could go for a mic preamp instead of using the one on the mixer. When does it end?

BTW, there are a variety of economical tube mike preamps about ... a small 6" round based mike stand would probably do you ... if you need more than that they make a telescopic two section as well,heck they make they in a boom version also. I would avoid the gooseneck varieties as they have a tendency to move around a bit depending on how well they are made.

 

[NT02]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

Yeah, I see that mic stand at Musician's Friend for $4.99 right now. Think I'll get a couple. Any suggestions on mic tube preamps?

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

I use the AKG414 only now...the57 sounds extremely small next to it, boxy sound and like Kev says, it can get pretty lifeless if you are not careful.

F16 Falcon vs flapping with my arms case


no, the SM57 is not that bad at all. It is SUPERB for live use because it captures onstage everything you need for a good audible sound and doesn't catch many details that can be useful when you're in the studio. When a mic is placed just 1 inch by the dust dome it sounds the beefiest. If you move it towards the edge the sound becomes more and more edgy. I like to use 2 cabs, one miked 1 inch by the dome, one 2 inch from the edge.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: Miking guitar amp?

Yeah, I see that mic stand at Musician's Friend for $4.99 right now. Think I'll get a couple. Any suggestions on mic tube preamps?

Yeah, Off hand I'd say the PreSonus MXL ...It's single channel, but GC had it as a package with their mxl 2001 condenser mike for around $150 ... But you don't need another mike ... There is another one thought that's dual channel, can't think of the mane of it though ... I'll have to try to catch up to my brother via e-mail and get the name of it, I know he has both of them.
BTW ... incase you don't know, be real careful with any mike preamp that has phantom power (most do) ... make sure it's off if you run a dynamic mike, or a self-powered condenser mike.