John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hello, I've been experimenting with different mics on guitar amps and cabs. I have many mics at college, so almost anything is possible, but it's obviously that a close range sm57 beats almost everything. I've used some condensers like double akg 414, but even miking them up a good distance away from the cab, on their own without the sm57 in the mix, they sound a little dreadful, so I think what's the point, and they pick up so much other crap aswell, you only have to move a little and they'll pick it up.

So, what would you use? For example, if you were miking a guitar amp up with a huge amount of distortion? Also, if you were miking a bass amp? Stick with just one mic, sm57? Or use condensers from a distance too? I don't have a lot of time at college to experiment with everything, and I know everyone has very different opinions on this, but I don't want to limit myself to just one mic in these situations, unless someone here who knows better tells me to stick with it. So what do you think? Thanks

Sometimes if the cabinet is an open backed cabinet yo can mike the back (where a lot of bass comes out) and add that to the mix. Generally you have to invert the phase since you are on the opposite side of the speaker, and sometimes if you are using a DAW you might have to slide the audio up in time to phase align with the front track.

Try it!

Use a SM57, MD421, and a pair of Neve 1073 mic pre's.

Haha, we don't have any neve stuff, it's well equiped, but not that well equiped! I think we have an MD421, where should I put it? Close?

Whatever sounds good. You can try a couple different set ups. The 57 you can put up close and either point at the edge or center of the cone (depends on the sound you want), and the md421 you can pull back a few inches or up close.

Strange as it is...
I like to use a Rode NT1 on a bass cab. I've used it on several types and get good results every time.
I place it about 4-5 inches off the front of cab. Edge of speaker, diaphragm slightly downword angle (20 to 30 degrees)

MD421 or 441 on the front of a GTR cab, with a SM57 on the back of the cab. If I have tracks to burn... AKG 2000 6ft off dead center of gtr. cab. Lots of room that way...nice sound in our cheezy room.

My 2 cents

here's how Ross Hogarth does it...

http://royerlabs.com/session_photos/ros ... g_XLG.html

and he's pretty good
"-)

Bass amp first - I'd never use a 57 on a bass cab, not enough low end. The 421 would be an excellent choice; in fact any kick mic would work in a pinch. I actually like the AKG D112 (hate it on kick, though); the EQ curve on the mic actually brings out some articulation on the bass notes to make it cut better, especially in a guitar heavy mix. Room mics on a bass cab don't work for me, smears the bass image too much and kills punch. Up close on the grill IMHO is the way to go. FWIW the Yamaha Subkick can be interesting on a bass cabinet as well...

For guitars, it's gotta be a ribbon. The Royer R121/Chandler TG2 combo is hard to beat. Mic placement is a no brainer too, just park it in front of the cabinet and get out of the way. We will use a 57 along with a Royer for some added bite some times, but mic placement is critical with a 57; move it a little tiny bit and the sound changes dramatically. Muti-mic setups are prone to phase issues, so watch out. We have a Brent Averill Enterprises (BAE) vintage API stereo mic pre that makes 57's sound unbelievable. Room mics, not so much....

My $0.02