Mic-ing a LOUD guitar amp?

guitarist

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I have a tube amplifier so basicly I can only get that "sound" when its cranked up pretty loud. The problem is either my mic or preamp is not able to handle the noise and it ends up with a broken up overdriven sound. The microphone I'm using is an Audiotechnia atm63he. The preamp has input level controls and lights that show the peak level and I have it set so they arent maxed out, but the sound is still messed up. Are only certain mics suposed to be used for loud guitar amps or do I just need a better preamp? Also the preamp has a line in but I havent tried that yet, because I think I'd lose some tone considering the microphone would need an adaptor to fit an RCA jack..plus its a microphone, so it should go in the MIC input, not the line in.
 
just got finished posting on a similar subject.

Yes, all microphones have a maximum sound pressure level (SPL) that cannot be exceeded without causing distortion and possibly damaging the mic. It does not matter if your downstream signal chain compresses or attennuates the signal enough so that the signal does not peak, the microphone is still being tortured beyond it's capacity. If you really must play the amp that loud then you need to mic further away and/or use sound attennuation blankets.

BTW if it is too loud for the mic it is also almost certainly too loud for your ears. Consider hearing protection.
 
I used to mic a 4 12 marshall with a mic that would not handle the pressure levels so I tried moving the mic back to about 3
feet and that was enough for it to work.

Plus What innovations said protect your ears!

I know its not cool now to where ear protection and it doesnt sound as nice but take it from a guy that has played drums all
his life and has set next to screaming marshalls and fenders for
30 years.
My hearing is at about 30 percent now and its not so cool to be
shopping for hearing aids at 50. I will be deaf in a few years.

Was it worth it? NO.

Use ear plugs
 
I do use ear plugs..better safe than sorry. Plus being a solo artist I don't have to worry about being 'cool' or anything. I have tried putting the mic farther away from the amp but I tend to lose a lot of low end and that 'tone' that you get from an off-axis mic. But hey, I guess thats what EQs are for. As for the original problem, I'm beginning to think the mic is already damaged :/
 
I always thought the tone / distortion from Tube amps came from driving the inputs . . . not cranking the actual volume up.


If you're cranking it so loud that it's making your speakers crap out and sound like shit, then it's probably a good indication you should turn it down.
 
Besides, when it comes to distortion, less is more. you will have a hard time fitting it into the mix if you dont ease up on it.
 
"I always thought the tone / distortion from Tube amps came from driving the inputs . . . not cranking the actual volume up."

actually, it's both............the idea is to layer the preamp tube distiotion with the powertube distiortion.

i can't imagine that you're able to get so much volume that you're distorting your mic. most tube amps are only 100 watts max.......i do believe there are some that are more, but not a whole lot.....so anyway........i'm assuming that you're using a 55, 60, or 100 watt amp.........i've been told by a guitar tech that the difference between the max. volume ona a 55 watt amp and a 100 watt amp is only 3db...........
the other day i was recording two amps at one time, and the other amp i was using was a really loud solid state amp, so I recorded my 55watt amp at like 8 and wasn't getting any distortion from my mic.......I can't imagine that you would have had it that loud......it doesn't need to be that loud to get the powertube distortion you need.

if you aren't able to get you're sound by haveing it on a lower setting than 8, maybe you're tricking your ears......

.i think i read in here that you're ears are flatest at about 80 or 85 db....but as the volume goes up, the amount of percieved low end also goes up......

i don't believe microphones act in the same way as your ears. i don't think volume effects their frequency response much. i may be wrong though, and now that i've thought about it, i think that i am.

but here's my theory.(based on the assumption that i'm right) ...... even with that loud volume, the amp isn't going to sound the way you want on the recording. to get the sound that you are hearing at the volume level you are recording at, all you would have to do is a mid scoop, or boost a little low end with EQ. and you could turn the volume down to a level that's not distorting your mic.........but i honestly think that either you have a faulty mic or something in your signal chain is distorting.

but like i said..........i may be wrong and i think that i actually am.

it would be nice if someone told me if i was right or wrong.
 
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damstraiht said:
IShure 57's are fairly forgiving and do not distort easily. They also beef up my low end for a fat sound when I record.
Hmm, maybe you're talking about proximity effect, but a SM57 doesn't have much low-end going on from itself. Other mics like a MD-421 or a e609 will do that task, when it comes to micing guitar amps.

The SM57 has quite a 'present' high-mid range, which can make it sound very nasal.
 
Dude, you need a decent pre, a Sennheiser MD421, MD441, a Beyer M88 or M69 (a M201 will also please you)

And protect your hearing before it's too late.

My brother used to be a guitarist, but now he doesn't hear anything above 2 khz.

Good luck.
 
It's a Marshall JCM800 series WITH master volume, 4x12 cabinet. An acquaintance of mine suggested I get a variac, but I'm not sure what good that will do. I usually use channel 1 as channel 2 is too muddy. It seems to me that at lower volumes the speakers aren't being driven enough. I can't really explain it, the sound is just thin and lifeless, and very trebly like only the centre of the speaker is working, and not the cone. This is all solved though by turning the master volume up but then I can't record the sound.(I will probably be getting complaints from my neighbors soon enough.)
 
Usually digital, but for the sake of finding the problem I've tried many different devices at the output stage (tape, soundcard, headphones, etc.)
 
I also record Digital, I find that recording heavy guitar can be the hardest sound to get for the guitar. I dont know if this is the sound your trying to go for but I do believe a 57 1 to 3 inches
aimed to the center but angled a little off center/ but its really a matter of the amp its self so try any and everything.
I use a DBX586 tube Pre, it takes two rack spaces its not bad
but I am right now in the market for something much better
I am still doing my home work try to figure out what Pre will work best for my setup.
Good Luck
 
what kind of cab are you using? A 4x12 will push a LOT more air than a smaller cab. Other ideas are a speaker isolation box, using something like a power brake or a hotplate, or running the amp more quietly and juicing the front end with a nice overdrive pedal.
 
guitarist,

Dude, stick a Sennheiser MD421 mic in front of that amp, crank it up, and let it rip.
 
why does the wattage even matter...?

but anyways i would stick with a 57 cuz they sound good, and well they are cheap.... and i dont have alot of money
 
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