silly question on guitar amp volume

[philpereira]

This is a pretty basic question, but what volume do people tend to record at for an optimal sound? Since I've lived in an apartment for a long time, I've tended to use 1 or 2 on my marshall 80 watt valvestate. But now that I have a house, I figure I can crank it up a little. I guess that leads to the next question, how far away to put the mic. Up until now, I keep the mic right up on the grille, but I'm guessing the louder the amp, the further back I have to move the mic (I use a delta 1010lt and I'm not sure if there's a way to change the input gain through the interface, i think you can make the preamps less or more hot). So I'm just wondering how everyone else is doing it so I can get better results. Thanks!

[Dani Pace]

To me, amp volume largely depends on what volume the amp sounds best at. Some sound better cranked up and some sound best at low volume, of course room size and treatment makes a difference, as does the tolerance level of your neighbors. Mic placement varies with each different amp and is something you will just have to experiment with but shouldnt change a lot if you turn the amp up, just lower your recording volume to keep the siginal clear. If you want a clean sound you might back the mic off a bit and move it slightly to one side. Mic placement is for the most part, try it and see, if it's not right move it and try again, sooner or later you will find that "sweet spot."

[johnny j]

you could of course disconnect the speaker and plug in a lead from the line out to the recorder.

not always a good sound but it can work in some situations and it can be useful if you have volume restrictions due to neighbours or whatever

[FALKEN]

Originally Posted by philpereira

This is a pretty basic question, but what volume do people tend to record at for an optimal sound? Since I've lived in an apartment for a long time, I've tended to use 1 or 2 on my marshall 80 watt valvestate. But now that I have a house, I figure I can crank it up a little. I guess that leads to the next question, how far away to put the mic. Up until now, I keep the mic right up on the grille, but I'm guessing the louder the amp, the further back I have to move the mic (I use a delta 1010lt and I'm not sure if there's a way to change the input gain through the interface, i think you can make the preamps less or more hot). So I'm just wondering how everyone else is doing it so I can get better results. Thanks!

the best sound i ever got was at very low volume in a dorm room with the mic on the grille. cranking your amp isn't guaranteed to sound better at all. that is just leftover bullcrap from the 70s. mic placement is a different story. the easiest way is to put on headphones, strum some open strings, and move and the mic to where it sounds best. ta-da.

now, my question for you is, how the hell do you record without knowing how to change your input gain?

[philpereira]

well i recently got an m-audio 1010lt so i'm still learning how to use it. i had the mobilepre before and was able to use a knob to change the gain and what not. i've been getting good levels when recording electric at relatively low volumes and with the mic at the grille, so i haven't had to mess with that. i view the levels in audition and have been maxing out at -6 at the volume i use. now recording acoustic is another issue because i get low levels out of that when i record (i only own a dynamic mic right now so that may be one issue). i plug my mic into one of the two xlr inputs on the 1010lt and i havent been able to find anything in the control panel that will let me increase or decrease the input volume. i thought i read somewhere that the only way to do this is through the jumper settings on that card. anyway, it's not like i'm totally lost with recording, i just wanted to see what some people do in terms of volume to get the best recording tone. i do get fine sound at lower volumes, but i was thinking that maybe at 4 or 5 that I may get a nicer tone for recording

[FALKEN]

Originally Posted by Dani Pace

To me, amp volume largely depends on what volume the amp sounds best at.

there's your answer.

[Massive Master]

It's certainly not a "rule" but I tend to get "huge" sounds at basically quiet levels and "subtle" sounds at brain-piercing levels.

Of course as mentioned, in the end, it depends on the amps and the players...

[philpereira]

yeah, i wish i had the money and the talent to go to a studio to have someone help me get the most out of my guitar parts, it's pretty daunting trying to do this all on my own with my limited equipment and knowledge. when it comes to getting a servicable sound, i'm fine with that, but i'd like something more and i don't think i can do it. i only own a pg57 mic and don't have enough free resources to put into my recording hobby. also, now that i'm working full-time and married, it's harder to put in the time trying to be both a musician and producer/engineer. if anyone lives in the kansas city area and wants to give me free studio time, feel free to lol

if anyone wants to listen to some of my demos with *very* rough guitar tracks go to www.artistcollaboration.com/~philpereira/demos give me some opinions on my sound and how i can do things better. these demos won't sound so great because i also suck at EQ'ing and they come out way too bassy, especially when i convert to wma thanks for lending an ear everyone