Area specific/directional microphones??

6

60ndown

New member
id like to own a microphone or 2, that i could aim at a guitar amp (from about 2 feet?), or 2 amps side by side, that would pick up what was coming out of the amp/s, but reject much of the other sound in the same room (drums/vocals for example)

i realize 100% rejection is unlikely, even 45% would be great, are any microphones designed to work like this?

what are they called and where do i find a 'budget/used' one or 2?
 
Just get 2 Shure sm57's. They can be bought for $60-$70 used and are pretty much the standard for micing a guitar amp (or snare drum). They do well right up near the grill cloth on the amp, and that will give you the best rejection as well. You could back them up a couple feet, but that would be more of a recording placement for a situation where you wanted a lot of room sound (in your case, it would pick up a lot of drums and other instruments).
 
Most mics people use are directional. The most common type is cardioid, like the SM57 mentioned above. They don't reject much from the sides but reject pretty well from 180° off axis. Then there are super- and hyper-cardioid which have better rejection to the sides.

But if you're going to try this (mic a couple feet from the amps) on a stage with a drum kit it isn't going to work because the sound of the kit will be reflecting off nearby surfaces and get into the mic anyway. You have to use relative distances to get that kind of separation, putting the mics right up to the grill of the amp. Look up "inverse square law" to understand the technique.
 
60ndown said:
which is better? and whats a good budget one :)
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You should check out this thread I started recently:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/equipment-forums/microphones/sweetwater-blowout-341996/

That's a rather good supercardioid at a very good price for what it is. I'll admit, I prefer other mics on cabs, particularly AKG C2000B, but I usually use an isolation box for the cab, so bleed isn't as much a problem for me. I think you'll find the above advice is good. 2 feet is way too far out if bleed is your enemy. Turn the mic down, and get it just short of touching the grill, then move it around for quite a while, and listen for the sweet spot. By going to a supercardioid or hypercardioid mic, you may have a solution for a problem that you don't have. The D3800 is still a pretty good mic, though. I like it on piano and drums.
 
Seriously, just buy some sm57s. You will never regret that purchase. I will never have a reason to sell the 3 that I own.
 
60ndown said:
found my answer "shotgun" mic, these videos explain everything i wanted to know, im sure happy to govnt didnt close youtube down

Shotgun Microphone Polar Pattern (Part 5 of 6) - YouTube

now where do i buy a budget shotgun mic?
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B&H Photo & Video. The longer ones that are more directional range from $500 and up.

You aren't still thinking of setting up your own mics on stage for a headphone mix? There are way better ways to do that. Get a mic splitter and get signal from the close mics already on the amps. The stuff you're trying to block out will get in anyway because it's reflecting around stage. Shotgun mics are used in film and video production outdoors or in controlled studio environments.
 
You should listen to bouldersound guy. A shotgun is precisely what I was talking about when I described a solution for a problem you don't have.
 
60ndown said:
i want to record 2 guitar amps with 1 mic, placing the mic very close to 1 amp wont do it.
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I don't think anybody understands what your goal is. If you explain further what you're doing, somebody might have a suggestion. But, the chances are good that whatever it is you're trying to do can't be done (well). If you're trying to record 2 amps on to 1 track in a room full of other loud instruments, you are never going to get a good recording without tons of bleed from other sources.

Are you trying to make a high quality recording, recording a rehearsal for reference, recording a live performance? Do you have the ability to isolate these two amps in a different room? Why can't you use two mics/tracks?
 
While distant ambient mic'ing is often used in recording electric guitars, the purpose is precisely to make use of room ambience. Bleed is built into that scenario. Using distant mic'ing requires that the bleed be your friend. Form follows function, and mic'ing amps almost always involves close mic'ing, with or without additional distant mic'ing. I think you are running into resistance because what you are trying, to mic 2 amps with one mic, at a distance, while reducing bleed, is pretty near impossible, has been tried and failed, and at least IMHO, is the wrong way to do it. And- the more directional the distant mic is, the more off axis issues you get from whatever it isn't pointed at, and it doesn't prevent bleed.

The only solution I know of to sort of do what you want is to put the amps or extension cabs in another room, hopefully a fairly dead room, track with headphones, and use one ambient mic with a wide polar pattern, wide cardioid, or an omni.
 
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