What's this doo-dad do?

[Rich_S]

This is from a video of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes that Marshall posted on FB today. What are the things mounted on the front of the Marshall combos, and what are they for? Some kind of special mic? Isolation thing to prevent bleed? Interesting that they seem to have two cables coming from their innards, plus the cable coming off the rear of what could just be an SM57 shoved through the housing, for all I know.

Just curious; I'd thought I'd seen it all, but not these.

 

[Mincer]

Re: What's this doo-dad do?

Looks like a mic of some sort...there seems to be an XLR cable connected, so no doubt it is picking up the sound of the cab.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What's this doo-dad do?

Maybe is has a loudpspeaker inside to capture low end thump? You can use a loudspeaker wired as a microphone to pick up low frequency, it's done with kick drums all the time. Otherwise, no clue.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: What's this doo-dad do?

Ha!

I found it at Sweetwater: sE Electronics guitaRF Reflexion Filter

Here's what it looks like on the inside. It has an adjustable-height mounting bracket for a ribbon or LDC, and a rubber mount to hold an SM57 or similar off-axis.



I guess now that everybody's decided that an SM-57 alone isn't good enough for live sound, and you need LDCs or ribbons to capture all the nuance of a cranked-up Blues Breaker, we now need to add isolation to keep the stage sound, adjacent speakers, and reflections from getting picked up by the fancy-pants super-sensitive mics. I mean, I think it's a fantastic design, and great for recording in less-than-perfect rooms (i.e. every guitar player's bedroom) but for live use? At an outdoor festival or in a hockey arena, does the fancy-pants mic and isolator really make a difference?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What's this doo-dad do?

Makes sense! A ribbon has a figure of 8 pickup pattern, so if you mic a cab, it’s also picking up sound on the other side. The reflection filter kills the back half of the pickup pattern. Ribbons tyoically are not very sensitive unless it’s one of the new fangled phantom powered ones, but they sound IMMENSE with electric guitar cabs. By far my favorite mic to use on a cab.

Good eye! The photo is so low res that I didn’t notice the shape until you showed the actual unit!

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: What's this doo-dad do?

Luckily, GAS to own one has not struck me. With some other product a post like Rich's might be responsible for passing GAS.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: What's this doo-dad do?

I'm actually using these live as well now! It's beyond the mic technique for me (though it does help isolate the cabinet in the live microphones) but on the small stages I play it acts as a beam blocker so the front row isn't completely decimated with guitar sound. It is actually allowing me to turn up a little more without sound guys going crazy. This is especially handy with the lower wattage Rocker 32 that I've been playing. I don't use this exact model, I use a bigger one that covers both of the 2x10 speakers in the Orange combo.